Broxton bumbles one away

Today was the latest example of why Jonathan Broxton is not a big-game closer.

The Dodgers had seemingly everything going for them, only to blow a 4-0 lead in the final two innings to lose to the Cardinals, 5-4. The Cards earned the sweep, and the Dodgers are slowly free-falling down the standings in the NL West.

Vicente Padilla opened up the game facing a Cardinals' lineup without All-Stars Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. The Dodgers are still without Manny Ramirez and Russell Martin, Casey Blake got a day off, and James Loney sat out after leaving Saturday's game with bad leg cramps.

Through four innings, both Padilla and the great Jeff Suppan (yes, sarcasm) kept it scoreless. Neither team put more than one man on at a time.

The fifth is when the Dodgers took the lead. It was Padilla "helping himself out" (one of the oldest baseball cliches I know). Ronnie Belliard singled to lead off the inning and was forced at second by Xavier Paul. A.J. Ellis singled for two on. Padilla then hit an RBI double to score Paul and send Ellis to third. Rafael Furcal and Jamey Carroll could not score him, though.

Maybe Padilla was tired from running, because he walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth. With Matt Holliday up, it was a big situation. Unlike another L.A. pitcher (you know who), Padilla got him flying out to end the inning.

In the seventh, Mitchell Boggs relieved Suppan, and the Dodgers pounced on him. Belliard started it again with a single. An error by Felipe Lopez allowed Ellis to reach with one out. Up stepped Garret Anderson, who's done his fair share of... well, nothing this year. Temporarily, that changed, as he stroked an RBI double for a 2-0 lead.

Raffy was given an intentional pass, and Ellis then scored on a wild pitch to Carroll. Carroll struck out, and this time Ethier was intentionally walked to load the bases. Matt Kemp got an RBI on a walk for the 4-0 lead. Blake DeWitt grounded into a fielder's choice for the last out.

Padilla exited after only 80 pitches, though it probably seemed like more because of the heat. In came Travis Schlichting, who quickly gave up a double to Randy Winn, but got the next three in order.

Schlichting was given another chance in the eighth, and it didn't work out. He faced three batters and walked two of them. Who would Joe Torre turn to? Hong-Chih Kuo pitched yesterday, so he wasn't available. Ronald Belisario is on the restricted list. George Sherrill... sucks.

That meant only one man would get the ball: Broxton. He was asked to get five outs while protecting a four-run lead with two men on. Keep in mind, he was playing a really good team in the Cards. Could he do it?

Of course not! Because the bigger the situation, the bigger the chance is that he blows it. And please, don't even bring up the All-Star Game. He was helped out by a great throw from Marlon Byrd on the slowest person in the ballpark, David Ortiz.

Anyway, here's how it went down in the eighth. Allen Craig hit a two-run double to cut the lead in half to 4-2. Holliday flew out, but Winn connected on an RBI single, and it was 4-3. Skip Schumaker then walked, and Pujols came in to pinch-hit. He grounded out to short, though.

With the Dodgers stranding two in the top of the ninth, it was up to Broxton get the save. Molina singled in his only at-bat to start it. Brendan Ryan sacrificed him over to second. Lopez the flew out for two down.

Jon Jay had a 1-2 count, but worked a walk. Craig also had a 1-2 count, but still tied the game with a single. Holliday's RBI single then won the game. What was the count on him? You guessed it, 1-2.

Not only does the loss sting, but Padilla was flat-out robbed of a win. He went six innings for one hit, no runs, five walks, and one strikeout. His ERA has gone down by three runs since coming back from injury.

The offense did a decent job, but failed to hit around a guy in Suppan who's been awful this year. Still, they woke up later and had some good at-bats in the seventh for the four-run cushion.

But who am I kidding? The reason the Dodgers lost is because of Jonathan Broxton. It wasn't ALL his fault, but 99% of it is. Big-time closers finish this game out. But once again, he just can't rise to occasion when facing a playoff-caliber team.

The Dodgers will have to lick their wounds, go back home, and start a three-game set with the Giants on Monday. Maybe that's a good thing, because the last time the Dodgers suffered a bad, late-inning loss was the Yankees on June 27, and they turned right around and swept the Giants. James McDonald will make his first start of the year.