With the hype machine in full force for the arrival of the New York Yankees, the Dodgers and Yanks were locked in a tight battle for much of Friday night's game. Vicente Padilla and C.C. Sabathia had their best stuff going.
One swing from Alex Rodriguez proved to be the difference.
A-Rod's solo shot in the sixth gave the Yankees a one run lead, and it held up as the Yankees took the opener of this big three-game set, 2-1. The Dodgers have now dropped seven of eight.
The Yankees knew they had their ace on the mound in Sabathia, so the Dodgers were hoping the Padilla of the end of last year would show up. That was certainly the case, as Padilla had a very strong start by going seven innings for six hits, two runs, one walk, and seven strikeouts.
The game started off well for the Dodgers, as the Yankees were set down in order. Rafael Furcal then led off with a walk and stole second. He advanced to third on Andre Ethier's groundout. Manny Ramirez hit an RBI single to give the Dodgers the lead, 1-0.
A-Rod started his big night with a double leading off the second. An RBI single from Jorge Posada tied the game at 1-1.
That score would stand for awhile, as both pitchers kept the other offense at bay. That's not to say that things didn't get interesting, because they did. Robinson Cano was beaned in the fourth, and Sabathia returned the favor by plunking Padilla in the leg in the fifth. Nothing came of it other than a staredown.
While the score remained tied, the Dodgers were bitten by the double play bug to end both the third and fifth. Those came off the bats of Raffy and Manny, so it was no doubt disappointing that they couldn't get the big hits.
After Mark Teixeira popped up to start the sixth, A-Rod crushed one way out to left for the 2-1 lead. It was one of the only mistakes of the night for Padilla, but that shows just how good the Yankees are. They had a chance to score and delivered. The Dodgers would put men on and come up with nothing.
Despite Manny dropping an easy fly ball off the bat of Cano, the Yankees stranded two in scoring position in the eighth. Ronald Belisario did a great job in the final two innings of pitching scoreless ball to keep the game close.
The most interesting scene of the night was Mariano Rivera going for the save against Torre's current team. Rivera struck out Manny and Matt Kemp to start the ninth.
Needing only one more out, James Loney took two very questionable strike calls before looking at one on the outside corner to end the game. Torre, Loney, and Don Mattingly were clearly PO'd, as they were yelling at home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi as he left the game.
As Torre said, Rivera doesn't need any help. He's already one of the legends of this game. But Loney was clearly given little to no chance to come through. Who knows what would have happened, but the Dodgers were only one swing away from tying the game. Cuzzi didn't let that happen.
Nonetheless, it was a very well-played game from both sides. It was good to see the Dodgers go pitch-for-pitch for nearly the whole game. It was still a loss, but maybe this will jumpstart them to a big weekend.
The Dodgers will send Hiroki Kuroda to the mound today against A.J. Burnett. Kuroda has been awesome lately, giving up only two runs in 19 innings. On the flip side, Burnett is currently in a four-game losing skid, as his June ERA is 10.35.
Tonight's game will be broadcast on FOX as a special primetime game. So, once again, there will be plenty of hype. Now the Dodgers just need to get a win for their home crowd.
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