Friday night was all about Manny Ramirez and his return to Boston. Would the fans cheer him? Would they boo him? How would he respond?
Well, the answers went like this: yes, yes, and he struck out to end the game.
The Dodgers battled back from a quick 3-0 hole, but a seven-run fifth was more than enough for the Red Sox to get the first game, 10-6. Manny ended up 1-for-5 with a single and run scored.
Carlos Monasterios was coming off his worst start as a Dodger against the Angels, and that seemed to carry over to start the game. With one out, Dustin Pedroia singled. David Ortiz then took a fat pitch over the plate way out to center, putting the Sox up 2-0. A solo shot by J.D. Drew (I still hate him) on a reviewed call made it 3-0.
Monasterios settled down a bit after that, and the Dodgers fought back in the third against Felix Doubront, who was making his first career start. Ronnie Belliard got the start at second and doubled to lead off. Reed Johnson then grounded to Kevin Youkilis at first, who then flipped to Doubront covering the bag, only for the ball to bounce off his glove and into the dugout, allowing Belliard to score.
Now with one out, Matt Kemp tripled to center to force home another run. An RBI groundout by Russell Martin tied the score at 3-3, and the Dodgers had new life. The Sox left the bases loaded in the bottom of the frame when Jason Varitek flied out to Andre Ethier.
The Dodgers threatened to take the lead in the fifth when Reed Johnson singled and Martin walked with two outs. Ethier struck out to end it, and that would be the start of his rough night.
It would also lead to the Sox pushing seven straight runs across the plate.
It was a pretty ugly fifth, as Monasterios allowed the first three men to reach. With two on, Ramon Troncoso came on. To put it bluntly, Troncoso was absolutely horrific. Five batters came up, and five batters reached base. Darnell McDonald singled home a run, another came in on Kemp's bobble in center, and Adrian Beltre crushed a two-run shot.
Six hits, two walks, one steal, one beaned batter, one wild pitch, one fielder's choice, and one sacrifice fly later, the Sox were up 10-3.
The Dodgers tried to somewhat battle back in the sixth. Manny got his only hit of the night with a single, and Casey Blake doubled both men into scoring position. James Loney hit a two-run single to cut the score to 10-5. Belliard walked, and the Dodgers looked to be in business.
But, Garret Anderson struck out (can't imagine that happening), Jamey Carroll did the same, and Kemp grounded into a fielder's choice for the third out.
Anderson homered to lead off the ninth, raising his average to a blistering .172. Fantastic! Kemp and Martin both singled, but Ethier and Manny couldn't drive them in as the game ended with Manny looking at a breaking ball for a called strike three.
Manny didn't have to endure heckling in the field as he was the DH, but even when he was hitting, it's not like the fans were totally against them. It honestly seemed like a 50/50 response. I expected more boos, but I'm glad I was wrong.
While Manny struggled, more concerning is Ethier's performance (or lack there of). He was hitless in five at-bats, and his average is now down to .330. He was at .392 when he went on the DL May 14. It's not like he was going to hit that high all year, but he's definitely not the same hitter he was at the start of the year. He's probably just pressing too much to make something happen.
The Dodgers need Ethier to get back into a groove. Ditto for Kemp, who's had a horrible June, though he did have a big triple tonight. If they are both taking too many strikeouts and unproductive at-bats, they're going to struggle to put runs on the board. It's that simple.
As for the pitching, Monasterios is now going through the same struggles that John Ely is facing. They're both young and inexperienced. They've both had peaks this season, now they're going through valleys. This is why Ned Colletti has talked about finding another starting pitcher. It only makes sense going forward.
Vicente Padilla will make his return from the DL on Saturday, and he'll be pitching in his first game since April 22. He'll go against Tim Wakefield, who's been throwing that knuckleball since Lincoln was president.
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