Give the Dodgers this - at least they made a game of it.
Down 6-0 going into the ninth, the Dodgers put the tying run on base before Huston Street got Trent Oleltjen swinging to get the win, 6-5. The Rockies have taken the first couple in this four-game set.
Chad Billingsley got the start for the Dodgers, and he was pretty much playing with fire all night. He got through the first fine, then surrendered a leadoff homer to Troy Tulowitzki in the second to go down 1-0.
The fifth is when both Billingsley and the Dodgers' usual stellar defense just fell apart. Carlos Gonzalez singled with one out and went to second on an error by Casey Blake. Chris Nelson also singled and went to second on Oeltjen's error. Sure enough, Todd Helton didn't waste any time in stroking a two-run single, and it was 3-0.
From there, Billingsley gave up four hits and a wild pitch to chase him two outs into the inning. Seth Smith's two-run single made it 5-0. With two outs, Chris Iannetta got in on the fun with an RBI single, sending Bills to the showers with a 6-0 deficit. Ramon Troncoso got the last out to end the inning.
Troncoso stayed on to pitch through the seventh and did a great job in holding a hot offense off the board. It was a bit of a flashback to a great 2009 season in which he had a 2.72 ERA in 82 2/3 innings. Let's hope it's a sign of things to come as well.
The ninth inning was a wild one in which the Dodgers came up just short of a huge comeback. After Ethier struck out to start the inning, Matt Kemp pinch-hit and absolutely unloaded on a bomb to left for the Dodgers' first run. That's his 19th of the season, and also extends is major league-best streak of 269 consecutive games. A sore left hamstring could keep that streak in some jeopardy in the near future.
James Loney would then single before Juan Uribe popped up for two down. The Dodgers refused to leave quietly, as they started a big two-out rally. It was helped, however, on an error by Nelson that allowed Dioner Navarro to reach. Tony Gwynn then doubled to score a run and make it 6-2.
Huston Street came on for the save, and Aaron Miles greeted him with a two-run single on an 0-2 count, and it was 6-4. Rod Barajas pinch-hit and softly placed one into center, and incredibly it was 6-5. Oeltjen had a chance to be a hero, but struck out on a check swing to put this one in the books.
Overall, the Dodgers sent nine hitters to the plate in the ninth and got five runs on five hits. The error may have been the biggest play considering that would have ended the game. Still, it was good to see the bats come alive even for one inning.
At the end of the day, a loss is still a loss, and the Dodgers are once again looking for answers. They didn't find any in Billingsley, who lasted only 4 2/3 innings for 13 hits, six runs, one walk, and three strikeouts. His numbers have shot up to a 4.13 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. Not exactly the numbers you want to see from your #2 guy.
The Dodgers have to hope that their late run will carry over to the weekend, because they can't suffer through the humiliation of getting swept by the division rivals in four straight. They've scored 12 runs in the first two games, but haven't done it on the mound and even in the field as today showed. They have got to find a way to put it all together.
Ted Lilly will be given the ball to try and get that first win. He's had four straight quality starts, so maybe he can be the one who gives his team the best chance to win. We can hope anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment