Tagged: Casey Blake

Ethier Jacks His 30th Home Run, 6th Walkoff Of The Year

An error looked to prove costly in the 13th for the Dodgers as a tired Casey Blake’s throw missed the target letting a runner on base that would eventually score to make it 4-3 Pirates. But can you believe it? Andre Ethier worked his walkoff magic for the 6th time this year jacking his 30th home run with Furcal on 1st.

I had a feeling the Dodgers would win this one before the first pitch but I just ended up feeling stupid for thinking that most of the game while the Dodgers caught just enough breaks to keep it interesting but could never get the lead.

So the Dodgers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat an incredible two times in this game. They did it once in the 9th when Ethier doubled to lead off the inning but were down to their last strike before Kemp’s clutch hit drove in Ethier to tie it. What seems like a day later Ethier was at it again.

Meanwhile, the Giants had already routed the Rockies for a 2nd day in a row and the Rockies losing streak was extended to 4 games. With the Dodgers victories last night and tonight that kept the Giants at 7.5 games while the Rockies went to meet them in the middle, a somewhat comfortable 5 games behind the Dodgers but just 2.5 over the Giants.

The Dodgers are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 9-5 this month. The Dodgers real magic number is down to 12 with 16 games left to go, but here is my split prediction as it stands tonight:

Dodgers: 8-8 finishing 95-67

  • Rockies: 14-2 (.875) to reach 96 wins: +12
  • Giants: 17-0 (1.000) to reach 96 wins: +17
  • Marlins: Elim (Need 19 wins with 17 left)
  • Braves: Elim (Need 20 wins with 18 left)
  • Cubs: Elim (Need 21 wins with 19 left)

Dodgers took what was a quick game to 9 innings and made it run so late that it’s almost a double header with the noon start to finish off the series. The Dodgers look for a sweep, their 3rd try for a sweep in 3 series having fallen the other 2 tries.

It was incredibly satisfying to stay up until 2:30 AM East Coast time to see this Dodgers victory. What an amazing game, what an amazing year. I love LA.

Blake’s Bat Backs Billingsley, Dodgers Win Rangers Series

The Dodgers evened up their Interleague record 3-3 with a win over the Rangers thanks in big part to Casey Blake’s bat helping out Chad Billingsley’s 7 strong innings. The Rangers got off to a good start against Billingsley but they couldn’t make it stick as the Dodgers were able to cash in some base runners for a change and Blake’s 3 run homer was the difference in the game.

The Giants won as well though so the Dodgers division lead stays at 7 games. The Rockies made it 11 wins in a row, still red hot having climbed up to 3rd place and nearing a .500 record. The D-backs and Padres aren’t feeling any love though, both losing the game and losing ground.

The Dodgers get the day off tomorrow before they face the Oakland A’s at Dodger Stadium. Let’s hope the A’s continue to struggle like they did with the Giants who swept them this weekend.

Dodgers Finish The Marlins, Head Home

The Dodgers finished off the Marlins today in a blowout 12-5 win with the 4 of the 5 runs allowed coming on a grand slam in the 9th off Mota. You have to love the job Clayton Kershaw did today with what has to have been the best game so far of his young career.

You also have to love the Dodgers bench players by now. Nevermind the fact that Pierre is already off the bench filling in for Manny and swinging the hottest bat in the lineup. You start to feel easier about Torre resting Furcal, Blake, Ethier, and Martin all at once again when you get such potent output by Juan Castro, Mark Loretta, Brad Ausmus and Xavier Paul. These four combined for 6 hits, 5 walks, 5 RBI and 9 runs.

So, that caps a successful 4-2 road trip with the Dodgers taking advantage of a Phillies team that has been struggling to score runs and a Marlins team struggling in too many ways to count. What may be lost to us in the 12 run game but certainly not lost to Torre and Honeycutt is the fact that Guillermo Mota could not get the 3rd out in the 9th. His ERA of 9.00 means there is no time when the Dodgers should feel comfortable bringing Mota in if the lead is not big.

As they near the 40 game mark the Dodgers 26-13 start puts them up there with the 1976 Dodgers, which was 6 years before I was even born.

LA gets back to their own beds late tonight to start a 6 game home stand against the Mets and the Angels tomorrow. I’ll throw together my thoughts on the Mets series later after they (hopefully) finish up a sweep of the Giants and send the Dodgers up to a 7 game lead in the West.