The Dodgers have found plenty of ways to lose this season. With a 52-63 record, that's pretty obvious. Tuesday night they found yet another way: striking out 10 times against Cliff Lee, then watching him hit a solo homer.
Wouldn't you know it, the Dodgers lost to the Phillies by a run, 2-1. In a season full of eye-rolling moments, watching the opposing team's pitcher be the main difference because of his bat is pretty embarrassing to say the least.
Ted Lilly was the Dodgers' starter, and he's had his fair share of bad outings this season after ending last year on such a high note. In the first, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino singled leading off. Chase Utley then grounded to Dee Gordon at short, and Gordon tagged Rollins and flipped to second for a slick double play. Ryan Howard grounded out to end the threat.
Lee was awesome all night, but he left the door open in the first, and like usual, the Dodgers ran into it instead of kicking if over. Gordon singled and then stole his 12th base to start. Jamey Carroll laid down a great bunt that froze Howard at first, and there were two on.
This was the perfect situation for the Dodgers, as they had their two big guns in Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp up. What happened? Ethier struck out, then Kemp struck out. Carroll stole second, but Aaron Miles popped up to end the inning. You just knew from there that the Dodgers would be in for a long night.
The Phillies got the game's first run in the fourth. Wilson Valdez singled leading off, and Lee sacrificed him over to second. Rollins hit an RBI double to right to take the 1-0 lead.
With the Dodgers doing zip at the plate, it was Lee who "helped his own cause" (famous pitcher's cliche) in the seventh. Lilly must have forgotten that Lee is actually a pretty good hitter for a pitcher, as he grooved a horrible pitch down the middle that was taken out to deep right. It was Lee's second tater of the season.
Lee stayed on to pitch the eighth, and Eugenio Valez pinch-hit and reached on a walk. Good thing, because there's no way that bum would actually get a hit. Gordon was up next, and he reinjured his shoulder on a swing, which just added to the crap season the Dodgers are having. Trent Oeltjen pinch-hit with two strikes, and of course he grounded into a double play. Carroll struck out swinging to send the game to the ninth.
Ryan Madson came on for the save opportunity, and Ethier chose now to finally get a hit. It wasn't surprising since nobody was on base. Kemp grounded into what should have been a double play, but Utley slipped at second and couldn't complete it. After Juan Rivera grounded out, Casey Blake kept the game going with an RBI single to make it 2-1.
If the Dodgers were a contending team, they probably would have found a way to score the tying run. But, they're not, and Rod Barajas stuck out to end the game.
I know Lee is a good hitter as I've already pointed out, but it's still pretty sad that that's what the difference was in this one. There's just no way Lilly can allow that to happen. If it were Howard, Utley, or Hunter Pence I can certainly understand. But Lee? Pathetic.
Other than that awful pitch, Lilly did put together one of his best efforts this season. He lasted eight inning for six hits, one run, two walks, and five strikeouts. For a change, his off-speed stuff actually seemed to fool people. Can he go on a little run these last two months? I doubt it, but for his sake I hope so.
Aside from Lee's homer, the most disappointing thing about this one was, once again, the lack of clutch hitting. Ethier and Kemp combined to go 1-for-8 with four K's. For Kemp, he looks a little worn down. He hasn't had an extra-base hit since August 1, and no homers since July 30. He's getting hits, but all singles, and that's the last thing the Dodgers need - another singles hitter.
Ethier's power has been non-existent pretty much all season long. He'll throw in some doubles, as he does have 28 this year. But he only has 10 homers, and hasn't hit one since July 25. Any memories of him being a clutch, walk-off hitter seem to be long gone. It just isn't happening.
Granted, it's hard to be too critical when it was Lee who shut them down, as he's one of the top pitchers in the game. But the Dodgers can't get big hits against anybody. They'll put people on and steal bases, but that's it. Same old story over and over.
These two teams will mercifully wrap up this series on Wednesday afternoon. The Dodgers probably thought they could relax after facing Roy Halladay and Lee, but now they have to face Vance Worley, who's 8-1 with a 2.35 ERA. And to top it off, Chad Billingsley goes for the Dodgers. Grrrrrrrreeeeeaaaaaaat. This might not be pretty.
No comments:
Post a Comment