The Dodgers have most certainly not had a first half to remember in the 2011 season. From off-field distractions (that whole bankruptcy thing) to injuries and ineffectiveness on the field, it's not a surprise that they're 41-51 heading into the All-Star break.
For all of these reasons alone, it's refreshing to finally write something positive right now. Led by Andre Ethier's two solo blasts, the Dodgers finished off a three-game sweep of the Padres with a Sunday afternoon win, 4-1. That makes four straight and a 4-3 homestand.
Both teams got on the board in the third. Catcher Rob Johnson led off the inning with a solo home run to left off of Ted Lilly for the game's first run. Chris Denorfia singled and Chase Headley walked, but Lilly got Ryan Ludwick to ground into a fielder's choice to end it.
The Dodgers fought right back. Not that they needed to do much fighting, because Tim Stauffer walked the bases loaded without an out. With Tony Gwynn on third, Rafael Furcal on second, and Ethier on first, Matt Kemp hit a hard grounder that Headley made a diving stop on. Without a play near him, he inexplicably fired wide of home. Gwynn would have scored anyway, and Raffy sped home also to make it 2-1.
Still with nobody out, James Loney grounded one to first that Anthony Rizzo fired to home to nail Ethier. Juan Uribe's double play ball kept it only a one-run game.
From this point on, it was all about Ethier. He was recently named an All-Star replacement for the injured Shane Victorino, and it was well-deserved with a .308 average coming into this one. But, he only had seven homers, and his lack of longballs has been a bit of a concern. Games like today remind people just how good he can be.
His first home run came with two outs in the fifth, a shot to center to make it 3-1. His next at-bat came in the eighth, and he launched another one off of lefty Josh Spence to close the scoring at 4-1. It was his first multi-homer game since May 2, 2010 against the Pirates. His first homer was also the first one the Dodgers have had in 10 games! Geez!
Up by three in the ninth, Don Mattingly again turned to Javy Guerra for the save opportunity. Much like Friday night, Guerra struggled at first. He gave up consecutive singles to Orlando Hudson and Rizzo leading off. He settled down from there, getting Johnson flying out, Will Venable striking out, and Denorfia popping up to end the game. It's his fourth save in as many chances.
Not to be lost in the shuffle was the effort by Lilly, who has certainly had his own struggles in the first half. He lasted five innings for four hits, one run, two walks, and seven strikeouts. The win gets his record up to 6-9 with a 4.79 ERA. Not pretty numbers by any means, but a positive step today.
The bullpen also had a good day, as four relievers collected holds before Guerra's save: Kenley Jansen, Hong-Chih Kuo, Matt Guerrier, and Mike MacDougal. Combined with Guerra, all five pitched the last four innings without allowing a run on only two hits. You could tell that Mattingly wasn't holding anyone back with the upcoming four days off.
While the four-game winning streak is sweet, I can't help but note that playing the Padres and their pitiful offense absolutely helped. As two straight 1-0 games and today's score shows, they're just struggling mightily to get anything going. The Dodgers should be thrilled with their pitching, but it's not realistic to think it'll be this easy against better teams. They know that.
All of that aside, today's win at least gives the Dodgers a little something positive to talk about as we now watch the All-Stars in action on Tuesday. They're now in fourth in the NL West, 11 games in back of the Giants. I still don't see them coming anywhere close to the playoffs, but of course I hope I'm wrong. Just playing better baseball should be a more realistic goal, no matter where they end up in the standings.
The Dodgers catch a bit of a break by getting an extra day off after the mandatory three for the All-Star Game. They will then be in Arizona for three games starting Friday. Clayton Kershaw will pitch the first game, followed in the rotation by Hiroki Kuroda, Lilly, Chad Billingsley, and Rubby De La Rosa.
Good luck to Kemp, Kershaw, and Ethier in the All-Star Game! Should be fun to watch!
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