The Dodgers put up a late fight, but it wasn't meant to be. An early 5-1 lead helped the Angels claim their first sweep ever in Dodger Stadium, 6-5. The loss dropped the Dodgers' homestand record to 8-5. Also, they remain a game back in the NL West to the Padres.
Carlos Monasterios got his final spot start (at least for now) and had a rough start. Eric Aybar singled and stole second to begin the game. An RBI single from Bobby Abreu made it 1-0. After a walk to Torii Hunter, Hideki Matsui's RBI single put the score at 2-0.
Rafael Furcal quickly cut that lead in half by hitting a leadoff homer for the Dodgers. That was his first leadoff shot of the season.
Following a second inning that ended with Aybar grounding into a double play, the Angels got right back to work in the third. It came with two outs, a theme that killed the Dodgers these three games. Hunter hit a solo shot to center for a 3-1 lead. Matsui then doubled and Howie Kendrick hit another double, and it was 4-1.
With Jeff Weaver now in, Abreu singled and stole second with one out. Now with two down, the Angels again had a big at-bat, this time an RBI single from Matsui to make it 5-1.
It sure looked like the Dodgers were going to pack it in and call it a game. But, they did just the opposite. For the first time in three games, their offense showed signs of life. Even though it was an eventual loss, at least they made a game out of it.
It all started in the seventh. Manny Ramirez doubled for the second time to lead off. James Loney hit an RBI double to go down 5-2. Ronnie Belliard struck out, and Reed Johnson's groundout advanced Loney to third. Blake DeWitt then hit an RBI single to right, and it was 5-3.
Only down two runs, Justin Miller came on to start the eighth. He got Kendrick out, but then gave up a solo homer to Mike Napoli to put the score up to 6-3 for the Angels.
Fernando Rodney then entered, and he immediately walked Russell Martin. Andre Ethier popped up, but Manny singled for runners on the corners. Loney scored them both on a two-run double that seemed to roll forever to the wall.
Now down 6-5, the Dodgers had a perfect chance to score Loney from second with one out. The Angels would have cashed in with this opportunity. The Dodgers, however, did not. Belliard struck out again and Johnson popped to short.
Still down a run in the ninth, Casey Blake pinch-hit and walked. Now up came Matt Kemp, who did not start this game because of his recent slump. Well, it didn't get any better, as he again struck out. A game-ending double play from Raffy put this game in the books.
As I talked about after the last game, the loss doesn't mean the Dodgers had a bad homestand. 8 wins in 13 games is pretty good. But, obviously knowing that they could have had one or two more makes it slightly bittersweet.
Couple a sweep with the fact that the rest of this month brings a really tough schedule, and the Dodgers certainly have their work cut out for them. After visiting the Reds for three, they then go play the Red Sox and Angels for three more each. Their reward for coming back home? The Yankees for three. Then they close June by visiting the Giants for three. Ouch.
As of today, the Reds, Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, and Giants have a combined record of 187-136. Each team is either at the top of near the top of their respective division. Simply put, these teams are really good.
With the Dodgers pretty much at full strength, we're about to see what they're made of. Can they handle the rigorous schedule? Or, will they come up short in key situations like they did against the Angels? Time will tell.
Following a day off on Monday, they will be in Cincinnati starting Tuesday. Hiroki Kuroda goes the first game against Aaron Harang.
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