Monday, April 30, 2012

Dodgers earn a sweep in battle of division leaders

In an April to remember, the Dodgers made another big statement.

James Loney's two-run single in the sixth held up the rest of the way, as the Dodgers beat the Nationals again, 2-0.  That's now three sweeps this young season for L.A., as they improved their record to an NL-best 16-6.

Much like the other two games in this series, there wasn't a big margin of error for each team.  In fact, the Dodgers won three straight by a combined score of only 9-5.  That's a normal game over in the American League.  In this league, that passes as an entire series.

The bats were silent through five innings.  Both teams really only had one scoring opportunity.  Ian Desmond doubled leading off the fourth, then advanced to third on a bunt.  A couple strikeouts later killed that threat.  Matt Treanor singled with an out in the fifth and also moved up on a bunt, but Tony Gwynn popped up with two down.

Then came the sixth, and the Dodgers finally broke through.  Gio Gonzalez was pitching beautifully up to this point, but was his own worst enemy here.  With one out, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Juan Uribe all drew walks.  Loney came up in a big spot, and found himself in a 1-2 hole, but delivered with a clutch two-run single up the middle to make it 2-0. 

Like pretty much every other Dodger game this year, the last few innings were nail biters.  Chris Capuano was lifted two outs in the seventh and a runner on first.  Josh Lindblom has been money all year, and he got Jesus Flores to fly out.

Lindblom stayed on and got through the eighth with a couple of strikeouts.  Now Don Mattingly had another decision to make - should he stick with the suddenly ineffective Javy Guerra, or give Kenley Jansen a crack at it?

Jansen would be the answer, and he started off by walking Adam LaRoche on four straight.  After Xavier Nady got to a 2-0 count, Jansen mercifully settled down to strike him out.  Chad Tracy struck out pinch-hitting, then Bryce Harper drew a walk on a full count.  Flores struck out swinging to end the game.

Capuano was fantastic in this one, going 6 2/3 innings for three hits, no runs, two walks, and nine strikeouts.  He's gotten a little better with each start, thanks to a combination of pounding the inside part of the plate to righties, and off speed stuff.  He's now 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.  I love the way he battles, and he's getting great results because of it.

Lindblom continues to turn heads, as he's gone from possible demotion to a major threat in close games.  He's given up only one run in 13 2/3 innings (0.66 ERA), and has 11 strikeouts.  Mattingly will ride him while he's hot, especially since Matt Guerrier and Todd Coffey are hurt, and Mike MacDougal is kind of all over the place.

It's good to see Loney be the one who got the game-winning hit, as he again is struggling to get going.  It seems like every time he looks like he's about to fall apart, he reminds you why he can be a good hitter.  Granted, he's only hitting .227, and has expressed frustration at being platooned with Juan Rivera.  There's really only one solution for him to play everyday, and it's simple: be a more consistent hitter.  The playing time will then take care of itself.

The Dodgers definitely made a statement with this sweep, as the Nationals have some really good starting pitching.  To be fair, it should be noted that they are a bit banged up with Ryan Zimmerman on the DL and Jayson Werth missing this game with a migraine.  Brad Lidge is hurt too, but he stinks anyway.  When they get their hitting even somewhat figured out, they're going to be a playoff contender.  If they don't, then they'll waste all of that good pitching.

Up next is a trip to Colorado for three starting on Monday.  Those games are always an adventure.  A win would get the Dodgers 11 games over .500 for month of April.  Even with a loss, it's still an incredible start.  Aaron Harang will take on Juan Nicasio.

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