It was quite the glorious day in Dodger Stadium.
Brad Penny was bombed by his former team, the Dodgers hit four home runs, Jon Garland pitched eight terrific innings, and it all added up to a win for the Dodgers, 12-1. Simply put, the Dodgers could do no wrong on the afternoon.
The Giants had a temporary lead of 1-0 after the first. Manny Ramirez's error off the bat of Eugenio Valez allowed him to get to second to lead off the game. Randy Winn's sac-fly RBI an out later would give the Giants their only reason to smile all day.
From there, the Dodgers just pounded away. And what better person to do it against than Penny, who's made no secret of his dislike for his former club. That's ok, because I'm sure the feeling's mutual. After giving up seven runs in 2 and 2/3 innings today, I highly doubt he's missed.
Rafael Furcal singled to center, then stole second with one out. Manny walked, and Matt Kemp grounded into a fielder's choice for two on and two down. James Loney hit an RBI single to knot the game at one.
Casey Blake then walked to get the bases loaded. Ronnie Belliard got another start today, most likely because Orlando Hudson has turned into a double play machine with his bat. It was the right call, as Belliard hit a grand slam out to left, putting the game away early at 5-1.
Not that they needed to, but the Dodgers just kept pouring it on as the game progressed. In the third, Kemp and Loney went back-to-back to solo homers, making it 7-1. That's Kemp's 25th of the season to go along with 34 stolen bases. Loney has hit much better in September after looking a bit lost during August.
The Dodgers got five more runs in innings five through seven. An error by Freddie Sanchez let Manny score, Russell Martin hit an RBI single, Andre Ethier got an RBI double, Blake DeWitt homered pinch-hitting, and Juan Pierre also pinch-hit and got an RBI single.
As great as the hitting was, Garland's performance was even better. How great has his trade been? Today, he pitched eight innings, giving up seven hits, one run (none earned), no walks, and three strikeouts. He was supposed to provide innings at the end of the rotation, and has instead looked like one of their best starters.
With Clayton Kershaw a big banged up and Chad Billingsley going through a bad slump, Garland is suddenly looking like a playoff starter. It's still a bit too early to say, but he's really put himself into a good position to get a start.
The lead over the Giants in the NL West is eight games. The Giants can forget about winning the division, but still have a shot at the Wild Card. The Rockies play in Arizona later tonight. As of now, it's a 5 and 1/2 game lead over them.
Sunday's game should be a real treat, as Randy Wolf takes on Tim Lincecum. Both men have had fantastic seasons, so it should be a low scoring game. Monday will be an off day followed by three in Washington.
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