It may have been only for one night, but it was nice to finally see the ball bouncing off the Dodgers' bats for a change.
Key homers by Andre Ethier and Luis Cruz helped erase an early 4-1 deficit, and the Dodgers got back on track in their quest for a Wild Card berth with an 8-5 victory over the Cardinals. The Dodgers are now one game in back of them again for that final spot.
Home runs through the night air of Dodger Stadium aren't exactly a common occurrence, so it was all the more surprising to see five of them being hit on Friday night. The Cardinals collected the first couple in the second. With one out, Yadier Molina hit a solo shot off of Chris Capuano to make it 1-0. An out later, Matt Carpenter did the same, and it was 2-0.
The Dodgers got one back in the bottom of the frame. Adrian Gozalez started things by smacking a ground rule double to right. Hanley Ramirez grounded a hard one to first in which Allen Craig made a nice diving stop on, but Gonzalez still got to third. Cruz's RBI groundout scored Gonzalez, and it was 2-1.
The long ball burned Capuano again in the third. He got the first two outs on grounders, but Ramirez threw wildly to first on another grounder to allow Carlos Beltran to reach on an error. Sure enough, Matt Holliday made the Dodgers pay with a two-run homer to right, and the Cards were back up 4-1.
I'm sure everyone had the "Here we go again" feeling when Holliday hit that homer, but the good news was that the game was still early, so there was time to make something happen. Thankfully, that's exactly what took place in the third.
Like the Cards did in the top of the inning, it was some two-out power that got the Dodgers right back into this one. Shane Victorino was back in the leadoff spot as Mark Ellis took the night off, and he worked a walk. Ethier was still hitting #2, and with a 3-0 count, he was green-lighted and smoked a two-run shot to make it 4-3. It was his 18th of the season.
The score remained as is until the sixth, when Cruz gave the Dodgers another jolt of life. Ethier started things with a single, but Matt Kemp and Gonzalez failed to advance him, which has happened way too much lately. Ramirez was beaned to keep the inning alive. Edward Mujica relieved, and Cruz launched his three-run homer to deep left, putting the Dodgers up 6-4.
A couple more runs were tacked on in the seventh. Elian Herrera (remember him?) pinch-hit and walked leading off. A single by Victorino put two on. Ethier and Kemp both struck out, but Gonzalez picked them up with a two-run double, and it was now 8-4.
Brandon League gave up a run in the ninth, but that was all as he finished out the non-save situation.
I think this is how we all envisioned the Dodgers' offense looking like after the trades with Miami and Boston: lots of big hits, and lots of pressure being put on the opposing team. Well, we all know that hasn't exactly been the case... at all. But it was fun to watch for one night, and goes to show that if they get even a little more production from each guy in the lineup, they can still win some games.
It was great to see Ethier have such a big night, as both of his hits came at key times. Placing him in the #2 spot is a good idea by Don Mattingly in my mind. I always go back to something Tony LaRussa believed in, and that's to have a power threat hitting in that spot. It's a good move, and like we saw with his homer in the third, one swing can immediately change the game.
Capuano wasn't at his best, but then again, Ramirez's error in the third made him look worse than he actually did. He finished with 4 1/3 innings for six hits, four runs (two earned), no walks, and two strikeouts. When he was removed in the fifth, he was already up to 82 pitches, so it was obvious he wasn't at his best.
One good sign was the work of the bullpen, which really kept the Cards quiet, allowing the Dodgers to work their way back into this one. Matt Guerrier, Shawn Tolleson, Randy Choate, Jamey Wright, and League pitched the final 5 2/3 innings, giving up only one run on two hits. That couldn't have come at a better time.
If there was a downside, it's Kemp. He once again struggled mightily at the plate by going 0-for-4. His average is all the way down to .307 right now. After hitting .286 in August, he's now 5-for-40 in September for a .125 average. Wow. His two RBIs the whole month might be even more surprising.
The Dodgers may have survived in this game, but we all know that if Kemp continues to came up empty like this, it's hard to see them going anywhere. He means that much to their success. I think we can all officially declare his shoulder injury to be much worse than we thought. There's no way he's playing at 100%, or anywhere even close, right now.
Coming into this four-game set, the Dodgers were talking about taking at least three or four. They can still do so, but they'll need a weekend sweep in order for it to happen. Joe Blanton will take the hill on Saturday night.
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