Big hitting, lots of runs... and absolutely no pitching or defense.
If you haven't followed the Dodgers at all this year, all you had to do was tune into Tuesday night's game against the Reds, and that summed it all up. Chad Billingsley was rocked, the bats came back anyway, only to have the bullpen and gloves cough up the lead and lose, 11-9.
The offense tried their best, collecting 13 hits, five for extra bases, but it was the other end that flopped miserably. Three out of the four pitchers were terrible, and the defense committed two more errors. Their .972 fielding % is second-to-last in the entire majors. Ugly.
The start of the game looked good, as Rafael Furcal singled to lead off, and Andre Ethier and James Loney drew walks. Casey Blake unloaded the bases, netting a three-run double to go up 3-0.
Billingsley easily put the Reds down in order in the first. But, like he ALWAYS does, he found an inning where he could do absolutely nothing right. This time, he did it earlier than normal in the second.
Brandon Phillips led off with a solo shot, cutting it to 3-1. Four straight hits then came, an error by Billingsley on a bunt by Homer Bailey, a sacrifice fly, and another single totaled six runs. In all, 10 men went to the plate, and they just crushed anything Bills threw up there.
The lead for the Reds got up to 9-3 following Joey Votto's homer. That came off the great Ramon Ortiz. Have I mentioned lately how much I'm looking forward to the returns of Hong-Chih Kuo and Ronald Belisario?
The Dodgers didn't quit, though. Instead, they came all the way back, scoring six unanswered runs. In the sixth, Manny Ramirez doubled to start. An out later, Blake scored him on a triple. Blake DeWitt added an RBI single, and it was 9-5.
The Reds' bullpen is just as bad, because the eighth inning for them was a disaster. Raffy hit a two-run single, and Matt Kemp deposited a three-run homer to tie it at 9-9. The shot was Kemp's sixth of this young season.
With new life, the Dodgers gave the ball to Ramon Troncoso. He had been pretty reliable thus far, but that changed. A two-run single by Paul Janish gave the Reds the lead for good. Of course, it didn't help that Ronnie Belliard dropped the ball while trying to throw home. It was pretty sad.
The Dodgers are hitting a collective .306, and are clearly showing why they have one of the top offenses in the game. But, it really doesn't matter if they continue to get beat up on the mound. Not only that, but 14 errors in 13 games just won't get it done. They can't outhit everyone each game. That's a dangerous way to keep going.
As for Billingsley, I have to wonder how much longer the Dodgers will be patient with him. I haven't heard of an injury with him, so that can't be it. It just looks like batting practice with him. The guy was an All-Star last year, and now he has a 7.07 ERA. He must be a mental wreck right now.
Hiroki Kuroda will get the start tonight, and he's been very good in his two starts. With the pitching staff in disarray, he'll need to be a calming influence that he normally is.
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