As the ominous dark clouds rolled into Pittsburgh, the Dodgers' offense finally brought the thunder, opening the floodgates in an 10-2 win to salvage one game of the three-game set with the Pirates. The Dodger offense was led by Ronnie Belliard, two of five reserves to start for Joe Torre today. Belliard, starting at third base for Casey Blake, had a two-run home run and an RBI triple, and an RBI double in his first start of the season. Belliard became just the eighth LA Dodger to have a double, triple, and home run in the same game.
Chad Billingsley had the best start of the young season for the Dodgers, allowing one run in 5 1/3 innings. It wasn't the most efficient of efforts, as Billingsley threw 107 pitches, including a 34-pitch fourth inning, but he was effective during the time he was in the game, striking out seven batters, including four looking. He did allow five hits and four walks, and has the rare situation in which his ERA and WHIP are the same, at 1.69.
Other Notes
- Andre Ethier missed today's game after rolling his ankle last night, per Tony Jackson of ESPN LA. Torre said x-rays were negative, but that "he wasn't sure when Ethier would return."
- Reed Johnson, who has a blog called "Reed Between The Lines," was between the lines for the first time this season and responded with three hits and two runs scored.
- The five Dodger reserves had nine hits in 21 at-bats today, with four runs scored, six runs batted in, and a walk
- The top five hitters in today's lineup each had at least two hits, including James Loney, who ended his 0-for-9 slump with three hits and two runs batted in.
- Matt Kemp's ninth inning single was the 500th hit of his career.
- Old Friend Delwyn Young, making his first start of the season for Pittsburgh, had two doubles and two walks, and also threw out Belliard at the plate in the ninth inning
Tomorrow's game in Florida is at 4:05pm, and features Hiroki Kuroda facing off against Chris Volstad of the Marlins
WP - Chad Billingsley (1-0): 5 1/3 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
LP - Paul Maholm (0-1): 6 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
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| Name | # of Posts |
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