As the month of May is drawing to a close, the Dodgers finally put together a fantastic performance on both sides of the field against a good team.
The offense pounded out 17 hits and eight runs, and Clayton Kershaw completely baffled the Marlins all day with a complete game, two-hit shutout as the Dodgers got the victory, 8-0. With the win, the Dodgers won a series for the first time since taking two of three from the Pirates on May 9-11.
The Dodgers did all of their scoring in two innings. It started in the third when Kershaw singled leading off. Rafael Furcal had been in a huge slump since coming back from injury, but he got into one for his first homer of the season to go up 2-0. On the day, Raffy went 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs. It's not a surprise that on a day where he hit well, the Dodgers easily won.
With one down now, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp both singled before Jerry Sands popped up. No matter, as both Jay Gibbons and Dioner Navarro hit RBI singles for the 4-0 advantage.
The fourth inning didn't bring any runs, but a whole lot of action. Kershaw again singled leading off, and Raffy did the same. Casey Blake stuck out, and after Ethier was given the intentional pass, Kemp grounded into a double play. Kemp, however, was furious about a called strike during the at-bat, and got tossed for arguing. Ditto for Don Mattingly, as he stuck up for his boy.
The offense put the game away for good in the fifth. The bases were loaded with one out on a single by Gibbons, a double by Navarro, and another intentional walk, this time to Jamey Carroll. Kershaw collected an RBI on a groundout. Raffy got another RBI on a single, and Blake hit a two-run single, making it 8-0.
It was all about Kershaw from there, who was just masterful all afternoon long. To go along with his two-hitter, he struck out 10 and only walked one. He retired the Marlins in order in six of the nine innings he pitched. He was just that good.
With his 10-strikeout day, he now has 87 on the season, good for first in the majors (granted he has one more start than guys right on his heels like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and James Shields). Plus, with two hits in this game, he now has a .240 average, which isn't bad at all for a pitcher. Not too shabby of a day, huh?
Most importantly, Kershaw showed his team that he can take the ball every fifth day and carry them on his back. He obviously got great support from the offense in this one, but only one of the eight runs were needed. With June approaching, a few more good starts will most definitely earn him another honor he's been waiting on: an All-Star berth.
After dropping Saturday's game in lowly fashion, I talked about what the offense needed to do to get on track. Everyone knows that Ethier and Kemp need to hit for the Dodgers to win. On Sunday, they combined to go 4-for-6 with a double, two runs, and two walks. Plus one sweet ejection. Ethier got on base all five at-bats.
The other guy I pointed out was Raffy, who was still trying to find his groove. Hopefully Sunday was that day in which he become comfortable at the plate again, as his average shot up from .154 to .193. Hey, you've got to start somewhere. A healthy Raffy leading off = an offense that is actually relevant.
It was encouraging to see the offense hit around a good pitcher in Ricky Nolasco, who entered the game 4-0 with a 3.04 ERA. Well, after getting pounded for eight runs on 15 hits in five innings, it's now at 3.82. Not quite as bad as Jaime Garcia's ERA jump the other night, but still pretty eye opening.
I'm just glad the Dodgers both gave their fans something to cheer about and finally won a series after tying or dropping five straight. It's about time! Do I think the Dodgers are completely turned around after one win? No. But I do think they should use this small momentum to win the upcoming three-game set against a slumping Rockies team. Now is the time to get them.
Monday's Memorial Day start will go to Chad Billingsley, who will go up against Jason Hammel.
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