Sunday, April 11, 2010

Haeger K's 12... but the bullpen crumbles again

It was a new day, but same result for the Dodgers.

Charlie Haeger struck out 12 in his season debut, but Jeff Weaver couldn't hold the lead in the seventh as the Marlins took the rubber game, 6-5. The Dodgers ended their road trip with a 2-4 record.

On a day where four regulars were resting (Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, and Casey Blake), the Dodgers knew they'd have to get their bench to contribute for a win. It sure looked like that would be the case in the fourth.

Singles by Matt Kemp and James Loney started the inning. Ronnie Belliard then singled to center, and Cameron Mayben let it go right by him for a two-run error. One out later, Reed Johnson triple home Belliard, and A.J. Ellis's suicide squeeze scored another, and it was 4-0.

About the only blemish on Haeger's fine day came in the bottom of the fourth. Mayben and Hanley Ramirez walked to lead off. Jorge Cantu came through again for the Marlins by hitting a three-run homer, and it was now 4-3.

Both teams traded runs in the sixth. Ellis hit another sacrifice RBI, this time on a fly ball to center to score Belliard. Cody Ross's RBI single put the score at 5-4. Of course, had Kemp not dropped a simple fly ball by Ronny Paulino with two down, it would have never happened.

From there, with a depleted bullpen, Joe Torre chose to go with Weaver to keep the score as is. Well... he didn't. With two men on and one out, Cantu, once again, came through. His two-run double put the Marlins ahead to stay at 6-5.

That's not to say that the Dodgers didn't have their chances in the last two innings, because they did. They put two men on in both innings and came up with blanks. That was all part of a day in which they went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

So the Dodgers were once again done in by a lack of clutch hitting, bad defense, and horrible bullpen work. And it spoiled Haeger's great day of six innings, three hits, four runs (three earned), four walks, and 12 strikeouts. He really did all he could to win, but his team let him down.

I must point out that we can't be too hard on Weaver. His role isn't setup guy, it's long reliever. But with Ronald Belisario and Hong-Chih Kuo still out, Torre is still trying to find the right combination. While Weaver wasn't any good, he shouldn't be expected to be flawless in that role either.

Getting out of the East Coast will only be a good thing for the Dodgers. Maybe some home cooking is exactly what they need. There's an off day on Monday, then the home opener against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Clayton Kershaw will get the start, and he's looking for his first win after a so-so effort in Pittsburgh last Wednesday.

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