The Dodgers started their 12-game homestand looking dead in the water. Five straight losses bumped them to nine games in back of the NL West lead.
Three wins later, the Dodgers have at least a glimmer of hope of better days to come.
Chad Billingsley pitched into the sixth, the bullpen was flawless, and Andre Ethier's two-run homer all helped propel the Dodgers to another win over the Tigers, 6-1. The Dodgers have won the last two games a combined 10-1.
It's hard to imagine that this is the same team that got swept by the Reds and were on the verge of getting the same treatment against the lowly Astros. But, to their credit, the Dodgers have really put it together against a solid Tigers team. I'm not sure many of us saw this coming.
James Loney took a walk with one out in the second to start the first rally. Aaron Miles started at second, and he singled for two on. A.J. Ellis, who's made a small career out of being recalled and demoted, came through with an RBI single for the 1-0 lead.
The Tigers tied it up in the fourth. Don Kelly led off and drew a walk, and soon went to second on Brendon Boesch's single. Victor Martinez knotted the game with an RBI single. Still with nobody out, Billingsley struck out the next two and induced a groundout to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Dodgers took the lead for good. Loney again got things going with a leadoff double, his ninth of the season. But, he was soon erased at third trying to advance on a grounder by Miles. Ellis grounded out for two down. Tony Gwynn legged out an infield single to score Miles and take a 2-1 lead.
Ethier got into one in the fifth to give the Dodgers and Billingsley some cushion. Juan Uribe singled with one down in another start in the #2 hole. Ethier lifted his seventh homer of the season to right for the 4-1 lead. It was his only hit of the night, but was much better than watching him spray dinky little singles. The Dodgers need him to be that power bat in the #3 spot.
The Tigers made things interesting in the sixth, but ultimately came up empty. Boesch and Martinez singled to start the inning and immediately put Billingsley in some hot water. Andy Dirks struck out, but Alex Avila walked to load the bases.
Out went Billingsley, in came Mike MacDougal, and Jim Leyland countered by sending the mighty Miguel Cabrera to the plate. The game was pretty much on the line right here, and MacDougal won the battle with a 6-4-3 double play to escape the jam.
The game was put away for good in the bottom of the sixth, as the Dodgers added two more. Miles singled leading off. Two outs later, Trent Oeltjen pinch-hit and doubled home Miles for the 5-1 lead. Dee Gordon's RBI single made it 6-1.
The story then turned to the bullpen and the great job they did. Matt Guerrier pitched the seventh and got a double play from Kelly to end the inning. Hong-Chih Kuo made his return from hiatus and threw a perfect eighth. Blake Hawksworth struck out the side, ala Clayton Kershaw the night before, to emphatically end the ballgame.
There were a couple of tense moments in this one to test the Dodgers, but they passed with flying colors. They induced two inning-ending double play balls, which went a long way in keeping the Tigers' offense in check. The pitching held their offense without an extra-base hit.
Billingsley bounced back from some horrific outings lately to last 5 1/3 innings for six hits, one run, two walks, and six strikeouts. His WHIP for the season is still very high at 1.52, but tonight he stranded those runners, with a little help from MacDougal in the sixth. He evened his record at 6-6.
The bullpen was great. MacDougal, Guerrier, Kuo, and Hawksworth combined to throw the final 3 2/3 innings for one hit, no runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. You really can't get a whole lot better than that. A healthy Kuo makes a huge difference, as he's the best lefty reliever in baseball when he's right. One strong outing doesn't make him magically cured, but it's as good a start as he could've asked for.
Worth noting is that Matt Kemp stole two bases, both in the seventh, to get up to 20 on the season. To put in perspective just how impressive that is, he stole 19 all of last season. He's now at the 20-20 mark, and 30-30 is on the horizon. That's practically a rarity these days.
The Dodgers will now look for the sweep, which seemed improbable a few days ago. Ted Lilly will get the ball looking to earn his sixth win.
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