The Dodgers lost 5-1 to the Mariners Saturday night, giving Eric Milton took his first loss of the season. If FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) was all that mattered Milton was dominant, recording 7 strikeouts with no walks or home runs allowed in 5 innings. However, baseball has more to it than that, and 7 Mariners hits led to 4 runs in those 5 innings. Felix Hernandez was actually dominant, going 8 innings and allowing only 1 unearned run on 4 hits, 1 walk, and 9 strikeouts.
The Mariners scored 1 run in the second inning on a Franklin Gutierrez double but the bulk of their runs came in the third inning. Ichiro led off with a single and scored on a Russell Branyan triple. After an Adrian Beltre popup it looked like Milton could strand Branyan at third but Ken Griffey Jr. promptly deposited a fastball into the left field seats. The home run put the Mariners up 4-0 and all but ended the Dodgers hopes for the game. Felix Hernandez was just too good tonight.
On offense the Dodgers were very quiet. Only Rafael Furcal managed to reach base safely twice. James Loney had the only Dodgers extra base hit of the game when he hit a double in the 9th inning. The Dodgers only run came when Ichiro Suzuki misplayed a fliner to right by Casey Blake and it bounced off of his leg to score Furcal. So even the only run wasn't deserved.
Here's the win probability chart for the game:
Apologies in advance for the lateness of the game recap. My car had a flat tire and I was stuck in the basement a parking garage until the wee hours of the morning. Clearly the baseball gods decided to make my night a microcosm of the game.
Back to news that matters, tommorow the Dodgers will try to win the series at 1:10 PM with Hiroki Kuroda taking the hill against Garrett Olson. Kuroda got his first win since Opening Day in his last start, going 8.2 innings against the White Sox. Olson has been pretty bad this year and was roughed up in his last start against the Padres, allowing 6 runs in 5.1 innings. In other words, the Dodgers should win.
WP - Felix Hernandez (8-3): 8 IP, 4 hits, 1 run (0 earned), 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
LP - Eric Milton (2-1): 5 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts