The Dodgers' fell behind early, clawed their way back to tie, but in the end succumbed to the Astros 7-4, to split their four-game series at Minute Maid Park.
Jay Gibbons hit his second home run of the series in the fourth inning, a three-run shot that pulled the Dodgers to within one run. He has five home runs in 47 plate appearances as a Dodger, and in his seven starts this season is hitting .400/.423/.880 with four homers and 10 RBI.
Russ Mitchell, who started at third base today, picked up his first major league RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. He was also hitless in his other three plate appearances, and is 0-for-14 so far in his young career. Since 1920, the only Dodger non-pitchers that I could find to start their career with a longer hitless run were Hal Lee (in 1930) and Jack Radtke (in 1936), who each began 0-for-16.
John Lindsey was able to pick up his first major league hit, a pinch single in the fifth inning. After the play, the ball was tossed into the Dodger dugout for safekeeping, and Reed Johnson caught it, then tossed another ball into the stands, making Lindsey think his memento was gone, although I think Lindsey's smile was too wide for him to notice anything at that moment anyway.
Carlos Monasterios has his shortest start of the year, lasting just four outs into the game. He gave up four runs in the first inning, two of which came after Chin-lung Hu threw away a potential double play ball, but it's not like Monasterios would have lasted long anyway given how he was pitching. He went to a full count to six of the 12 batters he faced, and threw 61 pitches, an average of over five pitchers per plate appearance.
Double Your Pleasure
Before today, in the 127-year history of the franchise, the Dodgers have had just 20 seasons of 40 or more doubles. Make that 21 seasons, as James Loney hit his 40th double of the season in the sixth inning. It looked like Loney hit number 40 in the fourth inning with a shot to right center field, but he hit it so well he ended up with his second triple of the season instead.
Notes
- Trent Oeltjen's single to lead off the fourth inning was the first hit by the Albuquerque September callup quartet of Oeltjen, Lindsey, Mitchell, and Hu
-
Ryan Theriot is in the middle of an 0-for-22 slump, although he does have three walks during that span, including one free pass today.
-
Jeff Weaver pitched two scoreless innings of relief today, his first appearance since August 31.
- Scott Podsednik, who hasn't played since Thursday, last hit a single on August 29. Since then, he is 4-for-34, with three doubles and a home run.
- Seth from Dingers Blog reviewed the Dodgers' triple slash lines (BA/OBP/SLG) from this season compared to last, and the results aren't pretty.
- Today was the final broadcast of the season for Eric Collins and Steve Lyons, as Vin Scully will take the television reins for the final 18 contests of the season. Unfortunately, next Saturday's 1.pm. game with Colorado was pulled from Fox, and as a result of the exclusive window from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, the game will be broadcast on tape delay at 4 p.m. on Prime Ticket.
The Dodgers are off Monday, and start a three-game set in San Francisco with the Giants on Tuesday night, with Clayton Kershaw and Barry Zito facing off in the opener.
WP - Gustavo Chacin (2-2): 1/3 IP, 1 walk
LP - Ramon Troncoso (1-3): 2 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk
Sv - Brandon Lyon (15): 1 IP, 1 striekout