Matt Holliday squeaked the door open in the ninth, and the Dodgers kicked it down.
Facing a bases empty, two-out situation in the last inning, the Dodgers took advantage of a dropped liner by Holliday to walk-off with the win in Game 2, 3-2. The Dodgers lead the best-of-five series 2-0, with Game 3 Saturday in St. Louis.
It was quite the improbable win for the Dodgers, as they were baffled for the first eight innings by the wicked stuff of Adam Wainwright. Unlike Chris Carpenter the night before, Wainwright was on the money all night long, giving up only a solo homer to Andre Ethier in eight strong innings.
Still, it was the Dodgers who once again sent the home fans home happy with another dramatic, comeback win. Somehow, someway, time and again they find a way to get the win. It's been unbelievable to watch all year long.
Clayton Kershaw started for the Dodgers, and he got through the Cardinals' order with ease to start the game. But, to start the second, Holliday sent a hanging breaking ball just over the left field wall to go up 1-0.
The Dodgers didn't get their first hit until the fourth, but it was a good one. With two outs, Ethier cranked one out to center for his first postseason homer to tie it 1-1. He hit a miserable .188 last postseason, so like Matt Kemp last night, it was great to see him break through in October.
Each team would go down easily in the fifth, provide a little spark in the sixth, but couldn't come through. To start the seventh, Mark DeRosa singled to center. Colby Rasmus then hit a long double off the center field wall to score DeRosa, going up 2-1.
The problem for the Cardinals on that play was that as DeRosa scored, James Loney made a leaping catch to cut off the throw, then fire to Casey Blake at third to tag Rasmus out advancing by a mile. Tony LaRusa was visibly upset at Rasmus for such a baserunning blunder, and it came back to bite them in the end.
Ethier, Manny Ramirez, and Loney went down in order in the eighth, and hope was looking lost. The best thing that could have happened for the Dodgers was that Troy Glaus pinch-hit for Wainwright and flew out to center to end the eighth.
With Wainwright out of there, Trevor Miller came on to get Ethier popping up to start the ninth. Closer Ryan Franklin then got Manny to fly out, and the air was sucked out of Dodger Stadium.
It was up to Loney to keep the game going, and he hit a liner out to Holliday in right. Holliday looked like he was unsure how to make the easy play, and it eventually hit his... um, midsection, putting Loney on second. Juan Pierre then came in to pinch-run.
Blake had a long at-bat in which he worked a walk, further showcasing how valuable he is to the team. With a chance to justify his starting position over Orlando Hudson at second, Ronnie Belliard hit an RBI single up the middle, knotting the game at two.
The Dodgers weren't done yet, as Russell Martin walked on four pitches to load the bases with two down. Joe Torre sent up old reliable to pinch-hit, Mark Loretta. In the biggest moment of his 15-year career, Loretta hit a soft walk-off single to center, giving the Dodgers the game.
The reality of this game is that the series should be tied at one. If Holliday makes the routine play, then the Cardinals grabbed some momentum back. Now, they have to find a way to hold the fort down at home before going for the win next week in L.A.
Who knows how this series will end up, but the Dodgers are obviously in cruise control, needing only one of the next three. Now we all can see just how important home-field advantage is in the postseason. All of those wins early in the season paid off tonight.
For the Dodgers, it's time to smell blood and put the game away this weekend. Getting a win in St. Louis would show how they are for real. The Cardinals are still a very good team, as they were 46-35 at home. But the Dodgers were 45-36 on the road, one of the best in the NL.
Vicente Padilla has gotten the call to start Game 3, and he'll go against Joel Pineiro. Padilla is 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA in seven starts (eight appearances) with the Dodgers, while Pineiro has struggled since August. The Dodgers have to like the pitching matchup and their chances to wrap it up on Saturday.
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