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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Tony Gwynn Jr. Saves the Dodgers bacon......again!

Dodgers  11  18  1
Rockies    7   13  2
WP-Lilly-5-5
LP-Hammels-3-6
SV-Gwynn-2
HR-Wigginton-6


as you can see from above ive given the save tonight to Tony Gwynn Jr., and not Javy Guerra. while the box score will show otherwise, noting that Guerra pitched the 9th inning and Matt Guerrier getting a hold for this game is laughable. however this game was saved by Tony Gwynn Jr.'s flying diving catch in left field in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, as the Dodgers beat the Rockies 11-7 in a wild crazy exhausting game. note that this is Tony Gwynn's second game saving catch this season.

this game featured a solid 5 inning outing from Ted Lilly. Carroll and Miles each collected 4 hits, and Casey Blake delivered a pinch hit three run double to give the dodgers the lead in the 6th inning.


Ted Lilly pitches 5 innings of 1 run ball earning the victory

Hammel was effective but had to leave early because of a stiff back



the game started innocently enough, both pitchers pitching scoreless first innings.

in the bottom of the second, Ty Wigginton hits a solo homerun giving the Rockies an early 1-0 lead.
Nelson immediatly doubles, and we sense the worst. but Lilly settles down, retiring Blackmon, Iannetta, and Hammel.

we watch comically in the third as Lilly collects his first hit of the year, and steals second. Hammel gets hit pocket picked, and its Lilly's first steal since 2008, and the first for a Dodger pitcher since Randy Wolf did it back in 2009.
the Dodgers dont score though. Gordon flies out, Carroll walks, Ethier flies out. the Rockies very wisely walk Kemp, and Loney Grounds out.

Lilly settles down and retires the side in order in the bottom of the third.

the Dodgers get conescutive singles from Miles, and Big Rod, but leave them stranded against Hammel. gywnn lines out, Lilly a sacrfice advances Miles to second, but Gordon grounds out.

after Lilly retires the side in order again in the fourth, the Dodgers tie the game in the top of the 5th.
Carroll singles. Dre grounds into what could have been a double play. Carroll is erased at second, but Mullet man throws the ball away trying to double up dre at first. Dre advances to second on the error.
with first base open, we all expect the rockies to walk Kemp, but they foolishly decide to pitch to him.
ok Colorado dont say we didnt warn you.

uh-oh.........the Bison is loose again!



kemp doubles to right, scoring Dre, but he gets a bit greedy and is thrown out at third. its ok Bison.
Loney predictably makes out. im still not sure why anyone would choose to pitch to Bison, especially with all the bums behind him, not resembling major league hitters in anyway.

in the bottom of the 5th inning, the Rockies threaten, it looks like a meltdown inning, but Colorado comes up empty.
Blackmon singles and steals second, Iannetta is walked. Hammel sacrifices the runners over, and up comes Cargo. the Dodgers make a wise decision and intentionally walk him. with Young at bat, it looks like the Rockies have Lilly by the balls, However Lilly is resilient and resourceful. he gets Young and Giambi to both fly out, and the Dodgers get out of it.

the Dodgers break the game open in the 6th, in a bizarre inning that sees Hammel leave the game with Back stiffness.
Barajas and Miles both walk to lead off, and there is obviously something wrong with hammel. the Rockies have a meeting on the mound. Hammel is pulled after 5 innings plus. at the time were not sure what the injury is. Reynolds relieves Hammel, and the Dodgers take advantage.
Gwynn reaches base on a bunt single, as the Rockies cant throw him out. with the bases loaded and Lilly's spot due up, Donnie goes to the bench. enter Casey Blake. originally scracthed from the lineup with what was reported as a pinched nerve in his neck, and extreme rustyness. smart move. Blake murders lefties.
Blake delivers with a big double down the left field line, it clears the bases, as gwynn slides in just ahead of the throw, and claps in celebration. 4-1 Dodgers! blaker is thrown out at third trying to advance on the throw home. after gordon strikes out, Carroll triples over the head of Cargo in center, but is left at third when Dre strikes out.

Carroll reacts after his triple in the 6th, he had four hits on the night


were still apprehensive, as we all know a three run lead is nothing with the Dodger bumpen, and of coarse as scripted the Dodger bullpen did their best to blow the game, and might well have had not Tony Gwynn Jr. made another fantastic catch.

Hawksworth comes in and pitches a nice 123 6th inning. so far everything is fine. but thats how it starts, the calm before the storm.

with Mortensen in to pitch the 7th. (the Rockies have been having alot of problems with their Bullpen too). Kemp reaches base on a wigginton throwing error. Loney singles to center, sending Kemp to second. Big Rod sacrifices the runners over.
Miles continues his amazing night, as he doubles to right, easily scoring Kemp and Loney. 6-1 Dodgers. Gwynn advances miles to third with a groundout. Marcus Thames pinch hitting for Hawksworth shockingly singles home Miles. 7-1 Dodgers.

Rookie Josh Lindblom pitches a nice 123 7th inning, and its looking like we may get a break from another blown game, but alas it was not.

move along to the bottom of the 8th inning, where a 6 run lead is nearly blown in a blink of an eye.

Donnie mistakenly sends Elbert out for the 8th inning. in order to lift the young pitcher's confidence Mattingly leaves him in way too long.
Kemp misjudges a Cargo fly ball, and hes into second with a double. Young, reaches on an infield hit, that Gordon cant handle. after Giambi walks to load the bases, we horrifyingly watch as Scott Elbert makes the inevitable regression back into Scott Elbert.
Donnie has no choice but to relieve Elbert. but with who? naturally he brings in someone far worse. Matty Guerrier.
Guerrier a seasoned veteran at lead blowing, did what he does, by allowing a Mullet man base hit scoring Cargo and EY. 7-3 now. Giambi takes second on the throw.
Smith bats for Mortensen and singles up the middle. scoring two more. Smith taking third on a rare error by Kemp, as the ball bounces off his glove rolling behind him.
Blackmon a flare single to right, scores Smith, and the Rockies have climbed back into the game its 7-6.
im disguested at this point. Im not sure how we can get guerrier through this inning with the lead.
Iannetta grounds into a fielders choice. up comes herrera, at this moment, my cable goes out, and im thinking maybe thats not a bad thing, as watching Matty Guerrier blow away another game would be too aggravating to watch. however Guerrier amazingly gets Herrera to strike out to end the inning.


my cable returns in time for the next inning.
the Dodgers pound the Colorado bullpen in the top of the 9th, as Lindstrom comes in. Loney singles, Big Rod doubles scoring Loney. 8-6 Dodgers. Miles follows with a single, his fourth hit of the night.
Gwynn reaches base on a defensive lapse from Herrera. on a ground ball to second, herrera couldnt decide whether to try and throw out Big Rod trying to score, or go for the double play. Miles avoids a lazy tag attempt from herrera and Big Rod scores from third. thanks herrera!!!

Loney scores on a Big Rod double in the 9th inning of the Dodgers 11-7 win


Oeltjen batting Guerrier sacrifices the runners to second and third. Gordon's fielder's choice throws out Miles at home, allowing Gordon to reach base. gwynn to third. Gordon steals second. Carroll follows with his fourth hit of the night, scoring Gwynn and Gordon, and Carroll taking second on the throw. the Dodgers take an 11-6 lead. but is it enough for this bullpen?

the answer is of coarse no, thank the lordy for Tony Gwynn. but what else could Donnie do? hes got to play the guys he has. so what do you do if your Donnie? you put out Javy Guerra.....and Pray!

Cargo leads off with a double. Young hits a line drive but right at Guerra, who throws to second doubling up Cargo. Dee makes sure to double tag second base, because you can never be too sure!

with two outs and the bases empy and a 5 run lead in the 9th, you would think this game is in the bag right? oh no it isnt. this is the 2011 Dodgers after all.
here we go, cue two out 9th inning gagfest.....60 year old Jason Giambi singles, Mullet man singles, as Gordon makes a valiant effort but for not. wigginton a bloop single to center, scoring Giambi, Mullet man goes to third. its 11-7. unreal.
Spillborghs pinch hits and walks. bases loaded. im on the floor at this point. Blackmon then lines a ball to left field. the ball is slicing away, if it isnt cought its at least two runs that score possibly three. remember the Dodgers have a four run lead. thank the lordy Tony Gwynn makes a flying diving game saving catch to his right, ending the game as the Dodgers snap their three game losing streak! Dodgers win 11-7!
 Gwynn saves the Dodgers bacon again.

im exhausted at this point. thankfully we got the win. but every ball might not be hit to Tony Gwynn late in games, so the Dodgers might want to think about fixing their bullpen, and getting Guerrier and Macdougal far away from us.

Tomorrows macthup has Ruby De La Rosa going against Ubaldo Jimenez, who is 1-5. game time is an early 1210 game on getaway day for the Dodgers, who will fly home after the game. Go Blue!

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