No doubt, Jon Garland made his most awkward start of his career on Thursday night, pitching against the team he was just playing for three days earlier.
And no doubt again, Garland delivered everything the Dodgers hoped for.
Seven innings of two-run ball was enough to give the Dodgers a win, 4-2. Ronnie Belliard's three RBIs and Manny Ramirez's solo homer backed him up.
More good news, as the Mets got a win in Colorado, and Pedro Martinez out dueled Tim Lincecum to give the Dodgers a 5 and 1/2 lead in the NL West.
The first inning didn't start off so hot, as the Diamondbacks struck. Stephen Drew lead off with a single and Miguel Montero walked an out later. Mark Reynolds hit an RBI single to left to make it 1-0.
Belliard started his big night in the second. With two outs, James Loney singled and took second on a wild pitch. Belliard then stepped up and singled to shallow center, making it 1-1.
A solo homer by Drew in the third put the DBacks up 2-1. After Ryan Roberts singled in the next at-bat, Garland more than settled down, as he retired the final 14 batters he faced. Whoa.
The Dodgers took the lead and then surged ahead for good in the fifth. Manny Ramirez was up in the fourth when Andre Ethier got caught stealing. No problem, as Manny lead off the fifth and drilled a homer to dead center, tying the game at two.
Casey Blake then hit a double, and he went to third on Loney's flyout. Belliard singled between short and third for the RBI and 3-2 lead. He added his third RBI in the sixth on a fielder's choice, closing the scoring at 4-2.
George Sherrill and Jonathan Broxton both game up a hit when they entered, but that was it. The end result was Sherrill's eighth hold and Broxton's 31st save.
The Dodgers earned the split in the four games mostly because of their pitching. Vicente Padilla a couple games ago went five and gave up one, and then Garland's great effort last night. The offense got just enough runs, but they are still looking to find their groove.
But, a split is obviously better than losing the series, as the Rockies and Giants failed to capitalize on a couple of loses. They're still hanging around, so the month of September is still no time to fall into a slump.
The Diamondbacks exit, and the horrible Padres enter for three. You would have to really, really follow baseball closely to know the three starters the Padres will run out there: Wade LeBlanc, Mat Latos, and Tim Stauffer. It's no surprise they have the third-worst record in the NL.
For the Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw will get the ball. He's coming off of two strong performances in which he received no decisions, so let's hope the offense picks him up tonight.
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