The Dodgers Knock the Rockies Out of the Postseason with 4 Homeruns

Dodgers 9 14 0
Rockies  7 10 1
WP-Belisario (3-1)
L-Dotel (3-4)
S-Jansen (3)
HR-Kemp (24), Blake 2 (17), Loney (10)
HR-Helton (8), Fowler (13)

It was the battle of the bullpen meltdowns tonight in Colorado. Ding ding ding In this corner we have Ronald Belisario, and in the the other corner we have the reigning champion and still the king....Octavio Dotel! Does Colorado now understand why we shipped him off for free?

The first inning gave us a preview of the game that was to unfold. Ethier and Kemp both had 2 out singles. The Rockies then came back with a double from Nelson, and then Cargo proceeds to single in a run. Kuroda used his ninja like reflexes to strike out the side in order in the bottom of the 2nd. The third inning crescendoed into a slugfest. Kuroda lead off the inning with a single, his 3rd hit of the season. Speedy Furcal tripled him in. Then in a nice fakeout, Furcal acted like he was going to break for home on a ground ball by Theriot which caused Mora to get startled. He then threw the ball away while Furcal scored on the error. Matt Kemp and Casey Blake then blast back-to-back homeruns giving the Dodgers a 5-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning Fowler tripled, Cargo got a bloop single which scored a run making it 5-2 in favor of the Dodgers. Props to Reed Johnson in the the bottom of the 6th inning. He made a great catch to get Tulo out in foul territory. Loney added a run in the 7th with a solo hr making it 6-2. Kuroda began to tire in the bottom of the 7th when he allowed a leadoff single to Mora and a 2 run homerun to Helton making it 6-4. After he walked Iannetta, Torre begun the downward spiral of bullpen shoddiness.

Kuroda pitched 6.1 innings, allowing 5 runs off 6 hits, walking 1 and striking out 6. Francis only lasted 3 innings, allowing 5 runs off 6 hits striking out 1. Both pitchers were not involved with the decision.

Then it got sketchy. Belisario came in and made a wild pitch on his first pitch. Then he gave up the 2nd 2- run homerun of the inning to Fowler which made it a tied ballgame 6-6. The top of the 8th was hilarious. Octavio Dotel was brought in by Jim Tracy. It is so nice being on the other side to watch this walking disaster. Ellis lead off with a double and Hu is brought in to pinch run for him. Smart move. I think this is the only instance where Hu is actually worthwhile. Hu steals third, and shakes up Mora on the slide. Furcal then tripled again breaking the tie and giving the Dodgers the lead 7-6. Theriot then reaches first safely on Dotel's bumbling error. Ethier then scored a run with a fly ball getting his 80th RBI. 8-6 Dodgers. The bottom of the 8th was where the Dodger's bullpen almost blew it. Sherill comes in and strikes out Cargo respectively. Then Torre decides to bring in the unpitchable meatball thrower himself, Broxton. Why oh why? Mora and Helton proceed to predictably single. Torre gets the hook, and brings in Jansen just before Brox totally blows the game wide open. Jansen then has trouble finding the strike zone and walks Smith and then Iannetta which brings in a run making it a 1 run game 8-7. Spillborghs strikes out to end the inning. Huston Street comes in and Casey Blake crushes his 2nd homerun of the night giving the Dodgers more breathing room with a 9-7 lead. Jansen comes in to pitch the bottom of the 9th, and gives up a leadoff single to Fowler. He gets Nelson and Cargo both to pop up. To end the game on a perfect note, Jansen strikes out Tulo. Let me say, I am very impressed with Jansen's determination in this game. After walking back-to-back batters, he could have lost confidence and fell into the usual bullpen mindset of blowing the game. Instead he battled back, and saved the game giving the Dodgers their 2nd win in a row against the Rockies at Coors Field.

Getting a few hits doesn't hurt either. Furcal, Kemp, Blake, Ellis, and Theriot all had 2 hits tonight. Furcal had 2 triples, and Blake had 2 homeruns.

Torre announced the Brad Ausmus will get to manage Friday night's game, Russell Martin Saturday, and Torre will take the helm back for the finale game. The final pitching rotation was also announced. Tomorrow Kershaw will take the mound, Bills on Friday, Lilly on Sat, and Kuroda will pitch the finale. See you Friday! Go Blue:)