A typical game for Friday the 13th

If you're looking for a baseball game that featured a little bit of everything, then Friday night in Dodger Stadium was for you.

To start off with, there was nearly a rain delay, which is a rarity for the Dodgers as it is. The last time they had a home game rained out was April 17, 2000... a whopping 972 games ago!

The game started without a hitch, and it quickly became the Aaron Harang Show. Yes, I did just type that. Cameron "Tiki" Maybin led off the game with a single. Right after that, Harang struck out the next nine hitters, setting a Dodgers' record and nearly topping Tom Seaver's all-time record of 10. All from Aaron Freakin' Harang. Unbelievable.

In between all of that, the Dodgers scored some runs. And you shouldn't be surprised to hear this, but it was the Padres' shoddy defense that helped. Justin Sellers started at short for Dee Gordon and walked leading off. A.J. Ellis hit an easy grounder to Jason Bartlett at short, who turned a double play into an error for two on.

Two-run singles by Mark Ellis and Andre Ethier gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

About the only negative thing about that inning was that Harang had to sit some 21 minutes as he chased a spot in Major League history. Sure enough, he gave up a solo shot to Will Venable leading off to make it 3-1. An RBI double by Yonder Alonso and RBI groundout by the O Dog made it 4-3.

The Dodgers answered right away in the fourth, and appeared to put the game away... or so we thought. Sellers started it again with a double, and the younger Ellis scored him on a double. Tony Gwynn started in left and got in on the act with an RBI single to make it 6-3. Matt Kemp then whacked a two-run shot in right, and it was 8-3 just like that.

The Padres refused to go away, and the comeback was on against the shaky Dodgers' bullpen. Harang ran out of gas in the seventh by walking Hudson with one out, so in came Todd Coffey. That was definitely not the right call by Don Mattingly, as Coffey surrendered a single, RBI double, and hit by pitch without retiring a batter.

Out went Coffey, in came Scott Elbert, who walked in a run right away. Chase Headley had a huge night, and it started here with a sac-fly RBI to put the score at 8-6.

Still, the Dodgers had to feel comfortable enough to win this game, right? Well, not if you consider that Javy Guerra was unavailable because he pitched in three straight games. But, Kenley Jansen would easily shut the door anyway, right?

Not so fast. I'm not sure if Jansen just wasn't letting it all loose or if something else is going on, but Jansen was clocked at around 90 MPH, which is a far cry from what he normally can dial up.

In the ninth, Chris Denorfia walked on a full count, but Jansen got Andy Parrino and Kyle Blanks swinging for two down. Just when you thought the game was over, Headley creamed a two-run blast into right, and it was the first blown save of the season for the Dodgers. Two more men reached before Hudson struck out to send the game to the bottom of the ninth.

It was a deflating way to continue the game, but the Dodgers ended up walking off... literally. Andrew Cashner was summoned, and he got the first two outs with ease. Then the walks came, as the older Ellis worked one on a full count, then Kemp got the free pass as well. Add James Loney to the walk list to load the bases.

Lefty Joe Thatcher came in to pitch to Ethier, and that was a giant flop, as four straight horrendous pitches handed the Dodgers a 9-8 win. Wow.

This will be a hard game to top as far as craziness, and in matching the roller coaster of emotions that baseball has to offer. I'm sure when you look at the final score and nothing else, you'd have a hard time believing that there was nearly an MLB record set for consecutive strikeouts along the way.

Harang certainly showed the best and worst of him, as he ended up going 6 1/3 innings for 4 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, and 13 strikeouts. As is the case with Chris Capuano, I think they just need time to build up their arm strength a little more so they don't hit a wall in the mid-late innings. Still, 13 K's is very impressive.

The great thing about this 7-1 start is that the Dodgers are finding ways to win close games. They aren't just blowing teams out and strutting to easy victories, they have to work the full game to get it. That's a great sign going forward.

Ted Lilly will make his return from the DL to make his first start of the season on Saturday. It'll be interesting to see the corresponding roster move that has to be made, but perhaps it'll be to DL Coffey, who's been battling a sore knee. And with the way he's pitching, it's obvious he needs a break. Lilly will go against rookie Joe Wieland.