Monday, August 15, 2011

Sellers shines in blowout win

Justin Sellers had the kind of day he will never forget, and maybe one that Dodger fans can get excited about for next year.

Sellers hit a three-run homer to left for his first big league shot, and Hiroki Kuroda completely manhandled the lowly Astros to get the win, 7-0. The win also meant a three-game sweep, only the second of the year for the Dodgers. Also, with the Rockies loss, the Dodgers are now in third place in the NL West.

The scoring started in the second. James Loney led off and singled. Dioner Navarro will never be confused with a power hitter, but he cracked a two-run shot to center for the 2-0 lead. With the homer, four of his five this season have come during the day. So I guess that means he'll get more starts when the sun is out.

Matt Kemp got in on the fun in the third. With two outs, he took a Jordan Lyles pitch to deep center for his 28th of the season, tying his career high. With a couple more, he'll be in the prestigious 30-30 club, as he's already at 31 stolen bases.

The Astros were able to keep the game close heading into the sixth. But, it all fell apart from there. It started with a single by Kemp and swipe of second. Aaron Miles hit in the #5 spot, and his RBI single made it 4-0. An out later, Navarro took a walk to put two on.

That's when Sellers stepped up and delivered his three-run tater to make it 7-0. Dodger fans haven't had much to cheer about this year, other than Kemp of course, so it was great to see the crowd give Sellers a well-deserved curtain call, which was graciously accepted.

Kuroda got through the seventh inning thanks to an inning-ending double play off the bat of Alex Sanchez. Blake Hawksworth pitched a flawless eighth, and Hong-Chi Kuo (yes, Hong-Chih Kuo) was perfect in the ninth to call it a day.

Kuroda turned in another gem, which is something we've all gotten used to and probably taken for granted. He went seven innings for five hits, no runs, one walk, and six strikeouts. He's now up to eight wins this year, and six of them have been without allowing a run. Good thing considering he's rarely received a lick of run support.

It's good to see Sellers have a good game, because he'll get a chance to show if he can make the team next year. In 89 game with Triple-A Albuquerque this year, he was hitting .304 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs. Of course, numbers at that place can be fickle because of the elevation, so who knows how that translates.

If Sellers can prove he can hang with major league pitching, then looking forward to next year, you have to wonder if a Dee Gordon-Sellers combination up the middle might be in the works. Sellers is very versatile, as he's played all three outfield spots along with short, second, and third in Albuquerque this year. I doubt Gordon will switch spots, so second or third would be a more likely destination.

Heading into the last month-and-a-half, the goal of the Dodgers should be to finish no worse than third. The Diamondbacks and Giants are battling it out for first and have plenty of separation with the rest of the pack. If the Dodgers can sneak out a #3 spot in the division, it will at least look better at the end of the year.

Next up is a 10-game road trip starting Monday in Milwaukee. After playing four, it will be off to Colorado and St. Louis for three each. Right now, the Brewers have a five game lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central, so the Dodgers have some important games coming up. Ted Lilly will go in the first game against old friend Randy Wolf.

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