The Dodgers got everything they could have asked for in Scott Van Slyke on Friday, as he hit two solo homers and made a great sliding catch in the fifth.
Then the defense and bullpen decided to flush all of that down the toilet in the matter of one inning.
Two misplayed balls in the sixth soon led to a grand slam from Justin Upton, and the Braves went on to down the Dodgers, 8-5. Despite three separate leads of 1-0, 3-2, and 4-2, it didn't mean a thing in the end. It was another blown opportunity.
After Hyun-Jin Ryu worked around two walks in the first, the Dodgers got him a run in the second. A.J. Ellis doubled leading off, and believe it or not, Luis Cruz singled an out later to put runners on the corners. OK, so it was only a cheeseball infield hit, but it raised his average at the time to .100. Seriously, that hit RAISED his average to that in his 28th game. I'm beyond the point of laughing about it since it's so utterly sad.
Anyway, Dee Gordon chopped a ball into a fielder's choice that was good enough to score Ellis from third, and it was 1-0.
The Braves grabbed their first lead of the night in the third. A single by Andrelton Simmons and double by Jayson Heyward put two runners on. An RBI groundout by Upton and RBI single by Freddy Freeman later, it was 2-1 Braves.
The back and forth night continued in the fourth as the Dodgers went back ahead by one. Ellis walked and Cruz reached on an error (because one hit was way more than enough for him on this night). With two outs, Ryu and Carl Crawford went back up the middle for run-scoring singles, and it was 3-2.
The fifth and sixth innings were amazing because of the difference in defense. In the fifth, Van Slyke made a great sliding catch to rob Chris Johnson, and Matt Kemp topped him right after that with a diving catch right after. Van Slyke slugged his first of two homers to start the sixth, and the Dodgers looked good up 4-2.
And then the bottom of the sixth came, and it all unraveled. Matt Guerrier struck out B.J. Upton to start, pretty much because everybody strikes that guy out. Then Jordan Schafer popped up into shallow left center, and all three guys converging couldn't catch it. Simmons lined one right to Cruz after that, and like a damn Little Leaguer scared of the damn ball, he dropped it.
So instead of three outs and inning over, Paco Rodriguez came in with one. He immediately walked Heyward to load the bases. Upton waited on a fastball right down Broadway, and nearly hit it that far as well for a grand slam, going up 6-4.
The game was all but over after that, as the Braves added two more runs in the seventh. Crawford again made a bad defensive play by dropping a liner in left to score another run. Heyward added an RBI single right after that, and it was 8-4.
Van Slyke crushed his second homer to dead center to make it somewhat close at 8-5, but that was it for highlights. Craig Kimbrel got Kemp to groundout to short as the rain was falling to end the game and his hitting streak at 14.
My, what a difference an inning can make. The two catches by Van Slyke and Kemp were Web Gem worthy. Then Cruz and Crawford showed not soon after that just how far the Dodgers have to go in order to even be a decent team again. The second something looks good, they remind you that they're not.
Ryu had trouble with his control, and for the first time in his brief career failed to go at least six innings. Still, five innings and two runs with five strikeouts ain't too bad. He left with a chance to get the win, and that vanished in no time. He remains at 4-2.
Two of the worst things about the Dodgers this year have been Cruz and the middle relief. Well, that was on full display in this one. Cruz is hitting .096 and had the big error. The bullpen certainly didn't get help from the gloves, but still couldn't get the big outs when they needed them. Guerrier gets a pass because he should've had a 1-2-3 inning. Rodriguez and Ronald Belisario were the usual mixed bag. That's no surprise.
Let's hope a two-homer night will earn Van Slyke more starts. I've got no problem watching Andre Ethier sit again. He actually did appear in the ninth, and predictably struck out against Kimbrel. It wasn't even fair for him, Kimbrel was so much better. Can Van Slyke play third? I doubt it, but hell, give it a shot! Anyone but Cruz!
Chris Capuano is coming off his best start against the Marlins, picking up his first win. He'll take the mound on Saturday against Kris Medlen.
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