One week ago, Matt Kemp hit the DL for the second time, and the Brewers went into LA and got a four-game sweep. The Dodgers were reeling.
Fast forward to a week later, and the Dodgers have turned that all around, thanks to a four-game sweep in Philadelphia.
The Dodgers battled back from a 3-0 hole to take the lead for good in the sixth, then tacked on four more in the ninth to cruise to a win, 8-3. The major's best team is now 37-21.
Aaron Harang was given the start, and he was coming off a big win to snap five-game losing streak in Colorado last Saturday. But, he ran into some trouble in the third. Cole Hamels got things going with a leadoff single. Jimmy Rollins followed that up with another single, and he went to second on Alex Castellanos's error.
Another error came next, as Elian Herrera's throwing error with one out let Hunter Pence reach, scoring Hamels to make it 1-0. A sac-fly RBI by Ty Wiggington made it 2-0. Shane Victorino took a walk, and Mike Fontenot's RBI single put the Phillies up 3-0.
The Phillies had to think they would finally put things together and get back a win, but the Dodgers had other ideas. Of course, it helped that Wiggington committed two straight errors to open the fourth, which is pretty sad. With Herrera on third, Juan Rivera picked up an RBI on a sac-fly, and it was now 3-1.
Small ball put the Dodgers on top to stay in the sixth. Herrera walked leading off, and much like Hamels early in the game, it led to some runs. Rivera singled to put two on before Jerry Hairston, Jr. popped up.
Castellanos struck out for two down, but James Loney put the Dodgers within one with an RBI single. Tony Gwynn and Matt Treanor came through in a big way with RBI singles of their own, and out of nowhere, the Dodgers found themselves in the lead at 4-3.
Harang got himself through the sixth with the lead, then gave the ball to Jamey Wright. Over the next two innings, Wright did a tremendous job in holding onto the slim lead, only giving up a couple singles. He has been up and down, but this should give him some fresh confidence going forward. At least I hope.
The ninth was interesting, as the Dodgers separated themselves with four runs. Chad Qualls came in for the Phills, but immediately surrendered singles by Treanor, the pinch-hitting Bobby Abreu, and Dee Gordon to load the bases. Some bad glovework bit the Phills again, as Fontenot's error on Herrera's grounder made it 5-3.
Andre Ethier had been in an 0-for-16 slump, but he busted out of that with a two-run double down the right field line for a 7-3 lead. Hairston finished it off with an RBI single.
Don Mattingly then handed the ball over to young Shawn Tolleson, making his big league debut. And, uh... it didn't go well. Two straight walks to Hector Luna and Jimmy Rollins made his first appearance a short one.
Ronald Belisario came in and got Juan Pierre to bounce into a forceout. Pence came up trying to extend the game, but Belisario got him to ground into the game ending double play.
This was a total team effort for the Dodgers... with a little help chipped in by the Phillies' errors. But hey, we'll take it. Harang had his second straight solid start, going six innings for eight hits, three runs, one walk, and three strikeouts. Not exactly overpowering stats, but still solid for the #5 starter. He's now 5-3 with a 3.95 ERA. Oh by the way, he also has 100 wins on his career. Good for him.
The bullpen made sure the lead stayed, as Wright and Belisario combined to shut down the last three innings on only two hits. I won't count poor Tolleson, who's ERA reads "N/A" and WHIP reads "INF." I guess it can only get better from there. Let's hope he gets a chance to prove that.
The offense came through in clutch situations time and time again. One look at an important stat tells the true story of this game: with runners in scoring position, the Dodgers went 6-for-13, while the Phillies were 1-for-12. Ouch. And to think the Dodgers only had one extra-base hit all game (Ethier's two-run double). Small ball indeed.
Most importantly, like the headline says, the Dodgers got their swag (cool slang for "swagger") back. They pretty much traded off getting swept last week for the sweep this week. They won close games, late games, and turned a slim lead into a big one late in this one. Without question they are better with Kemp, but it's awesome to see other guys get a chance to step up and deliver in his absence. That will only make them better going forward.
Up next is the first interleague series of the season by visiting the Mariners. Remember they were the lone NL-only matchup last time around against the Cardinals. Actually, the next five series will be against American League teams: at Mariners, vs. Angels, vs. White Sox, at A's, and at Angels. The next time they return to a regular schedule is Monday, June 25 against the Giants.
The youngster, Nathan Eovaldi, goes up against the old guy, Kevin Milwood, on Friday.
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