The Dodgers were able to save some face today in Pittsburgh by putting together their best game of this young season, as they dismantled the Pirates, 10-2. It was a much needed win after two frustrating losses to open the season.
Being a day game after a night one (and a long one at that), Joe Torre had quite the different look for his lineup. Manny Ramirez, Russell Martin, and Blake DeWitt all got the day off, as did Andre Ethier because of a sore ankle.
As the Dodgers did many times last season, the bench guys did a great job. They were led by Ronnie Belliard, who started at second and went 3-for-5 with a homer, triple, double, two runs, and four RBIs. Usually when going for a cycle, the single is the easiest part, but Belliard got the harder hits instead.
James Loney was able to start the good day with a two-out RBI single in the first, scoring Reed Johnson. A sacrifice fly by Matt Kemp in the third plated Rafael Furcal, making it 2-0.
From there, Belliard took over. He hit a two-run shot to center in the fifth to increase the lead to 4-0. That came just after Chad Billingsley wiggled out of a bases loaded, one out situation by getting the last two guys swinging.
The seventh is when the game was blasted open. The Pirates cut the lead to 4-1 an inning before, and the Dodgers immediately responded. Raffy and Johnson hit singles off of Hayden Penn, who was horrible. Four straight RBIs were hit by Kemp's double, Loney's single, Belliard's triple, and Garret Anderson's single. Just like that, it was 8-1.
The scoring was wrapped up in the ninth on an RBI double from Belliard and sac-fly RBI by Anderson.
The hitting was great, but more encouraging was seeing Billingsley give a great effort. He finished the day at 5 1/3 innings, five hits, one run, four walks, and seven strikeouts. Yes, the four walks wasn't that great, but the seven strikeouts more than made up for it. His stuff looked hard and sharp all day. So far, so good.
The top five hitters in the order of Raffy, Johnson, Kemp, Loney, and Anderson combined to go 13-for-23 and scored all 10 runs. On a day where the regulars rested, it's a great sign to know that the guys off the bench will give good production.
With the first win finally under their belts, the Dodgers travel to Florida next. Hiroki Kuroda will get his first start of the season against Chris Volstad. After that, Vicente Padilla will look to get on track, followed by the season debut of Charlie Haeger on Sunday.
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