Hey, it's been awhile since a positive headline, right?
The Dodgers showed some fight in battling back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Mets on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, 8-3. The combination of a great start by Clayton Kershaw and three errors by the Mets were exactly what the Dodgers needed. The Giants also won, so they remain a game up in the NL West.
After suffering through ANOTHER shutout loss on Sunday (second straight, and fifth in the last six), the Dodgers were once again on the downside looking up in the first. Andres Torres was beaned leading off, but was soon picked off of first by Kershaw. Ruben Tejada walked and David Wright singled to put two on. Scott Hairston then hit an RBI single to left, but was caught trying to stretch to second. Lucas Duda flied out for the final out.
At least the Dodgers tied it up to avoid that shutout feeling once again. A.J. Ellis mercifully got the start in the #2 hole, and not the horribly slumping Elian Herrera, and doubled with one out. Bobby Abreu struck out, but Juan Rivera picked him up with an RBI double to tie the game at one.
As if the hitting wasn't brutal enough, then Dee Gordon's defensive woes became even worse in the third. With Dillion Gee on from a walk and Tejada from a single, Wright grounded into a sure fire double play that would've ended the inning. Well, Adam Kennedy flipped to Gordon for the first out, but for whatever reason, he rushed the throw to first, and away it went for a run to score.
But wait, there's more. Hairston bounced an easy one to Gordon immediately after, and sure enough, it was low and not able to be scooped by James Loney. Loney tried to sell that he still got the out after catching the bounce, and failed to pay attention to Wright coming home. The throw was late, and it was now 3-1. Had Loney even bothered to look right away, Wright would've been a dead duck.
I doubt there were many people in attendance or at home who thought the Dodgers stood a chance to win after that horrendous defensive display. But, much to their credit, they battled back... with some help from the Mets. OK, plenty of help from the Mets. But they'll take it!
The game became tied in the fifth. Juan Uribe walked leading off, and Tony Gwynn reached on Ronny Cedeno's dropped ball at second. Kershaw laid down a great sacrifice to get both runners to scoring position. Gordon needed a break, and he got one when Justin Turner couldn't handle his grounder to first, scoring Uribe to make it 3-2. Ellis's sac-fly RBI made it 3-3, and it was a new game.
The sixth brought something the Dodgers haven't done in 66 long innings: a lead. Rivera took a leadoff walk and went to third on Kennedy's ground rule double to right. Loney had been in a horrible stretch at the plate (even by his own low standards), but he brought home Rivera with an RBI groundout, and it was 4-3.
The seventh inning was long, but a good one for the Dodgers. Gee was chased from the game with one out when Gordon singled, stole second, and Ellis walked. Justin Hampson came in to pitch to Abreu, but Gordon stole third and Abreu walked.
The Mets practically handed the Dodgers this one soon after. Miguel Batista was in to pitch to Rivera, and got a perfect grounder back to the mound. Batista somewhat rushed the throw home, but Mike Nickeas still inexplicably biffed it to allow two runs to score on the error. That misplay turned a one-run game into a 6-3 advantage for the Dodgers.
Kennedy followed that play up with a sac-fly RBI to make it 7-3. Even Loney got in on the act, breaking a hitless streak of 28 at-bats with an RBI double, and the Dodgers had the emphatic 8-3 lead.
It's been quite awhile since we've seen this, but Ronald Belisario and Kenley Jansen finished the game, each tossing a scoreless frame.
It's hard to even fathom going 66 straight innings without holding one damn lead, so I'm sure everyone even remotely close to the Dodgers is glad that's over with. Wow, that's quite a stretch of horrible baseball. I know they're banged up and facing some good teams, but still... wow. Just plain wow.
Kershaw picked up steam as the game progressed, and his final line looks good: seven innings, five hits, three runs (one earned), three walks, and nine strikeouts. On the day he was named to his second straight All-Star Game, he improved to 6-4 with a 2.65 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.
Gordon showed you the best of him and the worst of him all in one game. His two errors in the third were just awful, as he looked like he had no clue how to even throw to first. Thankfully he kept grinding away, and ended up with a couple hits and three stolen bases. Despite his struggles at the plate, his 28 steals are tops in the majors. And that's why he still gets plenty of playing time.
Who knows what kind of game this would've ended up being had the Mets not completely botched that double play in the seventh, but the Dodgers really don't care. They needed a win by any means necessary and they got it. The Mets can take solace in the fact that they took three of four, so I doubt they'll feel too badly about this.
The final homestand before the All-Star break starts Monday, as the Reds enter for three. It's a matchup of two guys who seem like they should have better stats, but never do - Chad Billingsley and Homer Bailey. Something's gotta give.
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