All the talk is about Joc Pederson's amazing catch in center field in the bottom of the ninth inning, saving the game for the Dodgers and allowing the extra inning frames to even happen. And rightfully so; the catch was INCREDIBLE (and you need to see it; if all goes well it is embedded below, along with Charley Steiner, Orel Hershiser, and even Rick Monday calling the play.).
But let's skip past the early-inning foreplay (including an Andre Ethier solo HR in the seventh, and a Adrian Gonzalez RBI double (Gonzalez took third on the throw) in the eighth), and move right on from that Pederson highlight to extra innings. Firstly, Josh Ravin, ladies and gentlemen: two innings of pretty good work, the first of which was extended when the Padres whined about Enrique Hernandez not really touching second on a 3-6-3 double play. Ravin went ahead and struck out Derek Norris and Cory Spangenberg to close the inning with Matt Kemp in scoring position. Ravin goes to 2-0 after today's game.
In the top of the 12th, Alberto Callapso had a one-out double to right over the head of Matt Kemp; Hernandez and Pederson walked; and the stage was set for Alex Guerrero, whom Don Mattingly just said was better as a pinch-hitter than starting 3B (relative to Justin Turner). Guerrero...lined to Kemp in right, and because it was a short line out, Callaspo could not score from third (Callaspo was nabbed by Kemp in the third inning with a putout at the plate).
Up came Gonzalez, who has been has been slumping since his torrid April. Gonzalez singled to center, scoring Callaspo and Hernandez. 4-2 Dodgers, and Kenley Jansen earned his ninth save in the 12th.
Coupled with the Giants' 4-0 loss and sweepage by the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers open up a 3.5 game lead in the West. Get set for a Texas Two-Step (two @ Arlington, followed by two @ home), starting tomorrow!
0 comments:
Post a Comment