Dodgers find beautiful end to ugly game

LOS ANGELES -- Jimmy Rollins delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning in his first game against his old team, lifting the Dodgers to a 10-7 win over the Phillies in a wild, ugly contest on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

"It's just another game," Rollins told a gaggle of reporters before Monday's game, the first time he faced the Phillies, for whom he played 15 years and 2,090 games.

Rollins was 2-for-4 on the night, with the big hit a single to left field in the seventh inning against Phillies reliever Jeanmar Gomez, scoring Yasiel Puig and Andre Ethier, who also singled in the inning.

"I wasn't going to try to pull him. You're asking for disaster there. He left the ball up," Rollins said of his winning hit. "I saw Freddy [Galvis] playing more toward the middle and that hole was open. My intent was to hit it right there, and it worked out."

"It was really nice to see," said manager Don Mattingly. "He swung the bat well all night."

Joc Pederson doubled home Rollins to cap the rally on a high-scoring night that saw neither team retired in order even once all night.

There is no greater fear to strike in the heart of a person than the sheer terror of the phrase "bullpen game."

Monday's game had quite a few memorable moments on both sides but the common theme was some terrible pitching.

The answer to "Why didn't Eric Surkamp just start this game?" was answered in his outing on Monday. Entering the game in the third inning up 3-2, Surkamp allowed a three-run home run to Ryan Howard, who was 8-for-62 (.129) with 22 strikeouts, four walks and two home runs against left-handed pitchers before Monday.

Surkamp also allowed a home run to Odubel Herrera in the fourth, giving Philadelphia a 6-3 advantage.

Surkamp lasted 3⅓ innings, allowing four runs on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk. He also hit two batters - strangely enough, both Howard and Herrera, though neither pitch was intentional. But that wasn't even the first time a Dodgers pitcher has allowed two homers and hit two batters in a game this season; Carlos Frias did the same on June 20 against San Francisco.

That Phillies lead didn't last, thanks to Sean O`Sullivan. The Dodgers scored three in the first two innings against the right-hander, including a home run by Adrian Gonzalez, his third consecutive game in which he had an at-bat that he hit a home run.

Yasmani Grandal hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning to tie the score at 6-6.

Dodgers starter Yimi Garcia wasn't the only pitcher on Monday at Dodger Stadium to throw a career high in pitches. O'Sullivan was somehow still in the game in the sixth inning, as the game approached three hours in length. O'Sullivan's pace was so slow, especially with runners on base, that a fan yelled quite loudly, "Speed it up, I've got things to do."

O'Sullivan's sixth inning began with a 14-pitch at-bat by Enrique Hernandez, who struck out but it was the longest plate appearance of the season by a Dodger and the most pitches seen by a Dodger in a single PA since Justin Turner had a 16-pitch walk against Johnny Cueto on May 26, 2014.

That was followed by a nine-pitch at-bat by Jimmy Rollins, who singled to end O'Sullivan's night after 123 pitches.

A ground ball got Rollins to second base, then a single by Howie Kendrick brought home the go-ahead run for the Dodgers. Kendrick also tripled and doubled on the night, and added another single in the seventh inning for his third four-hit game in his last 10 games.

Since moving to the No. 2 spot in the batting order, Kendrick is 19-for-42 (.453) with two doubles, a triple, a home run and four walks in 10 games.

"I think Howie was ready to take off. He seems to float from the .290s to the high-.270s, that's where he seems to stay career-wise," Mattingly said. "I think he was just due to get hot."

Pedro Baez ran into some trouble in the seventh, allowing the tying run to score in a 28-pitch outing. This followed a 19-pitch outing Saturday and a 15-pitch outing Friday, which could mean Baez, like Garcia, is probably unavailable on Tuesday, further necessitating the need for fresh arms in the bullpen.

Monday's game was 2-2 in the second inning, 6-6 in the sixth inning, and 7-7 in the seventh.

Kenley Jansen even walked a batter, issuing a free pass to Carlos Ruiz to open the ninth. Then he allowed a single, bringing the tying run to the plate because, of course. But Jansen rebounded for his 14th save of the season.

Monday particulars

Home runs: Adrian Gonzalez (16), Yasmani Grandal (13); Freddy Galvis (3), Ryan Howard (14), Odubel Herrera (4)

WP - J.P. Howell (4-1): ⅓ IP, 1 strikeout

LP - Jeanmar Gomez (0-2): 1⅓ IP, 6 hits, 3 runs

Sv - Kenley Jansen (14): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts