The Dodgers were cruising through five innings on Tuesday night in Anaheim. Matt Kemp homered, Clayton Kershaw was dealin', and the losing streak looked like it would come to an end.
Then the sixth inning came, and all those good vibes got washed away.
Clayton Kershaw surrendered a big three-run homer to Bobby Abreu to tie the game, and the Angels got three more runs the next inning to take the win, 6-3. The Dodgers have now lost five straight.
The third inning started what appeared to be a good night for the Dodgers. Jamey Carroll singled with one down and eventually went to third on a throwing error by Jeff Mathis. Russell Martin then drew a walk for runners on the corners. Needing some sort of big hit to get him going, Andre Ethier delivered with an RBI single for the 1-0 lead.
Manny Ramirez struck out, but James Loney picked him up with an RBI single, and it was 2-0.
Speaking of people needing a big hit, Matt Kemp was one as well. He looked like his old self (not that he's close to being old yet, but you know what I mean) by taking a pitch to right-center for a solo shot in the fourth. He didn't try to do too much to it by pulling the ball - he simply went with it and powered it out.
The Angels threatened in the bottom of the fourth when Kevin Frandsen and Abreu walked leading off. But, a big double play ball from Torii Hunter and lazy fly ball from Hideki Matsui squashed the threat.
Unfortunately, Kershaw didn't get better as the game went on, he only got worse.
Brandon Wood walked and Howie Kendrick singled to open the sixth. On a 2-1 pitch, Abreu hit a three-run homer to dead center to tie the game. After all the momentum the Dodgers had built up throughout the game, it vanished in one swing. That's the way it's been going lately.
The bottom of the seventh started with a double by Juan Rivera. Mike Napoli struck out next. Rivera was given third on a balk, but was then picked off for two outs. Needing one more big out, Kershaw just couldn't do it, giving up consecutive singles to Mathis and Wood.
That would be it for Kershaw, who was no doubt scuffling at 103 pitches. Ronald Belisario was brought in, and this is a spot he would have gotten out of last year. Not this time, as Kendrick hit an RBI single and Frandsen a two-run double for the 6-3 lead.
The Dodgers tried to mount a comeback in the eighth, but came up empty. Garret Anderson singled leading off, and Casey Blake reached on an error. Lo and behold, Kemp hit into a double play and Blake DeWitt lined out to end the inning.
Manny flied out to end the game and give Brian Fuentes his 11th save.
This would have been a good win for the Dodgers had they held on. Instead, they only showed up for half a game. That's just not good enough against a solid team like the Angels. The Angels have plenty of injuries themselves, most notably Kendry Morales being out for the season with a broken leg. But they still produce when given the opportunity. The Dodgers aren't doing nearly enough of that right now.
After starting off June with a 7-2 record, the Dodgers are now in a 2-8 tailspin. I talked a week or so ago about the tough schedule they'd have the rest of the month (Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, and Giants). To be honest, I was hoping they'd play at least .500 ball. Instead, they're playing .000 ball.
Maybe all they need is one win to get them going again. But they'll need to earn it, as they can't execute poorly in big situations and expect to beat good teams. Leaving nine men on base, including five with two outs in scoring position like last night, is not going to cut it.
Someone has to stop the bleeding, and John Ely will give it his best shot tonight. He's been whacked around himself lately, so we'll see what kind of resiliency he has. Hopefully the bats will back him up as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment