If the Dodgers' goal this season is to play with a new attitude, then they are off to a good start.
After watching rookie Brandon Belt, uh, belt a three-run homer, the Dodgers got three back in the sixth and held on for the victory, 4-3. It's the second win in as many days over the Giants, and Don Mattingly continues to enjoy this whole managing thing.
Chad Billingsley was charged with trying to follow Clayton Kershaw's brilliant performance from yesterday, and a bunt single by Andres Torres and Freddy Sanchez's hit-by-pitch to start the game immediately put that in doubt. But, a groundout by Aubrey Huff and double play ball from Buster Posey ended that threat.
The third inning is when the scoring started, and it all started when Jonathan Sanchez pulled off the cardinal sin of pitching - walking the opposing pitcher leading off. After Bills reached base, Ivan De Jesus walked an out later for two on. Andre Ethier flied out, moving Bills to third. Matt Kemp smacked an RBI ground rule double for the 1-0 lead.
Everything was going smoothly for Bills until Posey and Pablo Sandoval singled to open the fourth. Belt has plenty of hype surrounding him, and a three-run homer to dead center confirmed all of that. It's no wonder why the Giants are excited about his future.
Down 3-1 against a good pitcher, it was Kemp who ignited the comeback. The Kemp of last year probably would have been asleep at this point, but in this game he started the bottom of the sixth with a single. In a piece of great baserunning, he advanced to third on a groundout by Marcus Thames, catching the Giants by surprise.
James Loney lifted a sac-fly RBI to make it 3-2. Consecutive singles by Rod Barajas and Aaron Miles put two more on, and they both advanced on Sandoval's error at third. Hector Gimenez pinch-hit and dribbled one to Sanchez, who somehow bobbled it for an error, allowing the tying run to score. A sharp RBI single by Rafael Furcal put the Dodgers ahead for good, 4-3.
A couple of offseason signings in the bullpen worked the seventh and eighth, starting with Blake Hawksworth. He ran into trouble by loading the bases on singles by Miguel Tejada (on a great bunt) and Freddy Sanchez, and a walk to Aubrey Huff. On a 3-2 count with two outs, Posey struck out swinging, sending his bat flying into the stands.
Matt Guerrier then stepped in and got through the next inning, only surrendering a single to Sandoval. Jonathan Broxton got the save with a perfect ninth, something he really needed. Say what you want about him (and I certainly do), but he's 2-for-2 thus far, so we'll all take it.
This is a game the Dodgers could have easily rolled over on, so I give them all credit for fighting back. A lot of that credit goes to Kemp, who is using his speed and defense to make a difference already. In two games he's 3-for-5 with three runs, an RBI, a stolen base, and three walks. The key now is to make sure he keeps up the effort. It doesn't matter if it's game #2 or #122, this is the kind of effort that makes him better than so many others.
Billingsley would like his one pitch back to Belt, but other than that, he threw well. He finished at six innings, five hits, three runs, one walk, and four strikeouts. The bullpen of Hawksworth, Guerrier, and Broxton went three scoreless.
So far, so good for the Dodgers, who will be back at it on Saturday afternoon with the Giants. Ted Lilly goes against Matt Cain, who quietly is one of the best pitchers in the league. Lilly had a great half-season in blue last year, so it's another quality pitching matchup. It'll be a FOX game, so this guy is stuck listening to his XM radio while the Yankees-Tigers are on. Enjoy for those of you who can see it.
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