FanPost

The Dodgers Mauled By Carpenter

On an afternoon when spirits are high as the second half of the Major League Baseball season begins, the Dodgers look to the hot youngster Clayton Kershaw.

The Dodgers, merely two games behind an impressive pitch heavy Padres team and neck to neck with a Rockies team that promises to heat up during the second half of the season, the Dodgers look to the NL West that has suddenly got interesting hoping to steal the first game in St. Louis putting behind them what seems like a decade of horrible outings and lopsided defeats.

Clayton Kershaw never looked comfortable from the beginning as he walks the first two batters he faces. His pitches linger high in the strike zone and continues to struggle, throwing a lot of pitches and missing a lot of spots he normally hits. Kershaw works only 4 and1/3 innings and never really shows us the dominance he is certainly capable of exhibiting. The adventure continues.

Carpenter on the other hand deals from the beginning, limiting the Dodger bats from the outset. He gives up two hits of the Dodger after six, dispelling rumours that perhaps he has lost something--that he is perhaps not the same pitcher that he once was.

The St. Louis bats look good throughout and were careful to take every advantage of every Dodger mistake. In the words of someone somewhere, " This was not your night." The Cardinals don't seem to knock the hell out of you like the lineup might suggest, what they do is sound and precise daring you to throw it by them. They hit well and didn't let up. It seemed like I was always watching a white jersey with a little red bird on it swing or walk. It was quite the long evening.

On a side note, George Sherrill pitched tonight, taking only two outs before giving way to the final pitcher of the night in the bottom of the 8th. Sherrill told reporters before the game that he remained undecided as to what his decision might be concerning the possible stint in the minor leagues.

The Cardinals dominated, the sloppy play, scarce hitting and continued pitching woes determining the outcome of the game, performing the very definition of the popular term "off night." For Dodger fans we have to conclude that this is all it was. Keep your head up boys, the season is long and there's always tomorrow.

This is a fan-written post that is in no way affiliated with or related to any of the authors or editors of True Blue LA. The opinions reflected in this post do not necessarily reflect those of True Blue LA, its authors or editors.