Even when the Dodgers are up 8-1 with three outs to go, it's not a sure thing.
Hong-Chih Kuo and Mike MacDougal combined to nearly blow a seven-run lead with some atrocious pitching in the ninth. Good for them that with the bases loaded and up by three, Javy Guerra cleaned up the mess with ease as the Dodgers beat the Rockies, 8-5. Somehow, the Dodgers have actually won seven of their last eight at home.
Take away the horrific final inning, and the Dodgers put it all together for the opening eight. The offense collected 12 hits, including four for extra-bases, and Rubby De La Rosa continued to strut his stuff. It's not too often that the Dodgers put both sides of the field together like this.
The Rockies were the ones who scored first. In the second, Chris Iannetta and pitcher Juan Nicasio singled for a two-out rally. Dexter Fowler hit an RBI single through the hole into right to make it 1-0.
From there, it was all about LA (at least until the ninth). The big bats came out in the third. With one down, Rafael Furcal doubled. Aaron Miles, the ex-Rockie, followed that up with an RBI double to tie the game at 1. Andre Ethier nailed the first pitch he saw for a long two-run homer into right, and the Dodgers were up 3-1.
Fast forward to the sixth, and the Dodgers extended the lead. Ethier started it all with a walk leading off. Matt Kemp struck out, but Juan Rivera picked him up with an RBI double into left, and it was 4-1. Rivera tagged to third on James Loney's deep flyout, and scored on Dioner Navarro's RBI infield single, putting the score at 5-1.
Matt Guerrier struck out the side in the seventh, and the Dodgers left the bases loaded when Rivera flied out. Kenley Jansen continued his impressive run with a perfect eighth, striking out two.
The eighth is when the Dodgers put the game away for good, or so they thought at the time. In the long run, it turned out to be a good thing that they tacked on three more runs. It started when Navarro took a walk with one out. The bases then became loaded on singles by Tony Gwynn and Jamey Carroll.
The next three hitters plated runs. Raffy forced Carroll at second on a grounder, but Navarro scored to go up 6-1. Miles and Ethier each stroked RBI singles to go up 8-1. Kemp walked to load the bases for pinch-hitter Trent Oeltjen, who struck out to go to the ninth.
I can understand Don Mattingly's thinking that he wanted to give Kuo some work and hopefully get a good appearance in. With a huge lead, it was a good chance to let him figure things out. But after this appearance, I have to wonder just how patient the Dodgers can be with him. It was that bad.
Kuo faced four batters and had a line that looked like this: two walks, a single, a wild pitch, two runners advancing on fielder's indifference, and a groundout. Obviously, the most frustrating thing was the walks, as that's the last thing you want to see happen with such a big lead. After walking Iannetta with only one out, that was it for him.
In came MacDougal, who's actually had a good season. You wouldn't know it last night, as his old wild self made an appearance. Right away he walked Ryan Spilborghs to load the bases. Fowler hit an RBI single to make it 8-3. He did make Jason Giambi hit a grounder to second, but Carroll booted it, even as Giambi pulled up lame with a bad hammy. A walk to Todd Helton forced in another run, making it 8-5.
Mattingly had no choice but to call on Guerra, who was now making his third straight appearance. He only needed four pitches, as Troy Tulowitzki popped up and Seth Smith grounded out to mercifully put an end to this one. It was Guerra's eighth save in as many opportunities.
It's a shame that Kuo and MacDougal's ineffectiveness overshadowed what was a great game by De La Rosa. First, the bad. Kuo and MacDougal combined to go only 1/3 an inning for two hits, three runs, four walks, no strikeouts, and one wild pitch. Wow, that's horrible!
The good was De La Rosa. He threw another great game with six innings, three hits, one run, four walks, and five strikeouts. The best part was that he broke his four-game losing streak and is now 4-4. Six starts ago he was pounded by the Angels to put his ERA at 5.26. Five great starts later, it's now at 3.49. Good for him.
Another guy who is picking up steam is Furcal. In his case, it couldn't have come at a better time with the trade deadline looming. And for that matter, it's great for the Dodgers as well. If he can stay on the field, I would think there are plenty of teams that could use his bat and speed at short. The Dodgers would be crazy not to move him and get something in return. I like the guy, but it's time to get Dee Gordon back up and focus on next year.
The Dodgers will look to not only continue their solid play at home, but keep making the Rockies' free fall continue on Tuesday night. The ace Clayton Kershaw will take the mound looking for his 12th win.
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