Clayton Kershaw registered double-digit strikeouts, but was unable to avoid the gopher ball as the Phillies beat the Dodgers, 5-1. The Phillies took two of three in Dodger Stadium, which helps their quest for the Wild Card. The Dodgers, obviously, did nothing to improve their standing.
It didn't take long for the Phillies to strike, as Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a home run. An inning later, Shane Victorino copied that feet with a blast himself, and the Phillies grabbed an early 2-0 lead.
All the Dodgers could muster for much of the game were walks off of Roy Oswalt. That's not bad, but then they couldn't get a hit if their lives depended on it. And it's not like they have any home run threats in the lineup, especially with Manny Ramirez no longer around.
Through four innings, the Dodgers took four walks, but did nothing with them. In the fifth, Jayson Werth dropped a fly ball off the bat of Rod Barajas for a two-base error. It didn't matter, as after Kershaw sacrificed him to third, Scott Podsednik struck out and Ryan Theriot flew out.
Entering the sixth, Oswalt had yet to give up a hit. Boy, wouldn't getting no-hit be the icing on the cake, huh? Thankfully Casey Blake singled into right after James Loney drew a walk. With two outs, Ronnie Belliard (who used to be able to hit, not that you would know that based on this year's lousy performances) popped up.
The Phillies upped their lead in the seventh. Carlos Ruiz and Oswalt both struck out to begin the inning before Kershaw ran into a bit of trouble. Rollins walked and stole second. Chase Utley hit an RBI double for the 3-0 lead.
Theriot walked with one out in the bottom of the seventh to end Oswalt's day. In came J.C. Romero to face the speedy Podsednik. It worked for them, as Podsednik grounded into an easy double play to end the inning.
The Dodgers were still well within striking distance at being down only 3-0 in the eighth. Just in case you had any thoughts that they might be able to have a big inning, Mr. Five Tool Star Matt Kemp made sure those thoughts were flushed down the toilet.
Here's the skinny. Ryan Madson came on to pitch, and Jamey Carroll singled leading off. Ethier flew out, but Kemp got a break by reaching on an error by Rollins. With runners on first and second, Loney lifted a long fly ball that smacked the wall in right to score Carroll.
The ball was smoked, so it was an obvious double. The only problem was that Kemp somehow rounded second without touching it. He then had to go back and touch it, and was forced to stay with the ball back in the infield. Larry Bowa stood in the third base box shaking his head, which may as well have been representing every Dodger fan on Earth.
You should know what happened next: Blake grounded into a double play. It wouldn't have been if Kemp had any clue what it's like to play hard and concentrate. But nope, that's asking too much of the Hollywood star. There's just no way he can be bothered with the fundamentals of baseball.
Rollins and Utley both drove in runs in the ninth off of Hong-Chih Kuo, who entered with Dominik Brown on second and one out. I was surprised to see Kuo out there again considering he should be the closer and the Dodgers were losing. The other option was George Sherrill, and he offers practically nothing. The lack of lefties in the bullpen was fully exposed in this spot.
Brad Lidge struck out a couple in the ninth to end the game.
There's no guarantee at all that anymore runs would have scored had Kemp at least gone to third. But, with runners on second and third, perhaps Blake's grounder scores one, cutting it to 3-2. Even if nobody scored there, at least someone else would have been given the chance to drive in two with a single. We'll never know.
It's a shame to see just how far Kemp has fallen this season. It's not like he's just slumping at the plate and nothing else. The issue with him is that his focus sometimes doesn't enter the ballpark with the rest of his body. He's clearly the best athlete on the team, yet it doesn't matter when he can't even run the bases correctly. It's pretty sad.
Add Kemp's blunder to a season full of horrible baserunning mistakes for the Dodgers. They have got to be the worst in the majors at this. There's just no excuse for constantly screwing up on the bases time and time again. Maybe Kemp's bad vibes have rubbed off.
Thursday will be an off day, but maybe Joe Torre will bring the whole team in to learn how to run the bases. Or maybe just Kemp anyway. Friday starts a three-game set with the Giants as Chad Billingsley takes the mound.
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