Let me say this: as I rolled into Citi Field for Saturday's game between the Dodgers and Mets, never in a million years did I think that the difference would be Juan Uribe. And in a good way.
But let's give the devil his due, Uribe had his best game in a Dodger uniform, hitting a two-run double, a two-run homer, and scoring three runs as the Dodgers won, 8-5. The Dodgers have claimed three straight and the first couple in the Mets' series.
The Mets rolled out Miguel Batista for a spot start, rather than young phenom Matt Harvey. Let's just say that as the game progressed and Batista got a little worse and worse, the guy with the "We Want Harvey" sign in the outfield summed up the feeling of the 33,000+ in attendance.
Batista got the first two outs, but then carefully pitched around Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier for walks. James Loney, who shockingly also played a big game, hit an RBI single for the 1-0 lead. The Dodgers loaded the bases, but Luis Cruz struck out.
The Dodgers got their bats going in the third. Adam Kennedy hit in the #2 hole, starting for Mark Ellis, and singled leading off. After Kemp flew out, Ethier singled as well. Loney reverted to old form by striking out for two down. That's when Uribe doubled to right, scoring two for the 3-0 lead. An RBI single up the middle by Cruz made it 4-0, and boy were the boo birds out in full effect.
Much like Friday night's game, the Mets chipped away to make a game of it. In the bottom of the third, Jordany Valdespin hit for Batista and reached on a bunt. Ruben Tejada singled next, but Chris Capuano got Andres Torres and David Wright for two down. Scott Hairston popped up, but it found a spot just beyond Kennedy's glove to score a run. Almost as shockingly as Uribe, Jason Bay got in on the act with an RBI single, and it was 4-2.
In the fourth, the Dodgers got a run back. With Jeremy Hefner now in, Kennedy took a walk with two outs. That was a big mistake, as Kemp lifted a fly ball just out of the reach of Hairston in right for an RBI triple, and a 5-2 lead.
Both teams traded single runs after that. Matt Treanor hit an RBI double in the fifth to score Uribe, making it 6-2. The following inning, Ronny Cedeno hit a long solo homer to left, cutting the lead to 6-3.
The Dodgers were in full control at this point, and Don Mattingly handed the ball over to Ronald Belisario in the eighth. As has been the case lately, it wasn't pretty. Hairston immediately singled, and he scored on pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy's RBI triple. Another pinch-hitter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, collected an RBI on a groundout, and the Mets were within one at 6-5.
Citi Field got rocking even more as R.A. Dickey entered to pitch the ninth. He easily got Kemp and Ethier on grounders. Then those two much-maligned corner infielders of Loney and Uribe struck again. Loney singled, and Uribe cranked his second homer of the season, giving the Dodgers an 8-5 lead.
Kenley Jansen came on for the save, and like Belisario, it wasn't exactly a thing of beauty. The first two outs were recorded with ease, but walks were then issued to Torres and Wright, an inexcusable offense under those circumstances. Jansen got Hairston swinging to put an end to it, claiming his 18th save.
Both Uribe and Loney came into this game with a combined 38 RBIs in 397 at-bats this season. Needless to say, that's just brutal. But, for one day at least, both were money in helping the Dodgers get a W. Uribe had those two big hits, in addition to two walks. Loney had two hits himself with an RBI and run scored. Who knows how long these numbers will last, so let's savor the moment.
Capuano ended up with a good line, going seven innings for eight hits, three runs, one walk, and nine strikeouts. He improved to 10-5 on the year. I wouldn't say he was that dominating overall, as he actually could've had more K's, but had trouble putting some hitters away with two strikes. Still, he made some big pitches when needed, as evidenced by wiggling out of trouble in the fourth when the first couple of hitters reached.
As for Belisario, I have to wonder if Mattingly won't be so automatic in giving the ball to Belisario when the eighth inning hits. Perhaps he'll play it more along the lines of matchups. If a lefty is due, give Scott Elbert a try. Josh Lindblom and Javy Guerra haven't been great themselves, but maybe they'll get another look.
Anyway you look at it, Mattingly can't deny that eight appearances ago, Belisario's ERA was 0.95, and now it's 2.57. Is it a tired arm? Bad luck? A little of both? It's hard to say, but he's losing his grip as the sole setup man.
It's been since early June since the Dodgers have gotten a sweep (four straight over the Phillies), so they'll look to get another one on Sunday. Nathan Eovaldi will take the mound against Jonathon Niese.
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