Matt Kemp homered for the fourth straight game, and Andre Ethier added a solo shot and grand slam to lead the Dodgers to a win over the Giants, 10-8. It was a 7-0 game after two innings.
Vicente Padilla finally put together a good start, as he got the win after dropping his previous two starts. He went seven innings, four hits, three runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts. It was good to see him bounce back, as he's not nearly as bad of a pitcher as he showed to start the year.
So with a 7-0 lead early and Padilla pitching seven strong innings, you might be asking yourself how the score ended up 10-8. Well, if your answer was Russ Ortiz, then that was just too easy.
Needless to say, Ortiz was absolutely HORRIBLE again. Oh, he got the side in order in the eighth, but it went all downhill after that. Here's what his ninth inning looked like: single, double, strikeout, RBI groundout, RBI single, walk. With two on, Ramon Troncoso came on, but Eugenio Valez crushed a three-run homer to right. Edgar Renteria then bounced back to the mound to end the game.
This should be a night where the Dodgers easily won and I would be lauding Kemp and Ethier's big efforts, but no. I'm still wondering why in the world Ortiz is still in the bullpen. In his last three outings, he's gone three innings and given up eight runs. His ERA now stands at 21.60. My slow-pitch softball ERA is better than that.
Seriously, there's got to be someone in the minors that the Dodgers can bring up because this is just ridiculous. This guy is terrible! He's been given a chance, and it clearly hasn't worked. Cut your losses and bring in someone else. Please!
Anyway, now it's time to focus on the good, and there was plenty of it. The Dodgers were facing Todd Wellemeyer, who's the #5 starter for the Giants, and clearly showed why. He's not Russ Ortiz bad, but close.
Rafael Furcal walked to start the bottom of the first. Kemp hit a two-run homer to right, making it 2-0. Not to be outdone, Ethier lined one out to right, and it was 3-0. Kemp is now up to five taters and Ethier three.
The second inning is when the real fireworks happened. With one down, Padilla walked, Raffy singled, and Kemp walked to load 'em up. Ethier left no doubt as he hit a grand slam to dead center, and it was 7-0. In Ethier's last three at-bats, he hit a walk-off single, solo homer, and grand slam. That's video game-like stuff there.
The Dodgers tacked on a couple more in the fifth on Blake DeWitt's bases loaded walk, and Russell Martin's double play with the bases loaded to score James Loney. DeWitt later added an RBI single in the seventh.
It's a good thing those extra runs were scored considering it ended up only a two run game. But, it's not like Joe Torre would've handed the ball to Ortiz in a close game, right? I certainly hope not.
Another downer was Manny Ramirez leaving the game early in the third with a tight right calf. Of course, the score was 7-0 at that point, so perhaps Manny just wanted the rest. In a closer game, my guess is that he would still be in the game. But if he has to sit out a game or two, maybe it is legit.
Saturday afternoon's game will see Charlie Haeger go against Tim Lincecum. We all know how great Lincecum is, but Haeger was really good in his first start against the Marlins, striking out 12. It's a FOX game, and since I'm an East Coast guy, I'll be watching the Mets and Cardinals. ESPN Gamecast, here I come!
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