and late game heroics from Matt Kemp could not save him.
Dodgers broke out first, with three runs against Home Bailey on a three run double by Casey Blake. Billingsley cruised through the first inning, and things looked good for the boys in blue. Cue to the bottom of the 2nd:
Brandon Philips - Home Run
Scott Rolen - Single
Jay Bruce - Triple
Johnny Gomes - Single
Ramon Hernandez - Single
Homer Bailey - Chad throwing error on bunt
Drew Stubbs - K
Orlando Cabrera - Sacrifice Fly
Joey Votto - Single
Brandon Philips - K
Six runs, Six hits
One more run in the 3rd and Chad was pulled in the fourth. Chad has gotten progressively worse with each start in 2010. His final line for this game: 3 innings, 7 hits, 7 runs, 4 earned runs, no walks, two strikeouts.
Ramon Ortiz quickly gave up two more runs in the fourth and the team was down 9 - 3. Ortiz finally put up a zero in the fifth keeping the score at 9 - 3.
Then Blake and Blake went to work. Casey Blake drove in a run with another extra base hit, Blake DeWitt drove him in with one of his patented singles. Deficit now 9 - 5 and enter Jon Link.
Mr. Link was making his major league debut and did more then anyone should have expected. Two hitless innings later we headed to the eighth still down 9 -5.
Blake DeWitt started the inning with a close call at 1st that he lost. This is then how our magical eighth unfolded:
Russell Martin - Single
Belliard - Double to left field (you expected something less)
Furcal - vicious line drive single to center to score Martin. 1st and 3rd
Rhiana's Boyfriend - three run bomb to right center field
TIE GAME 9 - 9
Troncoso came in to keep the Red's at bay but was not upto the task. Two walks put him in trouble and then he gave up a single to left field. One run scored on the hit, and another run scored when Blake DeWitt did not throw home during a pickle. Belliard dropped the throw but it didn't matter, once DeWitt didn't throw home the run was going to score before they got the runner in the pickle out.
Dodgers went meekly in the 9th for a tough loss. When you score nine runs you should win the game. and if I was Uncle Google I'd tell how many times in the last five years we have lost while scoring nine runs. But I'm not so go look it up yourself.
Dodgers struck out ten times, with five of them looking.
Heros:
Matt Kemp - three run home run in the top of the eighth tied the game.
Casey Blake - three run triple in the first, key double in the sixth
Jon Link - first major league game, pitched two hitless innings
Goats:
Chad Billingsley - I'm not defending Chad again, until he does something worth defending. Right now he's the last option I want to see on the mound. His all-star form from 10 months ago seems like a distant memory.
Ramon Troncoso - walked two batters including a four pitch walk to the carcass known as Ramon Hernandez. That was his crime, not giving up the lucky single Paul Janish.
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