After spending the last seven games in a 5-for-28 slump, Adrian Gonzalez woke up his sleeping bat to send Dodger fans home happy.
Gonzalez's two-run double off of J.J. Putz in the ninth gave the Dodgers a wild, comeback victory over the Diamondbacks, 5-4. The win earned a split with the DBacks after dropping the first two games of the series, and kept them within 4 1/2 of the Giants in the NL West.
One day after losing a close 2-1 game to the Dodgers, Chris Young led off the game by doubling against Chris Capuano. Aaron Hill sacrificed him over to third for an immediate scoring chance. Justin Upton then grounded one that was gloved nicely at third by Hanley Ramirez, who got Young tagged out in a rundown before Jason Kubel flew out for the last out.
Matt Kemp hasn't homered since August 8, a drought of 21 games. Thankfully he got on the board again with a solo shot leading off the second, a blast that was just out of the reach of a leaping Young in right.
As has been the case for the last week, the Dodgers again failed with runners on after Kemp's homer. With one out, Andre Ethier and Luis Cruz each singled. Matt Treanor's grounder forced Cruz at second to put runners on the corners, and Capuano grounded a bunt out to third to end the inning.
Any joy of having an early lead was immediately vanquished, as John McDonald led off the third with a solo shot to left, making it 1-1. The DBacks then took the lead the next inning. It came with two outs, as Paul Goldschmidt singled, and Miguel Montero unloaded on a two-run shot to left, and it was now 3-1.
The Dodgers put runners on in both the fourth and fifth, but came up with blanks. They did cash in on one run in the sixth. Kemp drew a walk with one out, then Ramirez doubled for runners in scoring position. Ethier had a chance to drive in both, but had to settle for just one on an RBI groundout to second. Cruz flew out to center, keeping the Dodgers down 3-2.
Sure enough, the DBacks got that run right back in the seventh. Shawn Tolleson relieved and watched Goldschmidt and Montero single off of him right away. Chris Johnson laid down a sacrifice to advance both men. McDonald delivered again with an RBI single, and it was 4-2. Gonzalez made slick play off of a Wade Miley bunt to get Montero at home for the second out. Young then grounded into a forceout.
To their credit, the Dodgers kept chipping away after facing another increasing deficit. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, A.J. Ellis pinch-hit and doubled. Mark Ellis couldn't do anything with it on a flyout to right, so it was up to Shane Victorino to deliver. He did just that, as his RBI single up the middle again brought the Dodgers within one at 4-3.
It all came down to the ninth as Putz was looking to put the Dodgers away. He looked good at first, striking out the recently recalled Bobby Abreu for the first out. Mark Ellis then hit a single to start the rally. Victorino drew a walk, which set things up for Gonzalez in the #3 spot. He ripped a walk-off double down the right field line that allowed Victorino to beat the throw home.
The hit by Gonzalez could not have possibly come at a better time. With another win by the Giants, the Dodgers were not only looking at going 5 1/2 back, but falling even further back in the Wild Card standings as well. However, because of the walk-off, the Dodgers are now a 1/2 game behind the Cardinals for that final spot.
Here's another reason the hit was big - it made you forget that the offense still did not deliver well at all with runners on. With runners in scoring position, they went 2-for-9, including nine left on base. The only two-out RBI was from Victorino, so at least they got one. The lineup is still scuffling, but the ninth was a great sign that if they don't worry about the long ball too much, they can still make plenty of noise. A single, a walk, and a double is what won the game.
Capuano put in a pretty good effort, but was crushed by the two taters. He went five innings for four hits, three runs, no walks, and four strikeouts. The two-run shot by Montero was a pure hanger, and boy was it crushed. If he got that one pitch back, his final line would be so much better. Then again, that's what lots of pitchers say after giving up a homer.
The bullpen of Javy Guerra, Tolleson, Matt Guerrier, and Ronald Belisario took over the final four innings, giving up only one run. It was good to see Guerrier bounce back from taking the loss in his first game back on Friday. Belisario struck out the side in the ninth to earn the win.
Maybe the walk-off by Gonzalez will propel the Dodgers towards greater days going forward, as Lord know they could use something to kickstart them again. Hopefully this is it. Labor Day marks exactly one month to go in the season, so let's see what happens.
Labor Day also starts a three-game set at home against the Padres. Joe Blanton will look to make it two in a row for himself in Dodger blue. And if you're a gymnastics fan like myself, then consider it good karma that Fierce Five members Kyla Ross, Gabby Douglas, and McKayla Maroney are throwing out the first pitch. It won't hurt to have some gold in Dodger Stadium.
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