Poor relief pitching. Sloppy defense. Bad baserunning. Very little clutch hitting.
Those were the ingredients of a mediocre Dodger team through the first couple months of the season. After dropping two straight to the Indians at home, falling back to second place in the NL West in the process, those bad habits made their return to Dodger Stadium.
Yes, the Dodgers were a couple of innings away from taking two of three, and coupled with Adam Wainwright completely shutting down the Giants at night, would've been back in first place. But that's the thing with the Dodgers - the margin of error really isn't that big. That's why a one-run lead in the eighth quickly turned into a two-run deficit. A ninth inning solo shot by Scott Van Slyke wasn't enough in a 5-4 loss.
Here's a look at each of the four categories I covered above, and how they led to a bad couple of days for the Dodgers.
* Poor relief pitching. Brian Wilson came into this game with a 4.66 ERA, but he was actually very good in June with a 0.87 ERA in 12 appearances. It didn't matter in this one, though. He walked Michael Brantley leading off (who then stole second), walked Carlos Santana, then struck out Yan Gomes.
That momentum was short-lived, though, as David Murphy's RBI single to left tied it at three, and a botched throw into third (more on that in a second) advanced both runners. After Lonnie Chisenhall was given the intentional pass, a two-run single by Mike Aviles made it 5-3. That was all for Wilson, whose ERA ballooned up to 5.52.
Now, hopefully, Don Mattingly will stop making him the automatic setup guy. Simply put, hitters aren't nearly as scared of him as they once were. There's no reason to be, as his fastball velocity continues to drop. Ned Colletti will definitely be active in the trade market after watching this performance. Enough is enough.
* Sloppy defense. Ugh. Three errors, and all of them could've easily been avoided. Miguel Rojas made a couple of great plays at third, but dropped a grounder. He gets a pass, because his glove has actually been really good.
Someone who does not get a pass, however, is Carlos Triunfel. Boy did this guys stink up the joint. He dropped an easy grounder early in the game. Then he couldn't handle a perfect throw by A.J. Ellis to nail a runner stealing second. Then in the infamous eighth inning, as Murphy tied the game on his single, Matt Kemp threw to third so both runners wouldn't advance. For reasons only known to Triunfel, he wasn't even looking, the ball bounced away, both runners advanced, and then scored on Aviles' ensuing single. It was just pathetic.
Please, Donny, don't start this guy anymore! Maybe his .154 AVG will also convince you not to play him. I hope.
* Bad baserunning. That wasn't so much a problem in this game, but it sure was the night before. Let's not forget they ran themselves into a triple play when Dee Gordon and Yasiel Puig got way too overaggressive. Speed may kill, but it can also lead to bad decisions. On Tuesday night, it the latter.
* Very little clutch hitting. The Dodgers went 0-for-6 with five strikeouts with the bases loaded on Tuesday, leaving 10 men on base. That's pretty hard to do.
Then on Wednesday, nine more men were left on base, as they went 1-for-5 with RISP. In the ninth, they got a little rally going when Hanley Ramirez pinch-hit and walked, followed by a double from Andre Ethier (who played very well with two hits and two RBIs). Kemp had a chance to be a hero, especially on a day where the lineup looked like it was fresh out of Triple-A with more regulars resting, but flew out meekly to center to end it. It was another reminder that the Kemp of 2011 has long since disappeared.
So what's the good news? The NL West is really, really bad. The Giants are having a horrific time scoring runs, and there's talk of Bruce Bochy drastically changing the look of his lineup, which he should. The Dodgers don't have much to worry about when it comes to the teams behind them catching up.
Coming up next is four games in Colorado. The good news is that Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw are lined up to go the next two days. The bad news is that, well... it's Coors Field. Anything can happen in that damn place, including inflated ERA's. The Giants finish up with a Thursday afternoon tilt against the Cards before heading to San Diego for three.
Showing posts with label Indians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indians. Show all posts
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
First place was fun... for a day
The Dodgers found themselves in sole possession of first place in the NL West coming into Tuesday night's game in Dodger Stadium.
They then proceeded to do just about everything possible to hand that lead right back to the Giants. And, indeed, they did.
The Dodgers were flat out horrendous in losing the Indians 10-3, and the Giants got a second straight big start from Tim Lincecum in taking care of the Cardinals 5-0. Add these both up, and the Giants are back up by a 1/2 game.
It's nothing to panic and lose our minds about, because if the Dodgers could even somewhat execute with the bases loaded, this would've been a much different game. But they didn't, so it was a big L.
I'm not sure which was worse: going 0-for-6 with five strikeouts with the bases loaded, or running themselves into a ridiculous triple play. But let's start with the first one.
The Indians jumped up 3-0 in the first, but a two-run homer by Adrian Gonzalez got it to 3-2 in the bottom half. A horrible error on a dropped toss by Nick Swisher kept the inning going, and two walks later, the bases were loaded with two outs for Carlos Triunfel. He struck out.
The next inning, Josh Beckett doubled, went to third on Dee Gordon's double, and Gonzo was given the intentional pass. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier did nothing with it.
In the fifth, down 5-3, Kemp walked, and Ethier and Juan Uribe singled to open the inning. Drew Butera then struck out. Hanley Ramirez pinch-hit and struck out. Clint Robinson, Monday night's hero, struck out as well. That's right - bases loaded, nobody out... and no runs.
It's no surprise that soon after that, the Indians poured it on and didn't look back.
Then there's the triple play. It was all a product of bad baserunning decisions. It happened in the fourth, when Beckett hit his second double leading off. Godon bunted for a single, and Yasiel Puig's RBI single to right cut the deficit to 5-3.
Then Gonzo hit a soft fly to left that was caught by Michael Brantley, who fired home to nail Gordon for two outs. Puig got way too aggressive and tried to advance to second, but Yan Gomes gunned him down after a replay overturned the safe call. Don Mattingly challenged Gordon being out, and that was upheld.
Got all of that? To sum it up, it was a 7-4-2 triple play, something baseball hasn't seen since 1986. I was five at the time, in case you're wondering.
Other thoughts from the game:
* Beckett suffered his worst start since his very first one back on April 9 (four earned runs in four innings), giving up five runs in five innings. His ERA rose from 2.02 to 2.37. It looked like the Indians were waiting on his breaking stuff, and they got some big hits. Still, it's not like he was pounded, and his offense let him down with so many men left on. Unfortunately, his next start is in Colorado, so his ERA will probably go up again. Hopefully not, though.
* Yesterday I looked at some possible names that Ned Colletti could trade for to add to the bullpen. After watching Jamey Wright and Paul Maholm give up five runs in three innings, now you see why. Wright has nothing to worry about, as those are the first runs he's surrendered since May 17. Maholm, on the other hand, has been terrible with a 5.17 ERA. I have to wonder if his days are numbered.
* Gordon had a great night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and walk. On the bases, however, he was pretty bad. Trying to tag up and score on a shallow fly ball to left was a bad decision, and then he was nailed trying to swipe second in the sixth down four runs. It was a reminder that he's still young at 26 and doesn't have a whole lot of experience yet. I think he simply got carried away with his own speed, and paid the price for it, which rarely happens.
The Dodgers get an early afternoon start on Wednesday, as Hyun-Jin Ryu tries to get the Dodgers back into a tie for first. The Giants don't play until tonight, as Ryan Vogelsong takes on Adam Wainwright. Hopefully the Dodgers put some pressure back on with a win, then watch Wainwright mow 'em down in San Francisco.
They then proceeded to do just about everything possible to hand that lead right back to the Giants. And, indeed, they did.
The Dodgers were flat out horrendous in losing the Indians 10-3, and the Giants got a second straight big start from Tim Lincecum in taking care of the Cardinals 5-0. Add these both up, and the Giants are back up by a 1/2 game.
It's nothing to panic and lose our minds about, because if the Dodgers could even somewhat execute with the bases loaded, this would've been a much different game. But they didn't, so it was a big L.
I'm not sure which was worse: going 0-for-6 with five strikeouts with the bases loaded, or running themselves into a ridiculous triple play. But let's start with the first one.
The Indians jumped up 3-0 in the first, but a two-run homer by Adrian Gonzalez got it to 3-2 in the bottom half. A horrible error on a dropped toss by Nick Swisher kept the inning going, and two walks later, the bases were loaded with two outs for Carlos Triunfel. He struck out.
The next inning, Josh Beckett doubled, went to third on Dee Gordon's double, and Gonzo was given the intentional pass. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier did nothing with it.
In the fifth, down 5-3, Kemp walked, and Ethier and Juan Uribe singled to open the inning. Drew Butera then struck out. Hanley Ramirez pinch-hit and struck out. Clint Robinson, Monday night's hero, struck out as well. That's right - bases loaded, nobody out... and no runs.
It's no surprise that soon after that, the Indians poured it on and didn't look back.
Then there's the triple play. It was all a product of bad baserunning decisions. It happened in the fourth, when Beckett hit his second double leading off. Godon bunted for a single, and Yasiel Puig's RBI single to right cut the deficit to 5-3.
Then Gonzo hit a soft fly to left that was caught by Michael Brantley, who fired home to nail Gordon for two outs. Puig got way too aggressive and tried to advance to second, but Yan Gomes gunned him down after a replay overturned the safe call. Don Mattingly challenged Gordon being out, and that was upheld.
Got all of that? To sum it up, it was a 7-4-2 triple play, something baseball hasn't seen since 1986. I was five at the time, in case you're wondering.
Other thoughts from the game:
* Beckett suffered his worst start since his very first one back on April 9 (four earned runs in four innings), giving up five runs in five innings. His ERA rose from 2.02 to 2.37. It looked like the Indians were waiting on his breaking stuff, and they got some big hits. Still, it's not like he was pounded, and his offense let him down with so many men left on. Unfortunately, his next start is in Colorado, so his ERA will probably go up again. Hopefully not, though.
* Yesterday I looked at some possible names that Ned Colletti could trade for to add to the bullpen. After watching Jamey Wright and Paul Maholm give up five runs in three innings, now you see why. Wright has nothing to worry about, as those are the first runs he's surrendered since May 17. Maholm, on the other hand, has been terrible with a 5.17 ERA. I have to wonder if his days are numbered.
* Gordon had a great night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and walk. On the bases, however, he was pretty bad. Trying to tag up and score on a shallow fly ball to left was a bad decision, and then he was nailed trying to swipe second in the sixth down four runs. It was a reminder that he's still young at 26 and doesn't have a whole lot of experience yet. I think he simply got carried away with his own speed, and paid the price for it, which rarely happens.
The Dodgers get an early afternoon start on Wednesday, as Hyun-Jin Ryu tries to get the Dodgers back into a tie for first. The Giants don't play until tonight, as Ryan Vogelsong takes on Adam Wainwright. Hopefully the Dodgers put some pressure back on with a win, then watch Wainwright mow 'em down in San Francisco.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Big start just enough for Dodgers to hold on
A 2-run double by James Loney and 2-run homer by Russell Martin led to a quick 4-0 lead in the 1st inning, and the Dodgers barely held on to beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3. The win avoids a 3-game sweep.
It was good to see the Dodgers jump right on Indians pitcher Paul Byrd, who must have seemed like a slow-pitch softball pitcher after seeing Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia the previous 2 games. Juan Pierre singled, and Matt Kemp hit a ground rule double to put both men on. Loney then hit a double to score both. Martin, hitting cleanup again, stroked his 7th homer of the year, and before you knew it, it was 4-0.
You would think that a big start to the game like that would mean the offense would be locked in the rest of the game. Ah... perhaps you forgot these are the Dodgers we're talking about?! They went down in order the next 3 innings before finally getting 2 singles to start the 5th. But a double play ball by Kemp and a flyout by Loney took care of that. Those are the Dodgers we know and love!
Chad Billingsley picked up his 6th win of the year, but he's had better days. It must be nice to finally get a win when not having his best stuff. For once the offense picked him up (though, to be fair, it wasn't by much). He ended at 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. The big inning came in the 3rd when Grady Sizemore led off with a single, and 8 hitters went to the plate in a 3 run inning. 2 men were left on base when Kelly Shoppach struck out to end the inning.
That would be it for the scoring the rest of the game, mostly because the Dodgers' bullpen was fantastic. Hong-Chih Kuo, Joe Beimel, Jonathan Broxton, and Takashi Saito combined for 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K. It was good to see Broxton and Saito get back to their old ways of shutting down the opposition in the 8th and 9th. That's more like it.
Monday is an off day, then the Chicago White Sox come into town for 3. They're currently leading the AL Central, though the Minnesota Twins are right on their heals. Derek Lowe goes in the first game, and he's been Good Lowe lately. They really need him to keep that up, as well as maybe throw in 3 hits and 4 RBI. The offense sure could use it.
It was good to see the Dodgers jump right on Indians pitcher Paul Byrd, who must have seemed like a slow-pitch softball pitcher after seeing Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia the previous 2 games. Juan Pierre singled, and Matt Kemp hit a ground rule double to put both men on. Loney then hit a double to score both. Martin, hitting cleanup again, stroked his 7th homer of the year, and before you knew it, it was 4-0.
You would think that a big start to the game like that would mean the offense would be locked in the rest of the game. Ah... perhaps you forgot these are the Dodgers we're talking about?! They went down in order the next 3 innings before finally getting 2 singles to start the 5th. But a double play ball by Kemp and a flyout by Loney took care of that. Those are the Dodgers we know and love!
Chad Billingsley picked up his 6th win of the year, but he's had better days. It must be nice to finally get a win when not having his best stuff. For once the offense picked him up (though, to be fair, it wasn't by much). He ended at 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. The big inning came in the 3rd when Grady Sizemore led off with a single, and 8 hitters went to the plate in a 3 run inning. 2 men were left on base when Kelly Shoppach struck out to end the inning.
That would be it for the scoring the rest of the game, mostly because the Dodgers' bullpen was fantastic. Hong-Chih Kuo, Joe Beimel, Jonathan Broxton, and Takashi Saito combined for 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K. It was good to see Broxton and Saito get back to their old ways of shutting down the opposition in the 8th and 9th. That's more like it.
Monday is an off day, then the Chicago White Sox come into town for 3. They're currently leading the AL Central, though the Minnesota Twins are right on their heals. Derek Lowe goes in the first game, and he's been Good Lowe lately. They really need him to keep that up, as well as maybe throw in 3 hits and 4 RBI. The offense sure could use it.
Scott Proctor really sucks
At least he realizes it. Here's what he had to say after his latest outing:
"I'm not talking about that. There is nothing (wrong), and I'm tired of people making excuses and saying I'm hurt. My job is to get outs, and I'm (expletive) pathetic. It's embarrassing to know this team battled like that all day and I pitched like that. It's (expletive) stupid."
For good measure, he then added:
"I'm embarrassed for myself in front of my teammates."
Thats pretty much sums up what all Dodger fans are thinking after this last game. Tied 1-1 going into the 11th inning, the Cleveland Indians score a whopping 6 runs to take the game, 7-2. It was another creative loss for the Dodgers, who seem to be full of different ways to lose.
Needless to say, it was an absolutely embarrassing performance yet again. Two days in a row they've gone to extra innings and simply choke when the game is on the line. Ridiculous. They get another strong starting pitching performance, yet the offense sucks, and the bullpen implodes. This crap happens all the time.
The lone offensive highlight came from a solo shot that barely got over the left field wall in the 6th by Matt Kemp to tie the game at 1. How did the Indians get their run? On an absolutely mammoth home run to right by C.C. Sabathia. I think that ball is still traveling somewhere. Wow.
Other than that, Chan Ho Park was great in his spot start, which I would assume will earn him more starts. He went 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. After that, Hong-Chih Kuo came on and was his usual, dominant self, not giving up a hit in 2 innings while striking out 3. Not that any of it mattered because the offense, like they ALWAYS do, gave them no chance to actually pick up the win. God forbid they put some runs on the board and look like a Major League team. Nope, that's just asking way too much.
After Joe Beimel pitched a scoreless 8th, Jonathan Broxton put up a 0 in the 9th (though he gave up 2 hits, because getting 3 straight outs just wouldn't be the ideal thing to do anymore). Cory Wade pitched a scoreless 10th, but after pitching 2 innings the night before, I would think his tank was on E. He let the first 2 hitters reach, and Proctor came on. Then the onslaught was on.
With Arizona leading the NL West with only a 39-36 record, and the rest of the division horrible, the Dodgers just continue to blow opportunity after opportunity to take command. Their offense is a complete embarrassment, and it's pretty sad that they have to rely on Rafael Furcal that much just to score runs. Their big free agent signing, Andruw Jones, likes Twinkies more than baseball and is on the DL, not that it matters.
I cannot wait for the day the Dodgers have an offense that is enjoyable to watch. It won't happen this year, but someday it might. They'll just continue to underachieve and find all sorts of ways to hand games to the other teams. Pathetic.
Chad Billingsley takes the ball today, and he'll probably have a great start, only to come away with a no-decision or loss because the offense sucks out loud. It they even want to think about having a good homestand, they need to win today and quit playing like a bunch of little pansies.
"I'm not talking about that. There is nothing (wrong), and I'm tired of people making excuses and saying I'm hurt. My job is to get outs, and I'm (expletive) pathetic. It's embarrassing to know this team battled like that all day and I pitched like that. It's (expletive) stupid."
For good measure, he then added:
"I'm embarrassed for myself in front of my teammates."
Thats pretty much sums up what all Dodger fans are thinking after this last game. Tied 1-1 going into the 11th inning, the Cleveland Indians score a whopping 6 runs to take the game, 7-2. It was another creative loss for the Dodgers, who seem to be full of different ways to lose.
Needless to say, it was an absolutely embarrassing performance yet again. Two days in a row they've gone to extra innings and simply choke when the game is on the line. Ridiculous. They get another strong starting pitching performance, yet the offense sucks, and the bullpen implodes. This crap happens all the time.
The lone offensive highlight came from a solo shot that barely got over the left field wall in the 6th by Matt Kemp to tie the game at 1. How did the Indians get their run? On an absolutely mammoth home run to right by C.C. Sabathia. I think that ball is still traveling somewhere. Wow.
Other than that, Chan Ho Park was great in his spot start, which I would assume will earn him more starts. He went 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. After that, Hong-Chih Kuo came on and was his usual, dominant self, not giving up a hit in 2 innings while striking out 3. Not that any of it mattered because the offense, like they ALWAYS do, gave them no chance to actually pick up the win. God forbid they put some runs on the board and look like a Major League team. Nope, that's just asking way too much.
After Joe Beimel pitched a scoreless 8th, Jonathan Broxton put up a 0 in the 9th (though he gave up 2 hits, because getting 3 straight outs just wouldn't be the ideal thing to do anymore). Cory Wade pitched a scoreless 10th, but after pitching 2 innings the night before, I would think his tank was on E. He let the first 2 hitters reach, and Proctor came on. Then the onslaught was on.
With Arizona leading the NL West with only a 39-36 record, and the rest of the division horrible, the Dodgers just continue to blow opportunity after opportunity to take command. Their offense is a complete embarrassment, and it's pretty sad that they have to rely on Rafael Furcal that much just to score runs. Their big free agent signing, Andruw Jones, likes Twinkies more than baseball and is on the DL, not that it matters.
I cannot wait for the day the Dodgers have an offense that is enjoyable to watch. It won't happen this year, but someday it might. They'll just continue to underachieve and find all sorts of ways to hand games to the other teams. Pathetic.
Chad Billingsley takes the ball today, and he'll probably have a great start, only to come away with a no-decision or loss because the offense sucks out loud. It they even want to think about having a good homestand, they need to win today and quit playing like a bunch of little pansies.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Nope... probably not a turning point
Just when the Dodgers show a lot of fight in coming back from a late, 4-run deficit, they remind you why they are not one of the top teams in the league.
Despite being dominated by Cliff Lee for most of the game, the Dodgers tied the game in the 9th and had a chance to win with the bases loaded and 2 outs. Unfortunately, Andy LaRoche flied out to deep center, and the Indians added 2 in the 10th off of Takashi Saito to take the win, 6-4. For both teams, it was a frustrating last couple of innings.
Lee came into the game one of the top pitchers in all of baseball, and he sure showed why. With the exception of a leadoff single by Juan Pierre, the Dodgers never threatened against him. Get this - out of his 104 pitches, 76 were for strikes. That's remarkable accuracy. I know the Dodgers can't hit, but Lee really is that good. I'll give credit where credit is due.
Things got tight in the 8th inning, however, as Lee was wearing down. Here's the key to beating the Indians: get to their bullpen. Man, they are really bad. Some of their ERA's are simply atrocious. Anyway, down 4-0, Matt Kemp singled with 1 down, and came around to score on Jeff Kent's RBI double off of Rafael Betancourt. Rafael Perez then came in, but James Loney greeted him with an RBI single, and it was 4-2 heading into the last inning.
Cory Wade pitched his 2nd straight scoreless inning (and he's been fantastic, by the way), and the Dodgers were set to face Indians' "closer" Joe Borowski. I say "closer" because he is absolutely deplorable. He might be the worst one in the league. His fastball tops at 88, and none of his pitches have that much bite. I can't believe the Indians still let this guy finish off games. No wonder my Indians friend I was watching the game with looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole when the bullpen came in.
Angel Berroa singled (for once) and Russell Martin doubled him to 3rd. Pierre then unloaded on a single... to the pitcher to go down 4-3. After a Pierre steal and intentional walk to Kemp, Kent grounded out, but scored the run to tie the game at 4. Loney was given a free pass, but with the bases loaded, LaRoche could not come through. In other words, he fits in quite nicely with the rest of the team of failing to drive in runs.
Saito was called upon to hold the score at 4 to start the 10th, and failed miserably. His pitches were all over the place, and he looked like crap. He still could have gotten out of it after a home-to-third double play ball got them to 2 outs, but Jhonny Peralta doubled to right to score 2. Andre Ethier almost got to it, but couldn't. It was one of those plays where I couldn't help but get the feeling that if the Dodgers were playing well, that ball would have been caught. But they're not, so it wasn't.
Like I said before, both teams have plenty of reasons to feel frustrated about how the game closed, but at least the Indians can say they won. The Dodgers just cannot come up with that big hit they so desperately need. Same old story all year long.
Chan Ho Park fills in for the DL'd Hiroki Kuroda today against C.C. Sabathia. It's another Fox game, but of course the Red Sox are also on, so they get the TV coverage in New York. Enjoy it for those of you out West.
Despite being dominated by Cliff Lee for most of the game, the Dodgers tied the game in the 9th and had a chance to win with the bases loaded and 2 outs. Unfortunately, Andy LaRoche flied out to deep center, and the Indians added 2 in the 10th off of Takashi Saito to take the win, 6-4. For both teams, it was a frustrating last couple of innings.
Lee came into the game one of the top pitchers in all of baseball, and he sure showed why. With the exception of a leadoff single by Juan Pierre, the Dodgers never threatened against him. Get this - out of his 104 pitches, 76 were for strikes. That's remarkable accuracy. I know the Dodgers can't hit, but Lee really is that good. I'll give credit where credit is due.
Things got tight in the 8th inning, however, as Lee was wearing down. Here's the key to beating the Indians: get to their bullpen. Man, they are really bad. Some of their ERA's are simply atrocious. Anyway, down 4-0, Matt Kemp singled with 1 down, and came around to score on Jeff Kent's RBI double off of Rafael Betancourt. Rafael Perez then came in, but James Loney greeted him with an RBI single, and it was 4-2 heading into the last inning.
Cory Wade pitched his 2nd straight scoreless inning (and he's been fantastic, by the way), and the Dodgers were set to face Indians' "closer" Joe Borowski. I say "closer" because he is absolutely deplorable. He might be the worst one in the league. His fastball tops at 88, and none of his pitches have that much bite. I can't believe the Indians still let this guy finish off games. No wonder my Indians friend I was watching the game with looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole when the bullpen came in.
Angel Berroa singled (for once) and Russell Martin doubled him to 3rd. Pierre then unloaded on a single... to the pitcher to go down 4-3. After a Pierre steal and intentional walk to Kemp, Kent grounded out, but scored the run to tie the game at 4. Loney was given a free pass, but with the bases loaded, LaRoche could not come through. In other words, he fits in quite nicely with the rest of the team of failing to drive in runs.
Saito was called upon to hold the score at 4 to start the 10th, and failed miserably. His pitches were all over the place, and he looked like crap. He still could have gotten out of it after a home-to-third double play ball got them to 2 outs, but Jhonny Peralta doubled to right to score 2. Andre Ethier almost got to it, but couldn't. It was one of those plays where I couldn't help but get the feeling that if the Dodgers were playing well, that ball would have been caught. But they're not, so it wasn't.
Like I said before, both teams have plenty of reasons to feel frustrated about how the game closed, but at least the Indians can say they won. The Dodgers just cannot come up with that big hit they so desperately need. Same old story all year long.
Chan Ho Park fills in for the DL'd Hiroki Kuroda today against C.C. Sabathia. It's another Fox game, but of course the Red Sox are also on, so they get the TV coverage in New York. Enjoy it for those of you out West.
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