Dodgers win on a Sands slam

Ladies and gentleman, Jerry Sands is starting to shine.

One night after coughing away a ninth inning lead, Sands's grand slam helped lead the way as the Dodgers edged the Astros, 5-4. It was a much-needed win for the Dodgers, who are suffering losses both on the field and off of it via the injury bug with regularity.

The Dodgers were the first to strike. In the second, Jay Gibbons hit a solo homer with two outs for the 1-0 lead. It was his first shot of the year, and with a .216 average, he really needs more hits like this to justify getting any playing time going forward.

Much like the second, the Dodgers got a rally going with two outs in the following inning. Hitting in the #2 hole, Jamey Carroll took a walk. James Loney singled to center, and Matt Kemp reached on an error by Bill Hall to load the bases. Sands has been swinging a hot bat lately, and he flexed his muscle with the grand slam to go up 5-0.

Unfortunately for Chad Billingsley, the big cushion was almost completely handed right back in the bottom of the frame. Perhaps he was used to pitching in tight ballgames? I'm just saying. Anyway, Michael Bourne walked with two down. After a Clint Barmes single, Hunter Pence's RBI double made it 5-1. Carlos Lee scored two with a single, and it was 5-3.

Pence did more damage when he led off the sixth with a double. Lee and Brett Wallace then walked to load the bases with nobody out. Knowing how much of a mess the bullpen has been, Don Mattingly chose to leave Bills in. It pretty much worked, as only one run scored on a sac-fly RBI by Chris Johnson making it 5-4.

Now came time for the bullpen to protect the lead, something Kenley Jansen failed miserably at a night ago. Mike MacDougal pitched the seventh and was flawless. He's been a bright spot in a giant dark cloud this year with his 1.59 ERA.

Next came the major league debut of young Rubby De La Rosa, who was just recalled from Double-A Chattanooga. I'm sure the Dodgers wanted to wait on him, but with injuries and ineffectiveness, he got the call. For one night anyway, he looked awesome. Facing the heart of the order, he struck out two in a scoreless eighth.

The youth movement continued in the ninth, as Javy Guerra was given the chance to close it out. We can all thank the Good Lord above that it actually worked, as he went 1-2-3 for his first career save.

After Monday's meltdown, I didn't think I'd be able to say for awhile that the bullpen pitched shutdown ball, but they did. MacDougal, De La Rosa, and Guerra combined to get the last nine outs in order with five strikeouts. Who would have thought that was possible? Not me. But I'm glad to be wrong.

Things will get very interesting when guys like Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, and Vicente Padilla come off the DL. Suppose De La Rosa and Guerra continue to pitch well, then what do you do? There's obviously not room for everyone. If you're one of the young guns, their goal is to make that decision difficult for Ned Colletti and Mattingly.

It was also good to see Billingsley pick up a win on a night where he wasn't as sharp as he could be. Still, he was huge in the sixth by getting out of the bases loaded, nobody out jam with only one run. Overall, he went six innings for five hits, four runs, three walks, and nine strikeouts.

The rubber match will be played Wednesday afternoon before the Dodgers use a travel day on Thursday returning home. Ted Lilly will look to even up his record by getting a fourth win.