The Dodgers came into their final series before the All-Star break looking to extend their lead in the NL West. After Nathan Eovaldi got the win in the first game, things were looking good.
Then they blew two straight leads, and got blown out on Sunday. Not exactly the perfect way to go into a break.
Chris Capuano suffered his worst start of the season as the Diamondbacks won big, 7-1. Still, even with the loss, the Dodgers finish the first half 47-40 and in first place by a 1/2 game over the Giants. We can all thank the Pirates for slapping around the Giants on Sunday for that.
Unlike the previous games, it was the DBacks who got on the board in the first. Willie Bloomquist singled leading off. An out later, Justin Upton smoked an RBI triple to go up 1-0. After Jason Kubel struck out, Paul Goldschmidt hit an RBI ground rule double, and it was 2-0.
Capuano settled down the next few innings, putting up blanks. Unfortunately, that's also what the Dodgers' offense was doing. Juan Rivera led off the second with a double, but it went nowhere. Even Capuano doubled to start the third, but the top of the order did nothing with it.
The fifth inning is when the game got away for good. The frustrating part was that it all happened with two outs. Upton and Kubel both singled. After a visit to the mound for some encouragement, Capuano responded... by giving up a three-run bomb to Goldschmidt. Just like that, it was 5-0.
The rest of the game didn't much matter. It was good to see Javy Guerra get in a scoreless inning. Ronald Belisario struck out the side again in the eighth, but also surrendered a two-run single to Miguel Montero. Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts.
The lone run of the day came in the ninth. Bobby Abreu, Rivera, and Jerry Hairston, Jr. all singled to open the inning. Juan Uribe pinch-hit, and of course he didn't get a hit, but a sac-fly RBI to make it 7-1. Luis Cruz flied out and Matt Treanor struck out to end the game.
I know Capuano had to be disappointed when he wasn't named to the All-Star team, so I was hoping he's have a dominant start to prove he should be there. Goldschmidt's homer in the fifth took care of that thought. He lasted five innings for nine hits, five runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. Even with this negative start, he still ends the first half at 9-4 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. All outstanding numbers.
Let's hope this day marks the last one without Matt Kemp, as all signs are pointing to him finally coming back after the All-Star break. For that matter, with Mark Ellis back and Andre Ethier close behind, let's also hope the screwy lineups are over with. It's not like Don Mattingly has had a choice in the matter, as everyday there seems to be someone new going down. Just take a look at Dee Gordon's thumb injury a few games ago. That's the way it's been.
And all of that considered, if you're a Dodger fan, you have to thrilled that they are somehow still in first place considering all of the injuries they've been through. They certainly weren't picked to finish in first by any baseball "experts," so that's even more satisfying. Sure, these last few weeks have been rough, but now that the big guns are coming back, they should start to get rolling again. And that's bad news for the rest of the West.
The Dodgers will now get a nice four-day vacation for the All-Star break. Kemp will take part in the Home Run Derby on Monday as the captain of the National League. He'll sit out the All-Star Game itself, but Clayton Kershaw should get an inning in at some point. Matt Cain has been named the starter as the NL looks to get their third straight win.
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