The Dodgers returned home from taking four of six on the road to find themselves in a tight one with the Pirates. That was until Andre Ethier stepped up and crushed a two-run homer to center to lift the Dodgers to a win, 6-2.
More good news came on this night as well. The Giants beat up on the Rockies again, 9-1. The Dodgers now have a four game lead on the Rocks and 7 and 1/2 on the Giants.
The Pirates really had a chance to make this game interesting in the first inning when they loaded the bases off of Jon Garland. A single by Andrew McCutchen and two walks to Andy LaRoche and Ryan Doumit gave them their shot. But, Lastings Milledge popped up and Brandon Moss struck out, and that was that.
On the flip side, the Dodgers made sure to take advantage of runners on base in the bottom of the first. Rafael Furcal singled and stole second to begin with. Matt Kemp followed with a walk, but Ethier flied to center. No matter, as Manny Ramirez cracked a double to left. Raffy scored with ease, but Kemp was cut down at the plate on a nice relay, making it only 1-0.
It took until the fourth for the Pirates to get a run, even if they continually put men on base against Garland. A two-out single by Ronny Cedeno led to an RBI double from Ramon Vazquez, and it was 1-1.
The bases were loaded by the Dodgers in the fourth, but they didn't exactly kick the door down. Orlando Hudson was in a big spot, but could only manage to score a run on a double play. For those of you not in the know, you can't get an RBI on a double play. So much for that.
Doumit again pulled the Pirates even in the fifth on an RBI groundout to third that Casey Blake could only go to first on. At two-all, the Dodgers needed to start making their move.
Fortunately for them, they did just that. Raffy got into one deep center in the bottom of the fifth that Milledge made a nice play on. Kemp then singled and stole his 33rd base of the season, good for third in the National League. Ethier took care of the rest, as his 29th homer of the season made it 4-2.
The Dodgers never looked back, which is not surprising seeing as how the Pirates still have no idea how to win. The good thing they have going for them is young players like McCutchen, Milledge, Doumit, and Garrett Jones. Perhaps better days are ahead, but it's not like it can get much worse.
Back to the game, and O-Dog got some good vibes back by hitting an RBI double to score Blake in the sixth, stretching the lead to 5-2. Hudson later scored Blake again with a single in the eighth to make it 6-2.
Garland got the win, his 10th of the season. He wasn't overly effective, as he played with danger at certain times. A better team may have knocked him out early. But, six innings, six hits, two runs, three walks, and three strikeouts was good enough for the W. That's now eight straight seasons with double-digit wins, a great accomplishment to own.
The combination of Hong-Chih Kuo in the seventh and George Sherrill in the eighth got the ball to Jonathan Broxton in the ninth, and all didn't give up a hit and struck out one. To win in the playoffs, that's the formula that will need to be counted on. It can definitely work.
The win was a great start, and it should get even better Tuesday night with the return of Randy Wolf. He missed a start because of hyperextending his elbow, so it's good that it wasn't a serious injury. He's opposed by Zach Duke, who was great until August hit, and has been atrocious since. In other words, he fits in well with the Pirates.
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