The Dodgers entered Sunday afternoon's game against the Rockies with a couple things in mind: even up their tough road trip at 5-5 and get some revenge on Ubaldo Jimenez.
Mission accomplished.
Despite the bullpen's best efforts to once again spoil a big lead, the Dodgers held off a late Rockies' charge to take the game, 10-8. With the win, the Dodgers took two of three in Colorado to end the road trip.
On paper, the pitching matchup looked like a clear advantage for the Rockies, especially considering that Jimenez shut down the Dodgers last week to earn his first win. Rubby De La Rosa is the pitcher of the future, but he also was recently in Double-A.
But that's why they play the game, and De La Rosa was great. He lasted five innings for three hits, three runs, three walks, and six strikeouts. He got the win to put his record at 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA. Good for him.
The first inning didn't start off so hot, though. Carlos Gonzalez had a big day, and it started off with a double leading off. Two outs later, Troy Tulowitzki walked to set things up for Seth Smith, who unloaded on a three-run blast for the 3-0 lead.
De La Rosa settled down from there, and the offense got to work in the second. He singled leading off, something Dodger pitchers have had good success with lately. Jamey Carroll reached on an error by Ty Wiggington, and a couple outs later, Matt Kemp walked to load the bases. James Loney has certainly never been confused with a power hitter, but he uncorked a grand slam to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. A single and stolen base by Juan Uribe led to Rod Barajas's RBI single to go up 5-3.
The Dodgers added a couple more in the fifth via the longball. For the first time in Jimenez's career, he gave up three homers in one start thanks to two solo bombs by Kemp and Barajas to make it 7-3. Kemp is now up to 20 homers, good for first in the National League.
In the seventh, the Dodgers broke it open even more. With Barajas and Trent Oeltjen on, Tony Gwynn laid down a perfect bunt that led to Barajas scoring on an error by Rex Brothers. With Matt Belisle now in, Carroll greeted him with an RBI single, making it 9-3.
Now if you thought that a six-run lead in the late innings was sufficient enough, then you obviously haven't been paying attention to Dodger baseball this season. Ramon Troncoso relieved De La Rosa in the sixth, who had to leave with a forearm cramp, and held the Rockies down.
Then the bottom of the seventh hit, and it was all downhill. Jose Morales doubled leading off, which led to a two-run homer by Gonzalez to make it 9-5. Troncoso continued to show his worth by then allowing another two-run shot, this time to Tulowitzki, and it was 9-7. Troncoso now has a 6.75 ERA and 2.02 WHIP after getting shelled today. Can you say "minors?"
The offense put another run on the board in the eighth. Loney continued his big game with a one-out double. Uribe then hit an RBI single to center, and it was 10-7.
Mike MacDougal got the last out of the seventh, and he gave up only a single to Morales in the eighth. The Dodgers put a couple of runners on in the ninth, but couldn't score.
Now it was closing time, and today's contestant was Blake Hawksworth. He got the first two outs to show a glimmer of hope for his first career save... right up until Todd Helton belted a solo homer and Tulo singled to chase him. Scott Elbert, who was awful the night before, got Smith grounding out to first on a nice play by Loney to end the game.
We all know how horrendous the bullpen is, so I won't rehash it right now. I know they have plenty of injuries, but the guys who are in their spots aren't exactly making their best cases to stay in the bigs when they're back. Time is running out for them.
Let's instead focus on the offense, which obviously fell in love with Coors Field. Over these last four games, they put up 33 runs, good for 8.3 runs a game. Needless to say, that's a hell of a lot better than what they had been doing most of the season. I know numbers get slightly skewed there, but it's not nearly the launching pad it used to be. Bottom line - give the bats credit for scoring lots of runs to grab a couple games.
We all know how great Kemp has been, and how Loney, Barajas, and Uribe each had three hits. But how about Mr. Carroll? He went 15-for-30 on the 10-game trip, and is now among the NL's leaders with a .320 batting average. He's been an unsung hero all season long, and even into last year. He quietly works his butt off, and he should be recognized for showing how it's done.
The Dodgers are still five games under .500 at 31-36. But, they should feel good about this trip. Now they're at home sweet home for the next 12 games. They start off with the Reds on Monday, then host the Astros, Tigers, and Angels. The Reds and Tigers are pretty good, but the Astros and Angels should be winnable games. Let's see how the offense does away from Coors. Hopefully there's a carryover effect.
Hiroki Kuroda was once 5-3... now he's 5-7 after dropping four straight starts. But, he's only given up three runs in his last two starts, so he's been pitching well. He'll go up against Bronson Arroyo.
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