Adrian Gonzalez could not have possibly made a bigger splash in his Dodgers' debut on August 25, slugging a three-run homer in his first at-bat.
His 115 plate appearances since then? Exactly zero balls sent over the wall.
On Sunday night, however, Gonzo turned back the clock to late August by hitting two solo homers, helping the Dodgers get the win over the Reds, 5-3. With nine games left in the season, the Dodgers remain three games in back of the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot.
The major story coming into this one was the start by Clayton Kershaw, who not too long ago looked to be lost for the season, and possibly into the next one, with a hip injury. We can all be thankful that the early diagnosis looks to have been too harsh, as Kershaw took the ball and went five strong, giving up only one run.
The Reds did make him sweat, though. In the first, they loaded the bases. Chris Heisey led off by getting beaned in the forearm, Joey Votto walked an out later, and Miguel Cairo singled with two outs. Denis Phipps hit a long fly to center, but Matt Kemp was easily able to glove it to end the inning.
The second is when Gonzalez finally broke through with a solo homer to right leading off. Any home run for the Dodgers is big, as Andre Ethier and Kemp are tied for the lead with 19. Seriously, that's it. Gonzalez loves to hit against Homer Bailey, as he's now 8-for-15 with five homers in his career against him. Talk about having someone's number!
In the third, the Reds got their lone run against Kershaw. Wilson Valdez started things with a walk, and Votto followed with his second straight base on balls as well. Todd Frazier took a low breaking ball near the dirt to center for an RBI single, and it was 1-1. Kershaw was able to get Cairo to ground into a double play, and Phipps struck out.
As Bailey was settled in against a lifeless Dodgers' offense (a phrase I have cut and pasted for the last few weeks now), the Reds again blew a golden chance with the bases juiced in the fourth. Daniel Stubbs led off with a single, but was picked off by Kershaw at first. Ryan Hanigan grounded out before Bailey hit what looked like an innocent two-out single.
That single turned into a big scoring chance as Heisey also singled and Valdez walked. The Reds rested some of their big guns like Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce, so Votto was the perfect guy for them in this spot. Kershaw manned up, though, and got him swinging for the final out.
Kershaw lasted through the fifth before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth, much to his dismay. Just who exactly hit for him? You guessed it (or not), Juan Uribe. It was his first at-bat since Game 5 of the 2010 World Series with the Giants. OK, just kidding, that's wishful thinking on my part. In his first swing since August 26, he hit a single! Holy crap! Nearly one whole month of being on the roster, yet never getting a chance to hit. Too bad for him, he was stranded at first.
The Dodgers put up a four spot in the seventh, which seemed like a long time coming. It started with another solo bomb from Gonzo, this time to left center, to make it 2-1. Hanley Ramirez gritted out a single moments after fouling one off his left ankle. Dee Gordon came in for him, and he scampered to third on Luis Cruz's single.
After Elian Herrera struck out, A.J. Ellis laid down a bunt to Bailey. For some reason, Bailey never really looked Gordon back, and on the putout to first, Gordon flew home to score easily and make it 3-1. That's the different dimension to the game that Gordon can so excel at. Bobby Abreu pinch-hit and took a walk, bringing in Jose Arredondo. Mark Ellis greeted him with an RBI double, and Ethier with an infield RBI single, putting the Dodgers up 5-1.
Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the seventh, handing the ball over to Ronald Belisario in the eighth. Cairo reached right away on an error by Gordon, which unfortunately is one of those "dimensions" that he also does so well at. Sure enough, Phipps launched a two-run shot to make it 5-3.
Brandon League was given another chance for save, and with two outs, Gordon's throw to first was wide to Gonzalez, but he made a great tag on Frazier just before he got to first to cap off the night. It was League's fifth save.
Before Gonzalez made the night about him, it was all about Kershaw and his surprise start. He certainly didn't have his best stuff, walking five to tie a season high. But he also struck out five to put himself back in the NL lead at 211. His one run surrendered lowered his ERA to 2.68 as well. It was just awesome to watch him step up and get big outs when he needed them. The guys is a true warrior and a pleasure to watch.
I think this was the kind of night we all envisioned Gonzalez having when he was acquired from Boston. It's not like we expected two homers each game, but I certainly think we thought he'd give more than 3 homers and 11 extra-base hits in 27 games. It was nice to watch him make an impact with the long ball again.
There's really not a whole lot the Dodgers can do other than win every, or very, VERY close to every, game the rest of the way. They've got three coming up in San Diego, followed by three each at home against the Rockies and Giants. The Cardinals have the Astros, Nationals, and Reds. The Brewers are only three back as well, and they've got the Reds, Astros, and Padres.
No matter which teams play which, no matter how good, bad or ugly the opponents are, and no matter if it's home or away, the Dodgers just need to win. That's it. Win and then pray for some help. Don't win, and none of this matters. They've dug their own grave, so let's see if they can claw their way out.
Monday is an off day before traveling to play the Padres in the final road trip of the year. Josh Beckett has a 3.45 ERA in five starts with LA, and his team will need another big start from him.
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