The good news: Josh Beckett was fantastic in his home debut, leading the Dodgers to a win with over six innings of one-run ball.
The bad news: An offense with Matt Kemp back in it scored two runs on six hits, and were very fortunate the pitching carried them.
For one night anyway, the Dodgers were finally able to taste the thrills of victory, as solo homers by Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier held up in beating the Diamondbacks, 2-1. The win helped them keep pace with the Giants, who beat the Cubs, as the NL West deficit is still 4 1/2 games.
The game all came down to three big hits, and fortunately the Dodgers had the majority of them. In the second, Ramirez lifted a no-doubter out to deep center for his 23rd homer of the year to make it 1-0. Ethier and Luis Cruz both singled next, but A.J. Ellis and Beckett couldn't score them.
Aaron Hill hit a one-out single to start the third, but was thrown out trying to steal second by Ellis for the second out. That was a big play, as Justin Upton absolutely crushed a solo shot to deep left to make it 1-1.
More offensive frustrations came in the fourth for the Dodgers. Kemp singled leading off, and Ramirez took a walk. Ethier failed to get either runner over by flying out to left. Cruz hit one hard, but right to Upton in center for the second out. Ellis forced Ramirez at second with a grounder, and after putting two on with none out, the Dodgers couldn't score anyone. Ugh.
Ethier gave the Dodgers a jolt in the sixth, though. Matt Albers relieved Tyler Skaggs, who really kept the Dodgers off balanced. Albers struck out Kemp and Ramirez before getting a couple strikes on Ethier. With a full count, Ethier hit one out to left center, making it 2-1. It was his 15th home run of the season.
With Kenley Jansen out indefinitely, the question now is how Don Mattingly will align his bullpen. On this night, it was Jamey Wright who got the call for the hold in the eighth. He did a great job, getting the top of the DBacks' lineup in order.
In the bottom half, Shane Victorino finally did something other than pop up with a single to left. He then easily swiped second and went to third on the bad throw. So now there was a runner on third and nobody out. You would think the Dodgers would at least score him, right?
Wrong. Adrian Gonzalez popped up to left in a horrible at-bat. Kemp flew to right, and Upton nailed Victorino trying to score on it, as Miguel Montero did a great job absorbing a big hit to get the final out. I don't even blame Victorino for tyring to make something happen and score there. It was the right call, despite not actually scoring.
Brandon League got the save opportunity, and Paul Goldschmidt greeted him with a single. That was all that would happen, however, as League got the next three in order for his first save in Dodger blue. It was his 10th save overall combined with the Mariners.
Let's start with the good, and that was the pitching. Beckett looked very sharp, as his pitches had lots of movement. It was his first win since the Red Sox beat the Rays on July 15, which seems like a long time. Then again, it was nine starts ago. In digging a little deeper, this was probably his best start since June 6 when he gave up two runs in eight innings against he Orioles, but actually took the loss (2-1).
So, this a welcome sight, especially with the uncertainty facing Chad Billingsley. If the Dodgers somehow do squeak into the playoffs, then a 1-2 punch of Clayton Kershaw and Beckett should be very formidable. I'll take that. But of course, they have to actually make it into October first.
The trio of Randy Choate, Wright, and League pitched the final 2 1/3 innings flawlessly, with only one runner reaching. Choate got the pinch-hitting Jason Kubel to end the seventh, and Wright and League kept the one-run lead as well. Nicely done.
Then there's the offense, which is still struggling beyond belief. I never thought I'd see these kinds of results, as inning after inning goes by without much noise. I've said it before and I'll say it again: their biggest problem is that way too many of them are swinging for the fences. How many pop ups and deep flyouts are we going to see before they change their approach?
A win is a win, and believe me, I'm glad they found a way to grab this one. But the offensive problems are still there, and it's time for them to quit worrying about home runs and start swinging to get on base. If they concentrate more on getting on and moving runners over, the big hits will come naturally. Granted I'm no expert at this, but the last week has been hard to watch. It's time to make some changes at the plate.
After dropping the first two games of this series, the Dodgers have a chance to at least gain a split on Sunday. Chris Capuano is an ugly 2-7 since the start of July, so he'll again look to regain his old form. The DBacks will deploy Wade Miley, who in his first full campaign is enjoying an excellent season.
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