One month ago, the Dodgers blew an early six-run lead and lost to the Phillies, 9-8. Their record at the time stood at 52-64 as they battled the Padres for dead last in the NL West.
Fast forward a month, and 15 wins in 18 games later, the Dodgers have finally returned to .500.
Dana Eveland threw a seven-inning gem, James Loney and Matt Kemp each hit big triples, and the Dodgers made the Giants' lives even more miserable by getting the win, 3-0. As the Diamondbacks run away with the NL West with a 9 1/2 game lead, the Dodgers are only 2 1/2 games in back of the Giants for second place.
Saturday night was all about the youth, as both Don Mattingly and Bruce Bochy featured multiple rookies in their lineups. For the Dodgers, Dee Gordon, Justin Sellers, and Jerry Sands all received starts. On the other side, Hector Sanchez, Brett Pill, Brandon Belt, and Justin Christian all got the nod.
The Dodgers got the ball rolling in the second against Ryan Vogelsong. With one out, James Loney tripled as part of his 2-for-3 night, raising his average to .279. His average a month ago? .252. Wow. A soft grounder to second from Sands got the run in, and it was 1-0.
With Eveland cruising already, the Dodgers tacked on a couple more runs in the second. It all started on Kemp's triple leading off, his 63rd extra-base knock of the year. Juan Rivera then hit an RBI with an infield single, making it 2-0. Loney also followed with an infield hit, and ditto for Sands to make three straight and load the bases.
The third run came on an unlikely play, as Vogelsong was called for a balk to force in Rivera and make it 3-0. Let's just say Vogelsong wasn't very happy about it, but that didn't matter. The bottom of the order couldn't get another run in as the Giants at least stayed within striking distance.
About the only threat against Eveland came in the fourth. With two outs, Pablo Sandoval singled, and Pill put runners in scoring position with a double. Belt lined a hard one to third, but Sellers was in great position to snare it and end the inning.
The Giants again threatened to finally break through in the eighth, but once again came up with blanks. Eveland was given the chance to continue, but he walked Sanchez on a full count leading off. That was it for him, as flamethrower Kenley Jansen entered. However, Mark DeRosa pinch-hit and singled, putting runners on the corners.
With two on and no out, the Giants again showed why they've fallen out of the playoff race, and the Dodgers showed how they've won lots of games lately. Aubrey Huff struck out for one down. Jeff Keppinger also K'd for two outs. The big deadline acquisition of Carlos Beltran? A measly grounder to second, and the Dodgers still had their lead.
Javy Guerra has been a busy guy lately, and he got the ball in the ninth in this one as well. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing, as he walked Sandoval leading off and Orlando Cabrera singled with two down. The end was appropriate, as Pat Burrell struck out to give Guerra his 18th save.
Eveland, much like Rubby De La Rosa and Nathan Eovaldi before him, made a great case to be in the rotation next season with another strong performance. He went seven innings for three hits, no runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. His stuff is by no means overpowering, but he's done a fantastic job of locating his soft stuff.
The combination of Jansen and Guerra shut the door in the last two innings, and gave Dodger fans a hopeful glimpse into next year. To me, these guys can even be interchangeable. Guerra has been awesome in the closer's role, but I can definitely see Jansen doing the same. Either way, they've made their mark to be a great 8-9 combination into the future.
I've talked plenty about Kershaw's strong chance to win the Cy Young, so let's look at Kemp now and his MVP run. The stats that stick out are his Triple Crown numbers: .319 average (4th), 32 home runs (3rd) and 107 RBIs (3rd). Plus, he has a bunch of other big numbers: 170 hits, 96 runs, 71 walks, and 38 stolen bases.
In other words, despite the Dodgers not being in the race, he's doing everything he can to show why he should be an MVP candidate, ala Kershaw and the Cy Young. If the Dodgers continue to play good baseball over the last few weeks, then that should only strengthen his case to take home baseball's top award. Let's hope he gives voters a few more highlights to convince them as well.
The Dodgers are currently at 7-2 on the road trip, and are looking to add one more win as it finishes on Sunday afternoon. Hiroki Kuroda will take on Madison Bumgarner.
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