Jeff Francis faced the minimum amount of hitters through four innings in Friday night's game. The Rockies were up 4-0, and the Dodgers looked like they didn't stand a chance.
A couple of homers and big hits the next two innings changed all of that.
Matt Kemp and Manny Ramirez hit key home runs, Garret Anderson got a rally going with a pinch-hit double, and the bullpen pitched four scoreless innings. Add it all together, and the Dodgers had a nice comeback win over the Rockies on the road, 5-4.
It was really a tale of two games for the Dodgers, as their bats stayed in the dugout for the first half of the game. The only baserunner through four was Reed Johnson's single, and he was wiped away on a double play ball from Jamey Carroll.
Carlos Monasterios got another spot start, and he did about what you'd expect: five innings, five hits, four runs (two earned), one walk, and one strikeout. I wouldn't say he blew anyone away, but when you have a reliever making a start, all you can ask is that he keeps his team in the game. That's exactly what he accomplished.
The Rockies scored a couple of runs in the first. Carlos Gonzalez started things off with a single. Seth Smith hit a hard one to first that ate up Ronnie Belliard for an error. Sure enough, a wild pitch and an RBI single from Miguel Olivo made it 2-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, it was Olivo again who made some noise. He tripled to lead off and scored on Ian Stewart's sac-fly. Clint Barmes hit a solo shot, and the Rockies looked to be comfortably ahead at 4-0.
Kemp then began the fifth with his 10th home run of the season. Nobody else got on that inning, but at least the Dodgers got something positive going. It would obviously pay off later.
Monasterios finished his night by retiring Smith, Todd Helton, and Troy Tulowitzki in the fifth. With the Dodgers' comeback immediately afterwords, Monasterios got the win and is now 2-0.
It was a walk that started the rally in the sixth to Carroll. We all know how lousy Anderson has looked, but we also know how much Joe Torre likes and sticks with veterans off the bench. It paid off tonight, as Anderson hit a ground rule double to center that would have easily scored Carroll had it stayed in the yard.
Rafael Furcal then hit a sac-fly RBI to deep center to slash the deficit to 4-2. Russell Martin hit an RBI double down the left field line to make it 4-3. Manny hadn't hit a homer since April 18, but he smacked one out to right to give the Dodgers the lead for good at 5-4.
The lead would then be handed over to the bullpen, and boy did they do a fantastic job. Ramon Troncoso, Hong-Chih Kuo, Ronald Belisario, and Jonathan Broxton all combined to throw four scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks, and striking out eight. Each reliever had two K's apiece.
Belisario looked especially sharp as he mowed through the Rockies in the eighth. Broxton beaned Jason Giambi to start the ninth, but bounced back with a couple strikeouts and a fly out. He now has 12 saves in 14 chances and hasn't blown one since May 6.
This was a solid win for the Dodgers mostly because they looked like they were going nowhere against Francis for most of the game. When the bats got hot, they got rolling. They actually went down in order the final three innings, so it's a good thing they took the lead when they could.
Hiroki Kuroda will get the ball on Saturday night. He had a decent start last outing against the Tigers, but certainly is capable of doing better. He's opposed by Aaron Cook, who seems to either give up 5+ runs, or goes deep into the game and gives up one. Go figure.
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