Sure, the Giants have taken two from the Tigers while we are beating up on the lowly Diamondbacks. That said, last night's 5-2 victory was nonetheless dramatic, keeping the Dodgers two games up in the NL West (with 20 to play) off the bat of Dee Gordon and his eighth-inning shot up the middle, which scored PR Roger Bernandina (PR for Juan Uribe, in a fateful move since the play prior, Bernandina avoided the force at second on a potential double play). Hanley Ramirez followed with a two-run double that gave some breathing room for Kenley Jansen, who earned his 41st save.
Hyun-Jin Ryu went a strong six innings of two-run ball, and Adrian Gonzalez notched his 20th HR of the year (which leads the Dodgers), scoring himself and Gordon.
Dee Gordon has been shaky of late, with his average dipping to .284 prior to this series; this was the lowest point for Gordon since June 24. And sure, he leads the league in triples (12) and stolen bases (58), but his recent regression into a penchant for bunting (a problem that plagued Gordon in his early years with the Dodgers) seemed to indicate that he was getting desperate rather than relying on the skills and hard work that helped him become a steadying force for the Dodgers this year. If Gordon is back on the right path--and a 3-for-4 performance tonight shows signs of promise!--that can only augur good things for the Dodgers in the stretch run.
Thanks for being the sparkplug tonight, Dee. Stay on target!
1 comments:
Too friggin' hot out there today for me.
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