When the Dodgers lined up Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley to pitch the first couple of games against the Brewers, they had to be feeling pretty good about their chances. They just took three of four from the Pirates, and things were looking up.
Two days and 22 runs allowed later, things are back to being down again.
Billingsley got beat up in the first inning, the bullpen was absolutely atrocious, and the bats couldn't get a clutch hit if their lives depended on it. Add it all up, and it was another laugher for the Brewers, 11-3. That knocks the Dodgers back down to 11-16.
The first inning was a joke, as Billingsley looked like he was clueless on how to pitch to major league batters. He gave up four straight singles to start, and soon an RBI triple to Alcides Escobar, and it was 4-0 just like that.
The offense at least made it close for a little while. Singles by Russell Martin and Matt Kemp put two on. James Loney and Casey Blake followed with consecutive RBI singles, and it was 4-2.
The funny thing after the first was that Billingsley actually settled down to pitch well, as he got through the next five innings unscathed. He somehow went from giving up four runs on five hits in the first to giving up no runs on two hits after. Go figure.
In the sixth, the Dodgers cut the lead to 4-3, temporarily giving some hope to the home fans. Loney led off with a walk, then went to second on a wild pitch. With two outs, Garret Anderson pinch-hit for Billingsley, and came through with an RBI single.
The good news was that the Anderson at-bat worked, the bad news is that the bullpen was given the ball and flopped. Ronald Belisario worked around an error by Casey Blake to get out of the seventh.
Then the eighth came, and it was like the first inning all over again. In all, 10 men hit, and the Brewers used four run-scoring singles to do the damage. There was just no escaping this inning it seemed like. Belisario and Ramon Troncoso were just horrible.
Not to be outdone, George Sherrill gave up a couple of runs in the ninth. What's happened to him? He went from the best setup man in the league to a guy with a 9.00 ERA. I can't believe he's dropped this fast.
It was good that Billingsley settled down, but the fact that he started the game so poorly is once again a disturbing sign. The book on him is that he has great stuff, but is susceptible of giving up a big inning. Well, he lived up to that label and then some on Wednesday night.
As for the bullpen, it's hard to imagine them being this bad over the course of the season. But right now, they're really bad. And that's just reality. Only Jonathan Broxton and Carlos Monasterios look like the have a clue. The rest take turns getting pounded night in and night out. It's hard to watch.
If the Dodgers want to save even a little bit of face, they need to win the final game of this series. I think the Brewers are a good team, but it's not like they've been playing well to start the year. You wouldn't know it by watching the first two games, though.
John Ely will get another spot start. His first one didn't go so well, as he got knocked around by the Mets. With the way the rotation is playing, a good start tonight could earn him more starts.
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