April 19, 2011 is not a date that young Kenley Jansen would like to remember.
Entering a 2-1 ballgame in the top of the ninth, Jansen would only get one out before surrendering five runs, and Ramon Troncoso gave up three more as the Braves ended up creaming the Dodgers, 10-1. Both teams have split the first couple of games.
If you just looked at the final score and nothing else, you wouldn't know that this game was once a pitchers duel. Hiroki Kuroda and Brandon Beachy were able to toss blanks through the opening five frames.
The Braves struck first in the sixth. Martin Prado hit leadoff and slugged a solo homer, his second of the season. Freddy Freeman followed that up with a leadoff homer of his own, and it was 2-0. Blake Hawksworth did a great job of stranding the bases loaded with one out to keep the Dodgers in the game.
Scott Linebrink came on for Beachy in the seventh, and the Dodgers finally got on the board. Juan Uribe absolutely unloaded on... and infield single leading off. Hey, I'll take it. James Loney's single put runners on the corners. Jerry Sands grounded out to third, but Uribe scampered home to cut the score to 2-1.
The Dodgers' inability to drive in runners reared its ugly head once again during this inning. A.J. Ellis singled to again put runners on the corners. Marcus Thames pinch-hit, and in came Johnny Venters, who got the strikeout. Jamey Carroll walked to load the bases with two down. Casey Blake couldn't be the hero as he grounded out to end the inning.
Jansen was given the ball to start the ninth and at least give the Dodgers a fighter's chance to win. Wow did that not work. I'd love to recap how all of the runs scored, but I'd be here all damn night. Let's just say that the damage all started with a walk to Nate McClouth, and Erik Hinske's pinch-hit, two-run shot. From there the Braves just went off.
In all, Jansen faced six hitters and retired only one of them. Troncoso wasn't any better, as he faced seven hitters in all, and didn't get an out until a double play from Prado to end the inning. These two combined to allow eight runs on eight hits, two walks, and one wild pitch. Ouch.
What should be a strength for the Dodgers is quickly turning into their biggest weakness in the bullpen, and that's a big problem. Of the eight relievers used thus far, two have been great (Matt Guerrier and Mike MacDougal), two have been average (Hong-Chih Kuo and Blake Hawksworth), and the other four have been horrible (Jonathan Broxton, Kenley Jansen, Ramon Troncoso, and Lance Cormier). They've been very much responsible for the team's 4.87 ERA, 25th in the majors.
Obviously, that needs to change. There's just no way a team that doesn't put up a lot of runs like the Dodgers can even think about contending if they have so many holes in the 'pen. Jansen is definitely going through a sophomore slump. Troncoso has only appeared in two games, but has gotten rocked in both of them. Broxton looks like anything but a good closer. Cormier looks lost. It's not pretty no matter how you slice it.
With Kuo's injury, it looks like Guerrier is about the only sure thing to give the ball to late in the game. And he was signed mostly to pitch in the seventh or eighth innings. Well, his role has suddenly become much more important almost by default. We can only hope he doesn't start to get hit around as well.
The Dodgers will try to pick themselves us, dust themselves off, and get back into action on Wednesday against the Braves. Jon Garland will make the start against old friend Derek Lowe. Garland was awful in his first start against the Cardinals. It may take a little while to get him going, so tonight should be interesting.
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