Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Three straight blowout victories

As little as a week ago, I don't think even the most opportunistic of Dodger fans would think they would cruise to a three-game winning streak. Thanks to an offense that is finally pulling their own weight, business is starting to pick up.

An early homer by Matt Kemp and impressive pitching from Ted Lilly was more than enough for the Dodgers to defeat the Rockies, 8-2. The win makes three in a row, and four of the last five. The last three game winning streak they had was earlier in May when they beat the Pirates for two and then the Diamondbacks for one.

The scoring started right away for the Dodgers. Casey Blake, hitting in the #2 hole, walked with one down. After Andre Ethier forced him at second with a groundout, Kemp stepped up and delivered his 13th home run of the season for the 2-0 lead. Kemp only hit .253 in May, but he has shown signs of breaking out again lately.

The Rockies got one back in the third. Chris Nelson doubled leading off, and stole third on Chris Iannetta's strikeout. Clayton Mortensen, the starting pitcher, then lifted a sac-fly RBI to make it 2-1.

Blake and Kemp again teamed up to increase the lead in the bottom of the frame. Jamey Carroll took a walk with one out, and Blake turned a pop up into a ground rule double in left. Ethier was given an intentional walk to load the bases, in which Kemp made them pay with a two-single and 4-1 lead.

The Dodgers took off from there, as they tacked on a few more runs. In the fourth, Jerry Sands singled leading off. Aaron Miles then hit an RBI double to right, and it was now 5-1.

Ty Wiggington did his best to get the Rockies back in the game in the seventh with a solo home run. The Dodgers quickly responded with a longball of their own. Jay Gibbons pinch-hit for Lilly and singled, followed by another one from Carroll. Blake then cranked a three-run homer, his third of the year and first since April 23.

Rubby De La Rosa came on in the eighth and was fantastic. He got through that inning in order, then stayed on and finished the ninth with only one hit surrendered. In five innings thus far in his brief career, he's only given up one run with five strikeouts, good for a 1.80 ERA. Who knows how good he'll end up being when it's all said and done, but he's off to a great start at least.

As for Lilly, he's turned in three great starts in a row after starting the year pretty shaky. After losing to the DBacks on May 15 (four runs in six innings), he has since lowered his ERA from 4.83 to 4.22. He's now showing why he's a great option in the middle of the rotation.

With Blake in the lineup in the #2 hole, the Dodgers now have three plus-.300 hitters right in a row with Ethier and Kemp following. Blake looked pretty much washed up after last season, and still has battled injuries this year. When he has played, he's been great with a .319 average in 18 games. It was as little as two years ago when he hit .280 with 18 homers and 79 RBIs, so maybe he has more left in the tank than people (myself included) have given him credit for. Good for him.

There's no surprise that the recent resurgence at the plate has coincided with Ethier and Kemp's great play. In this one, they combined for 2-for-6 with a homer, four RBIs, two runs, and two walks. Guys like Blake, Carroll, and Miles also played well, but it's pretty simple to see that the Dodgers will only go so far as the big two can take them.

In looking ahead at the Dodgers' schedule, they will close their homestand on Wednesday night before hitting the road. They first go to Cincinnati, then to Philadelphia, then finally to Colorado. Needless to say, it's a tough stretch. That's two playoff teams from last year and a dangerous offensive team in the Rockies. So, as well as the Dodgers have played in the last few games, they'll need to play even better if they want to make it a successful trip.

Tonight's pitching matchup will be an interesting one. Jon Garland hasn't picked up a win since his second start on April 20, not that he hasn't deserved a couple more along the way. He's up against Ubaldo Jimenez, last year's Cy Young Award winner. But, he's struggled this year with an 0-5 record an 5.86 ERA.

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