Aaron Miles has gone from non-roster invitee in Spring Training to one of the most valuable players on the Dodgers this year.
Miles's RBI triple in the ninth against closer Fernando Salas tied the game at 1, and Rod Barajas got the winning run home on a fielder's choice as the Dodgers beat the Cardinals, 2-1. The win spoiled what sure was looking like a complete game shutout for Chris Carpenter, who was flawless through eight.
The Dodgers didn't have many chances against Carpenter, as they only gathered four hits and one walk through eight innings against him. In the second, Juan Rivera took that walk leading off, and was erased on a grounder from Andre Ethier. After Miles popped up, Barajas singled for two on. I'll bet you'll be shocked by this, but Eugenio Valez struck out for the last out.
In the bottom of the second, Lance Berkman got the game's first run with a solo homer leading off. It was Berkman's 29th of the season, and the only blemish of the night by young Nathan Eovaldi.
Eovaldi faced a little bit of trouble in the fifth, but got some help from his defense. Daniel Descalso singled with one out. An out later, Skip Schumaker laced one into left. Rivera made a nice sliding play to keep it from going to the wall, and runners had to stop at second and third. David Freese grounded back to the mound for the last out.
From there it was all about the Dodgers' bullpen trying to match Carpenter while hoping at least one run would score. Josh Lindblom pitched the sixth and got through the heart of the Cardinals' order of Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Berkman with ease. Scott Elbert also tossed a perfect seventh.
After Matt Guerrier got the Cards in order in the eighth, Carpenter was given a chance to get go for the shutout. However, he plunked Rivera right away, and that spelled an end to his night with the lefty Ethier coming up.
Tony LaRusa went with his own lefty in Arthur Rhodes to get Ethier. It worked, as predictably, Ethier struck out. No surprise there, as Ethier continues his awful August, which comes directly after his horrendous July. In other words, he's nowhere close to the hitter we all thought he'd be.
Despite Ethier's failure to even get the runner over to second, Salas was then summoned to pitch to Miles. The ex-Cardinal made his old team pay, as he smoked a triple to the wall in right center, tying the game at 1-1.
Enter Jason Motte to pitch to the mighty Barajas, who's been hot lately. Motte did his job in getting a grounder, but Rafael Furcal bobbled it a bit, then threw the ball away at home as Miles slid across safely. Hey, Raffy, thanks for the gift.
Javy Guerra blew his first save on Saturday in Colorado, and he had a huge challenge in facing Pujols right off the bat. Guerra looked like a pro, as Pujols popped up for the first out. Raffy did keep the game going with a two-out infield single, but John Jay flew out to Tony Gwynn in left to end the game. It was Guerra's 11th save.
All the Dodgers are playing for now is avoiding last place in the NL West, but that was still a big win for them. They showed they can beat a good team in the Cardinals without Matt Kemp doing all the damage. In fact, he didn't do any damage with an 0-for-4 night. Ethier was also 0-for-4, but that's to be expected.
Eovaldi has started four games, and they've all been impressive. In this one he went five innings for five hits, one run, one walk, and two strikeouts. He's been given a golden opportunity to win a starting spot for next year, and boy is he showing what he's got. He now has a 2.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Great stuff.
When this season is all said and done in over a month, there will only be a few players that fans should absolutely want to see back for next year. Miles should be on that list. He plays three infield positions (second, short, and third), and has literally hit anywhere in the lineup, with one at-bat in the cleanup spot. He makes Don Mattingly's job that much easier by being so flexible. Plus, you know you'll always get his best effort.
That's what drives me nuts about watching a player like Ethier. I'm not trying to say he's dogging it, but he sure doesn't give the impression that he's playing with a lot of fire. Rather, his hitting has gone into the tank, as he seems to only strikeout or groundout anymore. I don't know what's going on, but maybe it's time he starts seeing some days off, as an outfield of Kemp, Rivera, and Gwynn seems better right now.
The Dodgers are 3-5 on their road trip right now with two more to go in St. Louis. Getting at least one more win would be nice. With Clayton Kershaw and Hiroki Kuroda on the mound coming up, they have a good chance at that.
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