Not that this should surprise anyone, but the Dodgers were again locked in a close, low-scoring ballgame on Saturday in San Francisco. If they have any hope of still winning the NL West, this was one they couldn't let slip away.
A wild pitch by Matt Cain in the eighth, and a clutch RBI double by Hanley Ramirez in the ninth gave the Dodgers a sense of hope again.
After Alex Castellanos tied the game in the eighth on a wild pitch by Cain, Ramirez's double scored Adrian Gonzalez as the winning run, and the Dodgers finally beat the Giants, 3-2. The Giants are still comfortably ahead by 4 1/2 in the NL West, but the Dodgers at least pulled within a 1/2 game of the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot.
The first inning sure made it look like another long afternoon for the Dodgers. Mark Ellis led off the game with a single, but a double play ball by Gonzalez wiped out that inning. In the bottom half, Marco Scutaro doubled, Pablo Sandoval singled, and Buster Posey's RBI single made it 1-0.
Ramirez started the second with a single, but was then caught stealing. Andre Ethier walked, but Luis Cruz grounded into a double play. One step forward, and then one step back.
Chris Capuano settled down quite nicely after Posey's RBI, retiring 12 straight before Gregor Blanco's bunt single with one out in the fifth. The Dodgers' defense then flashed their leather, as Cain laid down a sacrifice in which he was out at first, then Mark Ellis threw to A.J. Ellis covering third to nail Blanco. That turned out to be big.
It was Capuano who gave the Dodgers the lead back in the sixth. Mark Ellis followed with his own single, moving Capuano to third, and Ellis soon advanced to second on a wild pitch. Shane Victorino had a good at-bat with a deep sac-fly RBI to center, making it a 1-1 game.
The Dodgers turned a double play off of Sandoval to end the sixth, but the Giants did end up taking the lead back an inning later. It started with that damn Posey again, as he doubled leading off. In case you didn't know, he's pretty good. Hunter Pence sacrificed him over to third, and Joaquin Arias was intentionally walked to pitch to Brandon Belt.
It looked like a good decision to go after Belt, as he grounded one back to the mound. But, Capuano let it bounce off his glove just enough to allow Posey to score as Belt was thrown out at first.
With Matt Kemp out for a few days with a bum shoulder, Juan Rivera got a rare start since the major deal with the Red Sox. He doubled leading off, and went to third on A.J. Ellis' sacrifice. That brought in Castellanos to run for Rivera with the scoring opportunity. Bobby Abreu hit for Capuano, and as he was taking ball four, Castellanos scampered home on the wild pitch to tie game at 2-2.
Ronald Belisario pitched the eighth, and despite some wildness (again) with two walks, was able to get Pence striking out to keep the game deadlocked.
The Giants brought in lefty Jeremy Affeldt to pitch to Gonzalez to open up the ninth, and thankfully for Dodger fans, it didn't work. Gonzalez found plenty of room in center for a leadoff triple, his first of the entire season. That's when Ramirez collected his 19th game winning RBI of the season, tops in the majors, with a double.
Brandon League got another opportunity to get the save, and he came through, despite a two-out double by Blanco. It's his second save in LA.
Any win at this point is big, and one against the division leader obviously takes on added significance. It's also the first win the Dodgers have against the Giants in five games dating all the way back to July 29. That's the game Clayton Kershaw went the distance for a complete game shutout.
Capuano didn't quite have those numbers, but he was still pretty awesome in this one. He lasted seven innings for five hits, two runs, three walks, and three strikeouts. He didn't get a decision, which is a shame considering how good he was, but it was still great to see him revert to his early season form. Let's hope it lasts.
I wrote the other day about how lousy Kemp has been lately, and how running face first into the wall in Colorado might be a reason why. Sure enough, not even a few hours later we all find out that he's been scratched this weekend with a hurt shoulder. The early results are encouraging, as he looks like he'll be back for Tuesday's game in Arizona.
In the meantime, it's up to guys like Gonzalez and Ramirez to step up, and they did in this one. Gonzalez only had one hit, but it was that big triple to start the ninth. Ramirez had two hits hitting in the cleanup spot, and his double in the ninth again showed how clutch he's been this year. I doubt many people would've guessed that he's the one leading all of baseball in game winning RBIs. I didn't have a clue either. But hey, it's good to know.
If Saturday was a must-win, then it's not a stretch to say that Sunday probably is, too. Being down 3 1/2 is a heck of a lot different than being down 5 1/2. Even though it's a football-crazy Sunday, tune into ESPN Sunday Night Baseball to see this one, as Clayton Kershaw takes the mound against Barry Zito.
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