The Dodgers made plenty of noise off the field, as two trades announced late in the game grabbed all the headlines. It was on the field that they let one get away.
The Diamondbacks tied the game on a home run from Justin Upton in the eighth off of George Sherrill, then roughed up James McDonald in the 10th for two more to get the win in 10, 5-3. Both the Rockies and Giants were idle, so the lead in the NL West is 5 and 1/2 games.
With Randy Wolf on the mound, the Dodgers knew they'd get a solid outing. Unfortunately, it was their defense that let them down. Well, it was actually just Manny Ramirez, as he showed in this game why they love him (home run) and why they have to put up with the bad (missed fly ball).
In the second, Mark Reynolds lifted a fly ball to center that Matt Kemp couldn't find at first. When he did, he barely caught it and had to absorb Manny knocking him over trying to help. Probably not what you would call a textbook defensive play, but it worked.
Miguel Montero and Chris Young both singled to get a threat going. With two outs, Augie Ojeda lined one out to left that Manny totally misplayed, resulting in a two-run double and a 2-0 lead for the DBacks.
Ronnie Belliard got his first start on his first day as a Dodger, and he had quite the debut. With one out in the bottom of the second, he lifted one out to left to make it 2-1. Not a bad way to make a first impression.
The sixth is when the Dodgers flexed their muscle. Manny lead off with a solo homer to center, which knotted the game at two. Matt Kemp followed with one of his own, putting the Dodgers ahead, 3-2. With the game getting late in innings, the Dodgers had confidence their bullpen could close this one out.
Well, it worked for an inning anyway. Hong-Chih Kuo struck out a couple in the seventh to keep the lead. Now the Dodgers could use their late-inning formula of Sherrill and Jonathan Broxton to get the win.
Except, Sherrill was finally scored on for the first time as a Dodger. Upton crushed a solo shot with one out in the eighth, and it was now a new game. It had to happen sometime, as Sherrill had been untouchable up until then. It just sucked that it had to tie the game.
The Dodgers really had their best chance to score in the eighth, but Andre Etheir lined to center, and Manny and Kemp struck out. They never threatened the rest of the game.
Broxton did a nice job of getting the DBacks in order to close out regulation, but it was all downhill from there.
McDonald looked great in Cincinnati, but terrible Monday night. Rusty Ryal lead off with a home run to make it 4-3. A double, an error, and an intentional walk loaded the bases with two down, which lead to a walk to Ojeda that made it 5-3. Juan Gutierrez got the Dodgers in order to close it out.
Even with the loss, this game will long be known for the Dodgers trading for both Jim Thome and Jon Garland in the middle of the game. Thome will add a lot of punch off the bench, and Garland can hopefully be the fifth starter they've been looking for. Those are some pretty big additions for practically nothing given up.
As for the game, Rafael Furcal, Orlando Hudson, and James Loney weren't in the starting lineup. Loney rested against a lefty and O-Dog most likely was just getting some rest as his bat continues on a downward spiral.
Raffy's family was unfortunately in the middle of the Southern California wild fires, as they had a busy day evacuating. Thankfully everyone is fine. Joe Torre knew he had a big day, so he was held out.
In the previous two series against the Rockies and Reds, the Dodgers dropped the first one, then turned around on the next two. They'll look to do that again as Vicente Padilla gets the call. Who knows where he fits in now that Garland is here, but a good start tonight can only help.
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