Despite some signs of life in the ninth inning, the Giants were able to survive some tense moments and hold on for the victory, 6-5. The Padres also lost, so the Dodgers remain seven games back in the NL West.
The Dodgers came into this game losers of two straight, and have struggled mightily at the plate for quite some time. Throw in the great Tim Lincecum on the mound for the Giants, and it sure looked like an uphill battle.
Both teams traded runs in the first. With one out, Casey Blake was beaned, the first of two for him on the night. Blake DeWitt drew a walk, and Russell Martin hit an RBI single for the brief lead. A solo shot by Juan Uribe to left tied the game right back up in the bottom of the frame.
The third inning was a mixture of a good start and a typical end. Rafael Furcal led off with a home run to dead center to make it 2-1. That was the good. Andre Ethier followed with a single, and James Loney doubled for two in scoring position. Matt Kemp then grounded one to short, and Ethier was easy gunned at the plate. That was the first half of the bad.
After Blake was corked again, the bases were loaded with one down. How would the Dodgers respond with this golden opportunity? DeWitt struck out and Martin grounded out. And that would be the other half of the bad.
Aubrey Huff had a big night, and it started in the third. With two outs and two on, Huff doubled to deep right over the head of Ethier, easily scoring two. Ethier may have had a chance on it, but it was hit a long way, so it's hard to fault him for not coming up with it.
Up 3-2, the Giants appeared to put the game away in the sixth. Carlos Monasterios was still in the game, but he was chased after giving up a two straight singles to Huff and Buster Posey. In came Jeff Weaver, who got Uribe to ground into a double play. With two outs, both Pat Burrell and Pablo Sandoval hit RBI doubles, upping the lead to 5-2.
The Dodgers again had a chance to score in the seventh, and again couldn't do it. Scott Podsednik and Raffy hit singles with one out. Right on cue, Ethier struck out and Loney grounded out. Another opportunity there, and another opportunity wasted.
Huff's solo shot to right made it 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh. It's pretty funny (or sad) to see the Dodgers have to do so much to try to get just one run and not do so, then Huff gets it done in one swing.
The ninth inning was quite long and interesting, but like the title says, it was just too little, too late. Sergio Romo began the inning after retiring the side in the eighth. Martin singled and was forced at second on Jamey Carroll's grounder. Podsednik hit a long fly ball to center that bounced off the glove of Andres Torres for an RBI triple and a 6-3 deficit.
Danny Bautista came in and walked Raffy. Out he went, and in came Jonathan Sanchez for the lefty-on-lefty matchup with Ethier. Sanchez threw a wild pitch that allowed Podsednik to score, and it was 6-4. Ethier struck out, but Loney was beaned in the hand.
So that meant Sanchez was now out, and Chris Ray was now in. In case you're wondering, Brian Wilson wasn't available because of rest. Anyway, Kemp hit an RBI single to keep hope alive at 6-5.
Here the Dodgers were in a big spot, with runners on the corners and two outs. When things are doing well, the game gets at least tied. When they're not, it doesn't. You can probably guess how this ended up. Blake grounded into a fielder's choice at short, and that was it.
The game wasn't a total waste because of the three runs in the last inning. But it's not hard to figure out why the Giants won. They were 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and the Dodgers were 2-for-13. The Giants got five of their six runs with two outs. The Dodgers left 10 men on base.
With practically no talk of acquiring a bat, the Dodgers are stuck with what they have. About the only thing they can hope for is a healthy Manny Ramirez, but I'm not sure there is such a thing as that anymore. He might be back in August, but it's hard to say he can be totally relied upon.
I look at two guys that need to start producing if this thing is to get turned around: Ethier and Kemp. They both look like they have no idea what they want to do at the plate anymore, especially Ethier. It's kind of sad to watch.
Of course, it helps if others step up as well, but without those two driving in runs in the middle of the order, the Dodgers will find themselves in back of the NL West by double digits in no time.
Chad Billingsley has volunteered to go on short rest, so he'll be on the hill on Saturday. He'll go against Barry Zito, who's having a pretty solid year.
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