The Dodgers had the PERFECT chance to wrap up the NL West today, as they had a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth against the Pirates, and Jonathan Broxton got the ball.
To put it bluntly, they flat out blew it.
Broxton let the first two men reach, Rafael Furcal and Andre Ethier had big errors, and Lastings Milledge got the winning hit to shock the Dodgers, 6-5.
With the magic number at one, if the Rockies lose to the Cardinals today, the Dodgers win the NL West regardless. But man, today was just a giant letdown.
Let's rewind a bit before discussing how they choked in the ninth. Rafael Furcal got the Dodgers the game's first score with an RBI single in the third. He now has an 11 game hitting streak.
The Pirates came right back off of Clayton Kershaw in the bottom of the frame. Brian Bixler singled, and he went to third with one out on Andrew McCutchen's single. Kershaw then uncorked a wild pitch, though Russell Martin should have blocked it much better. Bixler scored, and Andy LaRoche then hit an RBI double, making it 2-1.
Nobody else scored until the seventh, when the Dodgers tied it, but should have done so much more. James Loney singled to lead off, and Ronnie Belliard doubled for two on. Martin continued his rough day by striking out. Orlando Hudson was then given the intentional walk to load the bases.
Jim Thome came through last night with a hit, but today, he grounded one back up the middle. Shortstop Luis Cruz bobbled it and could only get out at first, tying the game at three. Raffy couldn't get another clutch hit when he grounded out.
Matt Capps entered to start the ninth, and that would start the run of closers getting creamed in this inning. Loney and Belliard again reached on hits. This time, Martin delivered a big RBI single, and it was 3-2. O-Dog sacrificed both men to scoring position, and Manny Ramirez pinch-hit just to get the intentional walk.
With the bases loaded, Raffy hit a hard one to second that Bixler went home with. It was not a good play, as Loney beat it out, making it 4-2. A wild pitch let Martin score at 5-2, and the Dodgers had to be thinking it was over.
Like I said before, closers just looked horrible today, and Broxton had a look in his eye that wasn't good from his first pitch to the last. He let Delwyn Young and Brandon Moss reach on singles, and everything basically went to hell after that.
McCutchen grounded one to Furcal that he bobbled, and only got the forceout at second, though he probably wouldn't have gotten a double play anyway. LaRoche then grounded on that Furcal had to backhand, but his throw to second this time skipped away, letting Young score to make it 5-3.
Following an intentional walk to Garrett Jones, his third of the day, Milledge had a chance to be a hero. He didn't waste much time, as he hit a sharp single to Ethier in right. Ethier then booted the ball, and all three men scored, putting an incredibly frustrating end to what should have been a great day.
Broxton looked bad, but two errors by an otherwise solid defense did him no favors. Still, it's concerning that he couldn't even close out the Pirates with a three-run lead. In fact, ever since the Dodgers pounded the Nationals on Tuesday, they haven't looked good at all since then. Reason to worry? Time will tell.
I know any team in the majors is capable of winning, but the Dodgers have hardly looked like a great team against two of the worst this past week. They've simply struggled way too much in games they should've won rather easily. These last few games haven't been pretty.
Even if the Rockies do lose today and the Dodgers wrap up the West, they really need to play a good game Monday afternoon, and shake off today's bad memory. They can't lay an egg again like the ninth inning today. It's time to go back to playing solid baseball on both sides.
Hiroki Kuroda has pitched great lately, and he'll look to continue that on Monday. The Dodgers could really use another great start by him.
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