Hiroki Kuroda (1-3, 3.67) vs. Johnny Cueto (2-4, 5.75).
COMMENTS: Infused with the heady aroma of a series win over Cincinnati, the Dodgers send Kuroda to the mound tonight for the sweep. A victory would not only give Kuroda his second win of the season but also bring the Dodgers to .500 (7-for-14) sans Rafael Furcal—a pretty decent record without the contributions of this year's MVP. Meanwhile, life without Raffy is looking up. Chad Billingsley just might be the stopper we've been yearning for. The heretofore unthinkable outfield of Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier is producing and will finally get some consistent playing time. The bullpen is back to its nasty self. All that stands between the Dodgers and Furcal's scheduled return Friday is Cueto, who averages about a strikeout per inning but also allows a lot of home runs. The Dodgers, who have been shut out only twice this season, figure to score some runs for Kuroda. Hopefully his string of hard-luck outings will end tonight.
For those attending tonight's game: Leave early, as you'll be competing with the Lakers (Staples Center, 6p) and the American Idol final (Nokia Theatre, 5p). Our own Steve Sax will be on the Field level, third-base side—give a holler in the comments section if you want to meet up!
59 comments:
Tonight's the night where it's no longer acceptable that I am a Spurs' fan, right?
I've got MLB.tv working now, so I'll be watching the game along with you guys tonight, at least until I fall asleep (fell asleep with SoSG up on my laptop in front of me last night). I'll be back in a few hours.
Oh, and the Red Sox are facing Brett Tomko tonight. Ellsbury just led off the game with a homer against him. I hope every member of the Red Sox tees off against Tomko. It's unlikely, but I would love to see him destroyed tonight.
Erin, the next time you fall asleep with SoSG on the laptop, please make sure your nose hits the F5 button so we can amp up our page views counter.
(Sorry!) And Go Lakers.
Pierre, LF
Ethier, RF
Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Kemp, CF
DeWitt, 3B
Hu, SS
Kuroda, P
Arizona just lost again to Florida, 3-1.
Pierre was caught stealing second.
Sorry. It was fielder's choice.
People booing at Pierre's throw...how on earth a heavy guy like Dunn gets to second on a shallow line to left field?
Beautiful, squeeze play by Hu. Kemp scores. Dodgers 2-0.
Hairston left due to dehydration. Meanwhile , we are drinking up a storm here at the game. Mrs. Sax is going nuts.
Fjl with a man on third...draws a walk! Up comes kemp, who executed the squeeze PERFECTLY (we were right here watching).
The wind tonight is out of control.
Wow, matt looked bad at that at bat. There were two baaaaaad swings on strikes 2 and 3.
Kuroda gives up the tying run. 2-2.
Lakers down by 3 in the 4th.
Hu with the wind-aided double, or single + E?
That was some pretty nice base running from DeWitt on that pop-up from Hu. A runner could have easily been thrown out at second on a play like that.
According to Vin, Albert Pujols took out tall Chris Young (hit on forehead, ouch) and Josh Bard (play at plate) in separate plays tonight.
All tied up at Staples!
A gift from Johnny Cueto! 3-2 Dodgers!
Dick Pole appearance!
Actually PB ruling makes it a gift from Paul Bako Bako.
Lakers are winning and playing mad D....
Josdh Suchon, doing the coca-cola fan quiz, has a really, really high voice.
3-2 dodgers, off of russell's weird foul ball. Through four full.
Lakers up 2 with 20 seconds left....
No more A Martinez?
Lakers up 4 with 7.3 seconds left....
Lakers win 89-85! (Sorry Erin, but two out of three ain't bad.)
There I go, assuming a Dodger victory.
DeWitt continues to produce. Men on 1st & 3rd, Hu up. Let's get some insurance.
Cueto gift! 4-2 Dodgers.
Dodgers score on: (1) squeeze, (2) WP, (3) PB, (4) E-1.
Kuroda induces the inning-ending 4-6-3 DP!
Dodgers are 0-for-9 with RISP.
"It's not fishing; you don't throw the little ones back." —Vin, on scoring runs
Okay, I'm depressed about the Spurs blowing the game, and now I have some work to do, so I won't be watching the game on the computer anyway. It's up to you guys to keep me informed.
7% of CarMax text voters say Ken Griffey Jr. will never enter the Hall of Fame.
Kuroda starts the 7th with only 68 pitches.
Go Lakers! Fans went nuts when they won.
Kuroda walks Dunn but is only up to 78 pitches.
DeWitt went up and toward the 3rd-base line to snag that last one. Kuo and Wade in the bullpen.
Martin pickoff throw to 2nd on a bounce...again, says Vin.
Kuroda's control is waning. This will be his last inning.
Broken bat grounder to Hu for the second out.
Pretty tight zone, at least this inning.
Kuroda does it! Ground ball to Kent to get out of the inning.
Loney solo bomb! Griffey didn't even chase it as it went into the visitor's bullpen.
Erin, did you watch Colon tonight? How was he?
I was wrong! Kuroda starts the eighth.
comebacker
I did see Colon. I thought he looked good. He gave up six hits in his five innings, but none of those balls was hit particularly hard or well. He threw a lot of groundball out, and his pitch count was good. It was a long wait in the bottom of the fifth while the Red Sox scored some runs, so I think that's why he didn't come back out for the top of the sixth. Easing him back into it, I guess, especially when the batters got him a lead in the bottom of the inning.
Kuroda threw, what, ten pitches that inning? I believe Joe Torre might be thinking CG here.
troyfromwestvirginia wants to see Joe Biemel
Kuroda looks Maddux'esque
Hmmm, Angels fans must be thrilled. Just think how dominant he could be if he just dropped a few.
I think Torre wanted to hold out Beimel after yesterday. Sorry, Troy.
Here we go. Saito in for the save.
Maza in at 2nd.
Saito K's Phillips with 93 mph heat!
And that does it! Welcome to Sweepsville, population: Reds. Dodgers cut the D'backs lead to 3 games.
Sweet dreams, everybody!
Thoughts from the game:
Kuroda was efficient
Loney's bomb was never in question
Winds were high early on
Squeeze play worked perfectly, compliments to Torre and Bowa
Sweeney does not deserve a spot on the Dodgers' roster
Kent needs to move from the cleanup spot as he is bifurcating the lineup with his awful at-bats
Great win tonight over a bad bad team
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