It took all of one batter on Wednesday night to make the Dodgers think they were on the verge of being swept, as Eric Young hit an inside-the-park home run.
Thankfully they still have that Matt Kemp guy.
After being down 2-0 in the first, Kemp hit a three-run homer off of Jeff Francis, and the Dodgers scored two more in the sixth to break a tie and beat the Rockies, 6-4. It was obviously a win they badly needed, as they faced the very real possibility of being swept by the worst team in the NL West at home. The Giants clobbered the Cardinals 15-0, so their lead remains at 1 1/2.
Young's homer started the game thanks to long fly ball to dead center just over Kemp's head, and the fact that he can absolutely fly around the bases. I don't even think he needed to slide, but he did for good measure. A double by Dexter Fowler led to an RBI single by Tyler Colvin, making it 2-0.
Something positive needed to happen, as the Dodgers put up a whopping one run in the first couple of games against a terrible pitching staff. Shane Victornio finally got things going at the top of the order, singling to lead off. Mark Ellis took a walk to set things up for Kemp. You might be asking yourself, Why would you walk a light-hitting second baseman when Kemp is up next? Well, I asked myself that same question... three times total, as the Rockies appeared clueless in doing so.
Anyway, Kemp cranked a three-run homer to deep left, and the Dodgers mercifully got a big hit after two days of failing over and over.
The Rockies tied it up in the fourth. Jordan Pacheco doubled with one out. Now with two outs, DJ LeMahieu singled to left, and it was 3-3.
The Dodgers broke the tie in the fifth, though they really could have done so much more. Victorino singled and stole second to start things. Ellis then walked before Kemp's singled loaded the bases. Hanley Ramirez hasn't done a lick since his game-winning RBI on Sunday (granted, nobody else has either), and he watched four straight balls to force in a run and make it 4-3.
Andre Ethier moved to the #5 spot with the lefty Francis starting, and he lined one sharply to the left, only to see it gloved by Pacheco. Sure enough, the snail slow Juan Rivera grounded into a double play, and the Dodgers could only get one run with the bases loaded and nobody out.
Fortunately, they got a couple more in the sixth to put the game away for good. Matt Treanor, the proud husband of three-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor, was beaned with one out. Chad Billingsley laid down a good sacrifice, and Victorino's RBI single made it 5-3. Ellis also collected an RBI single as Victorino scored all the way from first on some great hustle. That's the kind of excitement the Dodgers need from him at the top.
Things got iffy in the seventh, as Billingsley was chased after LeMahieu singled and Chris Nelson walked with one out. Ronald Belisario came in and watched Young hit an RBI single to make it 6-4. Belisario did get two straight groundouts after that to keep the score as is.
The bullpen did the rest from there, as Belisario got through the eighth, and Kenley Jansen breezed through the ninth for his 22nd save in 28 chances. His two strikeouts gave him 79 in 51 2/3 innings, which is still amazing.
Billingsley probably had the worst start of the three games, yet was benefited by an offense that finally came alive. It's not like Billingsley was bad, as he went 6 1/3 for seven hits, four runs, two walks, and five strikeouts. He just had a rough beginning and end. Still, that's four straight wins for him since his return from the DL in mid-July, improving his record to 8-9.
The guys at the top of the order won this game. Victorino had three hits and three runs, Ellis reached base all four times, and Kemp had three hits to go with his three-run jack. You can see how good Victornio is when he hits the ball on the ground and isn't trying to overpower it. That play where he scored from first on Ellis's single was just awesome.
The Dodgers have ended their homestand at 4-5. It started off with getting swept by the Diamondbacks in three, then sweeping the Cubs in three, and dropping two of three to the Rockies. Let's by honest here - if the Dodgers got swept by the Rockies, that would have been a season lowlight, and awful timing with how well the Giants and DBacks have been playing.
Thursday will be an off day as the Dodgers travel to Florida for three with the Marlins. It'll be a homecoming for Ramirez and Randy Choate, as the Marlins went from looking like a contender early in the season to another fire sale. Clayton Kershaw will take on Mark Buehrle.
No comments:
Post a Comment