Hey, the Dodgers could only go up from being no-hit, right?
That was certainly the case, as one night after six Mariners' pitchers combined for a no-hitter, the Dodgers broke out 8 runs on 14 hits to get the win, 8-3. Throw in 12 strikeouts from Clayton Kershaw, and the Dodgers emphatically bounced back from the no-no.
As the Dodgers have done better than any team in baseball this season, they got on the board in the first. Dee Gordon singled leading off, which is always a good sign. With one out, he stole second, and then with two outs, Andre Ethier drew a walk. Jerry Hairston, Jr. was your offensive star of the night, and he blasted a three-run homer to left for the quick lead.
Clayton Kershaw had to work around a single by Ichiro and double by Jesus Montero in the first to escape harmless, thanks to striking out the side. It was a sign of things to come for the Mariners.
In the third, the Dodgers again struck. Elian Herrera singled to start, and two outs later, stole second. More solid two-out hitting came next, as Hairston collected an RBI double to make it 4-0. The lead was increased by one again on an RBI single by James Loney.
Kershaw had seven K's at this point, but in the fifth, ran into some trouble. With one out, Justin Smoak singled to center. A walk to Kyle Seager came next for two on. Much like his last start against the Phillies, a bad slider resulted in a home run, this time a three-run job by Miguel Olivo, making it 5-3.
Both teams played evenly until the eighth, when the Dodgers began to pull away again. Juan Rivera singled with an out. Once again with two outs, the offense delivered, as Hairston again smacked an RBI double to go up 6-3.
Ronald Belisario put the Mariners down quietly in the bottom of the frame, and the Dodgers ran away with it in the ninth. Tony Gwynn singled and Gordon did as well an out later. Both executed a perfect double steal to get into scoring position. Herrera scored one on a fielder's choice, and Rivera on a sac-fly to make it 8-3.
With the increased lead, Kenley Jansen was given another day off, which is a good thing since he was very busy in Philly during the week. Todd Coffey allowed one walk in the ninth to finish it off.
Kershaw upped his record to 5-3 thanks to a season high 12 K's, his first double-digit effort as well. He lasted seven innings for four hits, three runs, and two walks. Even though his ERA has crept up an an astronomical 2.65 (yes, sarcasm), he's still 11th in the NL. Opposing teams are only hitting .213 off of him, so I wouldn't expect him to keep giving up homers like that. He's still the best pitcher in the NL.
Hairston came off the DL on May 25, and thanks to a 3-for-4 effort in this one, has hit .426 since then. That's just incredible for a guy who was only supposed to fill a utility role off the bench. Much like Herrera, it's hard to keep him out of the lineup with production like that. It's definitely a good problem to have if you're Don Mattingly.
It obviously wasn't fun watching the Dodgers flail away helplessly on Friday night, but once again they showed their mental toughness by coming right back a night later for a win. It's another reminder of why they have the best record in baseball at 38-22.
And besides, the defending world champs were also no-hit, so why not the Dodgers? Maybe it's a good sign! Or at least I can tell myself that.
Chad Billingsley takes the mound in the rubber match Sunday afternoon, and he's coming off a good start in Philadelphia. Can he possibly put together two straight solid starts? History tells us to be very skeptical, but we'll see how it plays out.
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