Chad Billingsley got the win on Sunday, despite not having the greatest of pitching performances. What made the difference was his damage done with the bat.
Billingsley hit a a solo homer, took a bases loaded walk, and stroked an RBI double as part of his 2-for-2, 3 RBI day as he led the Dodgers past the Reds, 9-6. The win was a big one for the Dodgers, as they took two of three on the road against a reigning playoff team. Not too shabby.
The Dodgers pushed 11 runs across the board on Saturday, and fought back from a 7-3, eighth inning deficit to stun the Reds. They picked up right where they left off in the first, as Jamey Carroll walked and Aaron Miles doubled. Andre Ethier scored one with a sac-fly RBI, and it was 1-0. Matt Kemp was a monster yesterday with two homers, and he picked up another one with a three-run shot for the early 4-0 lead.
With the big cushion already, Billingsley gave up a solo home run to Daniel Stubbs, the Reds' leadoff hitter. He did wiggle out of trouble later in the inning after getting Miguel Cairo grounding out with two on.
The top of the second saw Billingsley uncork his second career longball, and first since 2009. In his last two games, he's gone 3-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs, two runs, and a walk. Maybe he should hit in the #5 hole behind Ethier and Kemp!
The Reds would fight back to draw within one in the bottom of the frame. Paul Janish and starting pitcher Travis Wood singled with one out. Stubbs then walked to load the bases. Brandon Phillips has turned himself into one of the best hitting second basemen in baseball, and he continued to show why with a two-run single, making it 4-3.
Not wasting any time, the Dodgers got more runs in the third. With one out, Ethier doubled. The Reds had already seen enough of Kemp, so he was given the intentional pass to pitch to Casey Blake. Blake responded with a single to load the bases. Jerry Sands struck out, but big Rod Barajas smacked a two-run double, and it was 6-3. Following an intentional walk to James Loney, Billingsley collected his second RBI by taking a walk to make it 7-3.
Both teams would trade single runs soon thereafter. In the fourth, Joey Votto's RBI groundout cut the lead to 7-4. Who would respond for the Dodgers? Why it was Billingsley, of course! Loney took a two-out walk, and came around to score on Billingsley's RBI double, pushing the lead back up to 8-4.
The sixth inning saw both teams trade runs again. Sands got an RBI on a single to score Ethier. Votto again gathered an RBI with a single off of new pitcher John Ely.
Ely would stay on to pitch the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. He started the ninth to go for the unusual save, but was lifted one batter in with a walk to Ryan Hanigan. In came young Josh Lindblom, who made his first big league appearance a few days before. It didn't start off so well, as he walked Cairo and plunked Ramon Hernandez to load the bases.
Following a visit to the mound by pitching coach Rick Honeycut, Lindblom relaxed, as he got Janish to pop up, Chris Heisey to fly out to right (scoring a run), and Stubbs swinging to end the game. It was a big moment for him, as he really had to man up with the Reds building some momentum.
20 runs in the last two games is especially impressive considering they scored only one on Friday. It seems as if the Dodgers either hit the crap out of the ball or don't show up. Once again, it was the big two of Ethier and Kemp leading the way. They combined to go 4-for-7 with a homer, a double, four runs, three RBIs, and four walks. Also impressive was that they did not strike out. Ethier has the slight edge in average with a .325 compared to Kemp's .323. I'll take them both.
Carroll had another good day leading off, reaching base three times. Miles reached twice, and Barajas made his one hit count with the two-run double. Overall, the Dodgers had 13 hits and took 10 walks. That's some great stuff.
It's good to be able to say that Billingsley has two straight wins without having his best stuff. In this one he went five innings for eight hits, four runs, three walks, and three strikeouts. Ely was making his first appearance since April 10 (his only appearance of the season thus far), and he really did a nice job in giving the Dodgers some good innings out of the 'pen. Lindblom bent, but he did not break to finish out the non-save situation.
The Dodgers should feel very happy about the way they showed plenty of grit in taking both weekend games. The Reds' pitching really isn't that great, but the Dodgers still went to work and pounded the ball. 20 runs on 28 hits in two games is awesome no matter whom it's against.
The scary part is that the Dodgers now have to go into Philadelphia and take on baseball's best starting rotation. The good news is that they avoid Roy Halladay. The bad news is that they instead get Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels, three #1's on any team but their own. If the Dodgers get one win, they should probably take it and feel good. Two wins is like a bonus. That's how good those guys are.
Someone has to try and take down the great Lee, and it will be Ted Lilly, who's given up only six runs in his last three starts, covering 20 innings. The three-game set begins on Monday before scooting off to Colorado for four.
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