Dodgers survive bullpen De Ja Vu to win final game, as KeMvP blasts number 39

Dodgers 7 12 0
Dbacks   5 7 0
WP-Lilly-12-14
LP-Saunders-12-13
SV-Jansen-5
HR-KeMvP-39-Loney-12
Gillepsie-1-Blanco-8(GS)

Thank you Bison for a wonderful season!-MVP

In the Final game of the 2011 season, the Dodgers ended it on a good note, well somewhat. They did win, but barly survived another bullpen collapse as Mattingly decided to leave Troncosco in to serve up a bunch of homeruns. (why donnie?????) the Dodgers beat Arizona 7-5 and win their final series. Ted Lilly pitched 7 shutout innings, earning the win. Matt KeMvP, our MVP completes one of the best seasons in Dodgers history. he goes 1 for 4 with a homerun, as he leads the league in homeruns, RBI, and runs scored. he becomes only the 5th player ever in history to do this. the season wouldnt be complete without one last Bison Blast! also note, Dee Gordon finishes the season hiting .304.

Gordon leads off the game with a single into center. thats Dee's 41st hit of september. pretty darn good. Gordon then takes off and steals second, his 24th steal. Sellers groundball to the first base side moves Gordon to third. Bison is hit in the foot with a pitch and is awarded first base. Rivera's deep fly to right brings home Gordon. 1-0 Dodgers. Loneys groundball ends the inning.

Lilly begins the game like Saunders by giving up a hit to Bloomquist. and then of coarse Bloomquist steals second hills fly ball to sands advances Bloomquist to third. Sands throw is offline. Upton's pop up to Sellers is to shallow to score Bloomquist. Lilly whiffs Goldschmidt to get out of the jam.

Sands Grounds out to start the second. Big Rod flies out to Upton. Carroll grounds out.

bottom of the second. Lilly whiffs Young. Roberts and Parra ground out.
move to the top of the third. Lilly whiffs. Gordon, another hit to right. Sellers bangs a double down the left field line. Gordon flies around the basepaths to easily score. 2-0 Dodgers. in Bison's second at bat he flies out to left. Rivera's line drive smash to third has Ryan Roberts making a good play to throw out Rivera. they dont call it the hot corner for nothing, dammit!

Bottom of the third. former Dodger Henry Blanco lines out to Carroll. Saunders bounces out. Bloomquist whiffs.

Godlschmidt reaches over the railing to catch a foul ball neatr the Dodger Dugout.

top of the 4th for the Dodgers. Loney flies out. Sands a pop fly single. Big Rod swings away on a 3-0 pitch, and pops it up, Goldschmidt reaches into the Dodger dugout to catch Big Rod's foul out. Carroll promptly follows with a triple into the right field corner. Sands scores. 3-0 Dodgers. Lilly gets into the act as well, he singles into center, scoring Carroll. 4-0 Dodgers. Lilly's 5th hit of the season. with Gordon at bat, there was some kind of busted hit and run play, or a sing got crossed, or maybe because its the last game of the year, all of those explanations are the only ones that can explain as too why lilly would try and steal second. he is easily thrown out of coarse. ha the last day of the year, you never know what you will see.

Carroll triples in a run

Bottom of the 4th, Hill singles. Upton flies out. Goldschmidt flies out to Bison. Hill swipes second, but Young whiffs.

top of the 5th, Gordon and Carroll ground out. In Bison's third at bat, KeMvP grounds out to short.

Bottom of the 5th, Upton flies out to Sands near the foul line. Parra the bastard, is plunked by a Lilly pitch. I guess this was our last chance to hit that MoFo, so why not? then Lilly walks Blanco. ugh.
Saunders tries to bunt, but pops it up to Sellers. two outs. Lilly whiffs Bloomquist to end the inning.

top of the 6th, Loney blasts a homerun to right field. his 12th of the year. the 29th homerun allowed by Saunders, 5-0 Dodgers. Sands follows with a single. Big Rod whiffs. Carroll singles Sands to third. but Lilly's looper to second ends it.

Bottom of the 6th, Lilly allows a long out to Rivera, off the bat of Aaron Hill. Upton flies out to Bison, Parra also flies out to Rivera, for a 123 inning for Lilly.

Top of the 7th, Joe Saunders calls it a night. he comes out losing 5-0, going 6 innings, 5 runs on 9 hits, no walks, 2 whiffs.
Miley comes in from the bullpen. with 1 out, Sellers doubles into the gap. then KeMvP hits one out! a Bison blast over the left field wall. thats Bison's 39th homerun, and he has 126 RBI. oh yeah and the Dodgers lead 7-0! Loney follows with a single. Sands groundball ends the frame. Bison should get one more at bat. can Bison get number 40 before the clock runs out?

Cowgill leads off with a single in the bottom of the 7th. Roberts whiffs. Gilespie flies out. Blanco pops out.

top of the 8th, Owings pitching. the same guy who got the win last night. Big Rod flies out. then the Hitless Wonder, Eugenio Velez solidifies his name into the record books for historic futility. he grounds out, going 0 for 36 on the season. wow what a waste of 36 at bats. thankfully this will be the last we will ever see of him again. goodye Eugenio! may your journey away from us be safe.
Fedex grounds out to end the inning.

Ely comes in to pitch the bottom of the 8th. what a great outing from Lilly, he pitches 7 strong shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits, 1 walk, and 5 whiffs, he made 95 pitches. Lilly finishes with a 3.97 ERA. thank you Ted for a great second half!
Ely quickly gets through the inning 123. move to the top of the 9th, for Bison's last at bat, with the Dodgers winning 7-0.

with Cook pitching the 9th inning for Arizona, Gordon quickly grounds out. Sellers walks. In KeMvP's final at bat, he whiffs. KeMvP finishes the season at .324 with 39 HRs, and 126 RBI. with Bison's final at bat over, we know the season is really over. Matt KeMvP=MVP.

bottom of the 9th. last inning. Ramon Troncoso, comes in to finish the game. Overbay grounds out. Goldschmidt singles. then Cowgill singles. ughhhhh. ok can we please not have a repeat of last night? oh then theres a wild pitch advancing the runners.troncoso walks Roberts to load the bases. im having deja vu. thank goodness we have a 7 run lead. oh wait its Troncoso. so as expected Gillespie hits a grand slam homerun. the second straight game Arizona has hit a grand slam. im not suprised. its now 7-4 Dodgers. Mattingly leaves Troncoso in while Jansen has to warm up. unreal we even have to get Jansen up in the first place. then Henry Blanco goes deep. its 7-5. Don! wake up! take him out! Of coarse he waits until the last possible moment to do anything, and finally brings in Jansen when its a two run game. 7-5. just unreal.

Jansen enters and gets Burroughs to fly out. and Mcdonald flies out to Gwynn for the last out of the season, and the Dodgers "hold on" and win. it should have been a shutout of coarse, but at least we get a win and go into the offseason on a good note.

well thats it Dodger fans. 2011 is officially over and out. weve had quite a year havent we The Dodgers finish the season at 82-79. Thanks Boys in Blue for an exciting season!
Heckl even the last inning was dramatic Dodger fans. I would like to thank anyone and everyone who has read our blog this year. please join us during the offseason for more Analasys, Blue Bios, our DBF season in recap, team reviews, some interesting Podcasts, and more!

Until then check out Dodgerbobble's Don Mattingly contest over at-
http://www.dodgerbobble.com/2011/09/don-mattingly-bobblehead-contest.html#.ToPz0E7ckzs.facebook

until the next time we see each other goodbye Dodger fans! were planning on a special live opening day recap next year. only 188 days until opening day of 2012!

and always remember...........................GO BLUE

Cant Stop the Blue

Dodgers Lineup
Gordon6
Sellers5
KeMvP8
Rivera7
Loney3
Sands9
Big Rod2
Carroll4
Lilly1


Ted Lilly-11-14 vs. Joe Saunders-12-12


Hi Everyone! well we made it. here we are, the final Dodger game of the 2011 season. Its been a dizzying season of ups and downs. weve made it through though, and as we prepare to look back on one of the most controversial seasons in Dodgers history, The Boys in Blue will be wrapping up their final series with tonight's game in Arizona.

I wont delve to much into last night's disgrace, but I'll just say its a real shame that was Stacies' last game of the year. Im sorry Stac. I wont spend too much time analyzing, but it should have been very different, instead we had to watch Ryan Roberts crush our souls with hs grand slam and moc Gibson fist pumps. It could have been avoided. despite what other Blogsites will have you believe, the Manager is in fact responsilbe for his teams play and ther place in the stadings at the end of the season
Dont believe the hype that the Dodgers have had no talent, and that Mattinlgy was dealt a poor hand. wrong. theyve had talent, its been there, it just hasnt been used properly.  granted theyve had plenty of issues.
Im not trying to bash Mattngly. he should be commended for his ability to prepare the players, and keep them focused for every game, and his great second half. however his strategies last night were disastrous, so none of us were suprised when the Division Champions led by a former World Series hero, drew walks, got hits, and pummeled a guy who hasnt been even remotly effective in the second half, as  he was mistakenly left in to allow a run with the bases loaded. then when Guerra was called in, it was already too little too late, as the momentum had already turned, and Guerra was asked to pitch out of a stretch with the bases loaded.

I will give Guerra a reprieve since hes pitched so well this year, but Hawk gets no reprieve as he clearly sucked, and didnt cover first base on a play that would have been the last out. It appears Hawk has pitched himself into DFA-o-ville. some people will have you believe that the game was meaningless or whatever. this is a poor argument, and a similar losing attitude prevents us from moving forward. yes I agree that the game had no playoff implications for the Dodgers, but that doesnt mean it wasnt meaningful. every game counts. you play to win, and put your best lineup out evrey game. thats how you edge out your competition. we will be posting our ow reviews this season, and one will be for Mattingly. we will not be grading on expctations, but on overall performence which is how players, and managers should be graded. Mattingly could learn alot by watching Kirk Gibson.

lets get to tonight's pitching matchups. in the Finale, Dodgers lefty Ted Lilly will take the hill. Lilly has had a very effective second half. posting a 2.32 ERA in his last ten starts. according to reports hes begn using a different grip on hs slider, which he lists as a top reason for his recent success.
Lilly is 11-14 with a 4.12 ERA. he is 4-7 againt Airzona.

Arizona will counter with left Joe Saunders, who at times has pitched very well. Saunders who is 20 in his last thre starts, pitched the Dbacks division clinching game. he didnt gt a decision but pitched very well. he is 12-12 on the year, and 3-5 against the Dodgers.

while the Dodgers have arady clinchded a winning season at 81-79, Arizona wil be fighting for home field advantage in the division series. With a win and a Brewers loss, the Dbacks will take over the second spot in the league and can avoid a first round trip to Philadephia.

the big story for the Dodgers today will be KeMvP. who needs just two more homeruns in this final game to finish with a 40/40 season and cement hs MVP candidacy. KeMvP, who cant win the batting title is third in avergae at .324, tied for first in homeruns with 38, and frst in RBI with 124. he is also first in runs scored 114, second in hts 194, and second in steals. can he do it? sure, hes hit three homers of Saunders this year.


well that about does it, lets take a moment to look back on everything this season. weve had Bison Blasts, Meltdowns, questionable lineups, questionable in-game decisions. shut-outs, extra innings games, ohfers, Eugenio Velez, (uggghh), shady Umpire calls, Triple plays, winning streaks, losing streaks, TOOTBLANS, roster changes, glimpses into the future, weve had a Cy Young pitcher, and an MVP centerfielder. weve had off the field controversy, ownership turmoil, Bankruptcies, legal poceedings. Weve had bumbling errors, game saving catches, (ahem, Tony Gwynn), agonizing defeats, and glorious come from behind victories. weve lost several players due to injuies, grew acustomed to a rookie Manager, and said a very sad farewell to Hit Machine (Furcal)

throughout it all, weve remained blue to the core. The Dodgers and their fans are like a family. we were born into blue. Stacie and I have been watching every Dodger game since we were old enough to walk. (ok almost every game). at heart were traditionalists, which is why we feel keeping the core group of players intact is the only way to hold onto Dodger tradition. at times weve been hard, (especialy on Mattingly) but its only because of our deep passion and Love for the Dodgers. we think this shows in our work. our Uncle and Grandfather were at Sandy Koufaxs' perfect game, we met Mike Scioscia in the Dodger dugout. we know that the players park just behind the bleachers, as we used to wait for hours there after games for autographs, we know that Roger the Peanut guy works the lodge section, The Men's Bathrooms still have troughs, and we could tell you how to get to the back way of Dodger stadium. you cant find those things out by calculating WAR formulas, you have to grow up in the Dodger culture of Los Angeles to know those types of things.

Let's stay united under our comon goal. to bring the World Series back to Dodger stadium. well be rooting passionatly for the Dodgers to win tonight, like always, so check in with us for the final Postgame recap of the 2011 season immedatly following. think weve been to harsh or critcal? let us know, we appreciate all comments and opinions. we would like to thank everyone and anyone who has read or commented. and of coarse a huge thanks to Matt KeMvP, for stepping his game up to the elite level.

the game starts at 640. televised on Prime ticket. If you cant get to a tv, tune in to KABC 790, for their final broadcast. the Dodgers will be moving to KLAC 570 next year.

well thats about it, Lets ends the season on a good note with a win shall we boys? in DBF tradition during the final pegame started last year, we give you a little fun video from Ozomatli. enjoy, and GO BLUE!
YOU CANT STOP THE BLUE! GO DODGERS GO!










Ozomatli, "Can't Stop the Blue

An Ol' Fashioned Bullpen Meltdown

Dodgers 6 12 1
D-Backs 7 11 2
Final/10
WP-Owings (8-0)
LP-Guerra (2-2)
HR-Roberts (19)

We couldn't finish 2011 without one more classic bullpen blown game, now could we? Ahhh...this game harkens back to the first half of the season when bullpen meltdowns were rampant and Broxton was serving them up with 2-outs in the 9th inning regularly. Well, tonight Matty Guerrier lead the way, and Blake Hawksworth and Guerra really gave it their all to completely blow a 6-1 lead in the 10th inning. Hiroki Kuroda and rookie Jarrod Parker both pitched very well. Neither allowed a run, and neither were a part of the decision. Fittingly Javy Guerra gets the loss in this one after he serves up a grand slam to Roberts in the 10th. Humorously Owings gets the win even after he had his own meltdown in the 10th allowing 5 runs. Well, here we go Dodger fans...it's almost like the baseball gods are playing a cruel trick on me. My last game of the season, and I get....this one.

Both pitchers have easy 1st and 2nd innings sending down the opposing team in order.

Moving on to the 3rd inning, Carroll singles, but the Dodgers fail to score. In the bottom half, Blum singles and Bloomquist gets a high bouncer infield single, but Parra flies out to end the inning.

In the 4th, Bison doubles then takes 3rd on a Rivera groundout. Loney pops up to end any threat. Kuroda whiffs Upton in the 4th, then allows an infield single to Young and a single to Overbay. He gets out of it when Blum grounds out.

Carroll gets a single when the ball hops by Blum's glove, but that's all the Dodgers accomplish in the 5th. Kuroda whiffs Roberts in the 5th, then the pitcher Parker doubles for his first big league hit. Bloomquist flies into a double play and Parker is out at 2nd.

In the 6th Gordon bunts for a single, and Sands bunt sacrifices him over. KeMVP flies out. Rivera walks. Parker is taken out, and Patterson comes into pitch for AZ. He gets Loney to ground out. Kuroda strikes out Upton again and sends the Snakes down 123 in the 6th.

Jarrod Parker Pitches Well in His MLB Debut

Jarrod Parker goes 5.2 innings, allowing 4 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout on 73 pitches.

Kuroda goes 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, and 5 strikeouts, on 101 pitches.

Cook comes in to pitch the 7th, and Big Rod singles. Carroll walks. Gibson brings in Castillo who gets Gwynn to hit into a force play. Gordon then singles in the pinch-runner, Velez, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Gordon tries to go for two on the play and overslides the bag and is out at 2nd, but the run scored. The lead wouldn't last very long since Guerrier (bum #1) is brought in to pitch the 7th. Donnie could have had Kuroda pitch one more inning, but nah let's just use our tired out bullpen instead. Ellis is now behind the plate. Young promptly is walked. Then predictably Overbay doubles over the head of Bison scoring Young, 1-1. Elbert (bum #2) is then brought in. He walks Hill. Then he brings in Dougie. Roberts bunts, and Loney makes a good play getting the out at 3rd. Goldschmidt hits into a double play to end the inning. Dougie did good.

Hernandez is in for the 8th, and strikes out Sands. KeMVP grounds out. Rivera whiffs. Jansen, the fireballer, comes in and strikes out Bloomquist. Then he walks Parra and allows a single to Upton. Tis ok he comes back and blows away both Montero and Young to end the inning.

Putz pitches the 9th for the D-Backs and allows a 2-out Ellis single and a Carroll single, but Oeltjen pathetically whiffs to end any rally. Lindblom is in for the 9th and Burroughs singles, Hill fouls out, and then he strikes out Roberts and Goldschmidt.

The 10th inning gets crazy. Owings does his imitation of Jonathon Broxton. Gordon gets an infield double, Sands sacrifices and reaches on a fielder's choice and Gordon scores on a fielding error by Owings, 2-1 Dodgers. KeMVP singles in Sands and Matt goes to 2nd on another error by center fielder Young, 3-1. Rivera grounds out, KeMVP to 3rd. Loney singles in KeMVP, 4-1. Miles walks. Yes, Owings is still in. The Ellis hits a massive triple which bounces off the wall hitting Justin Upton in the face! Upton is stunned and the ball rolls away from him. He had just recently been beaned by Tim Lincecum. He comes out of the game. 6-1 Dodgers! Carroll lines out, and Sellers whiffs to end the 10th for the Dodgers. They hang a high 5, and you would think that would be enough, right? C'mon, haven't you guys paid attention this season? No lead is enough for the bullpen, they blow any and all leads obtained.

Bottom of the 10th...gahhh...do I have to write this? Blake Hawksworth (bum#3) comes in. We know the game is pretty much lost right then. Gillepsie gets an infield single. Montero singles. Young walks. Then there's the nightly Miles error allowing McDonald to reach base and allowing a run to score, 6-2. Donnie gets the hook and brings in Guerra (bum#4). Now Guerra has been very good this year, but there still has been some sketchy moments here and there and I'm not fully confident in him all of the time. He walks Hill making it 6-3. Bases are loaded for Roberts. Guerra serves up a hot meatball, and Roberts blasts a grand slam winning the game 7-6 for the D-Backs. Awful. I felt sick.

Roberts Learned Well From Gibson

Well so that was that. KeMVP did get his 124th RBI which ties him with Mike Piazza for 3rd best by a LA Dodger. Prince Fielder hit three, yes three, homeruns today so now he is tied at 38 with Bison for the league lead. Sands hitting streak is ended as well.

Kuroda deserves a standing ovation for his season and his Dodger career. He truly is a team player, and even though the Dodgers do not give him run support and the bullpen blows games like this one, he always goes out and pitches his heart out. He is a Hiro!

Thank You, Hiroki

Tomorrow is our final game of the season:( It's a battle of the lefties when Ted Lilly will go up against Saunders. Bison still needs two more homeruns to reach 40, can he do it in the finale? Join us tomorrow for our last pregame and postgame edition of the 2011 season. Thanks for reading and being a part of the season with us! Please feel free to comment on what you would like to see in the upcoming offseason and next season here at DBF. We love input and comments!

Go Blue:)

Sayonara Kuroda?

Dodgers @ D-Backs
Game 2
6:40pm

Hiroki Kuroda (13-16) vs. Jarrod Parker (0-0, --)

Bison & Hiro Celebrate During Winning Times

Two games left, and two homeruns left for Matt KeMVP to reach 40/40. Can he do it? Even if he doesn't reach that mark, he has most certainly already rightfully captured the National League MVP award. Matt now has 123 RBIs, 38 homeruns, and a .324 batting average. There's no way Ryan Braun is even close in my opinion. Yes, he may have a few measly percentage points higher in his batting average, but overall KeMVP is clearly the best player in the league and possibly in all of Major League Baseball. Let's root for our Bison tonight since we will be without Bison Blasts for 6 long cold months.

The real story tonight is whether this will be Hiroki Kuroda's last start as a Dodger. He has said that it is a 50/50 chance he will go back to Japan or stay and play another year in Los Angeles. Kuroda has had a great season even with low run support throughout most. He will be vying for his 14th win tonight, and trying not to pick up a 17th loss. He's pitched in 31 games this season and needs 4 more innings to reach 200 innings pitched. Kuroda is 9th in the NL in ERA. I'm pretty confident that Kuroda will stay on board for another season with the Dodgers. I'm not sure he's ready to leave just yet, especially after having a solid year. He said he may play a farewell season for his old team in Japan, the Hiroshima Carp. Let's hope that farewell season is down the road, and Kuroda will continue to wear Dodger Blue. There's plenty more baseball left in Hiro.

Hiro will be pitted against the rookie Jarrod Parker making his Major League Debut. Parker was the #1 pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft. He had Tommy John surgery in 2010 and has a 11-8 record with a 3.79 ERA in AA this season.

The D-Backs have won 10 of 17 this season against the Dodgers. But the Dodgers have been playing red hot since July 7th going 44-27 since. They have won 8 of their last 10 and now are 3 games above .500. The Dodgers will have to hold a lead going into late innings, because the Snakes are the only team who are undefeated (83-0) in the NL when leading after 8 innings.

Russell Mitchell, who had been apparently been playing with an injury to his wrist will be undergoing surgery on his left wrist to repair torn cartilage. I guess unknowingly to us, he was playing with the assistance of injections, but his wrist became inflamed and his surgery had to be moved up to Tuesday. He should be okay to play some winter ball this season.

Lineup:

Gordon 6
Sands 7
KeMVP 8
Rivera 9
Loney 3
Miles 5
Big Rod 2
Carroll4
Kuroda 1

Tonight is my last game to write about for the season and somewhat bittersweet. I'm excited about our first full season here on DBF, but I also know how boring and long the postseason will be. Continue following DBF during the offseason, and we will have some surprises and new features to come!!

Watch the boys in blue on KCAL for our second to last game, and stay tuned after for our postgame wrap up.
Go Hiro! Go Bison! Go Blue!

Dana Eveland (the Cougar), and Matt KeMvP (the MVP) help lead Dodgers to a winning season

Dodgers 4 6 1
Dbacks  2 5 0
WP-Eveland-3-2
LP-Hudson-16-12
SV-Guerra-21
HR-KeMvP-38

our MVP hits another homerun

The Dodgers secured their 81^st win tonight, and a winning season. Thanks to a great performance from COC graduate Dana Eveland, a first inning home run from KeMvP (his 38^th), and another great job from the bullpen, despite a flustery 8^th inning, where Dodger pitchers walked 5 Dbacks, and allowed two runs, but escaped with the lead. Javy Guerra recorded his 21^st save.

COC graduate Dana Eveland continued his great work on the road, by pitching 5.2 innings, allowing 5 hits and no runs, no walks, and whiffing 5. Opposing pitcher Daniel Hudson pitched tough but was credited with the loss after pitching 7 innings.

Matt KeMvP goes 1 for 4 as he stays at .324, in his continued quest for the triple crown.

Arizona was playing for Home Field advantage and Playoff positioning.

Gordon leads off by slapping a  base hit into left field, and stretches it into a double with his game changing speed. Weve seen him do this many times this year. Sands draws a walk, and KeMvP comes up with runners at first and second.  After working the count to 3-2, KeMvP blasts another home run to deep center field. The ball landing well over the center field bleachers. 3-0 Dodgers.  That’s 38 homeruns, and 123 RBIs.  I think hes locked up the MVP at this point.

Matt KeMvP leads the league in home runs, RBIs, and runs scored

Rivera follows with a grounder to third, that Ryan Roberts makes a great diving play on to retire Rivera. Loney’s long fly bal to center is the second out, and Miles grounds out to end the first.

Dana Eveland begins his first inning of work by retiring the Dbacks in order  123. He ends the inning by whiffing Chris Young.

Daniel Hudson sends the Dodgers down in order to end the top of the second.

Eveland retires the Dbacks in order again, whiffing Cowgill to end the inning. That’s 6 In a row retired by Eveland.

Hudson has a 123 inning in the top of the third. KeMvP whiffs in his second at bat.

The Ever annoying Parra is called out on a close play at first base. Loney had strayed too far off the bag, and Eveland (the Cougar) rushed to just get there in time. Another fly ball, and a grounder and Eveland had retired 9 in a row.

The Dodgers go down 123 again in the fourth. Hudson has now retired 12 in a row since KeMvP’s homer in the first. Still 3-0 Dodgers.

Eveland’s streak is ended in the bottom of the fourth. He gets the first two hitters, Roberts flies out, Hill whiffs, Young singles over Sellers head. Montero grounds out to end the frame.

The ohfers continued through the 5^th. Elli flies out, Sellers pop out, and Eveland whiffs.

In the bottom of the 5^th, Goldschmidt  whiffs. Cowgill gounds out as Gordon’s sidearmed throw is picked nicley by Loney. Parra bunts his way for a base hit. Miles can only watch as the ball rolls fair. However Mcdonald grounds back to Eveland, and we move to the 6^th. Still 3-0 Dodgers.

Top of the 6^th, Gordon singles.  Parra catches Sands long fly ball. Bison whiffs on a called third strike.  Rivera flies out to right.

Naturally  I was skeptical of Eveland. I wasn’t sure he could keep this pace up. Hudson the opposing pitcher singles. Roberts singles Hudson to second. Hill flies to Bison.  Young flares a hit into right field, loading the bases with 1 out, and bringing Miguel Montero to the plate. Eveland whiffs him with one heck of an Uncle Charie Two outs. Mattingly brings a hook. Enter Josh Lindblom.  Exit Arizonas chance to score in the 6^th. Exit Paul Goldschmidt’s bat through the strike zone, as he whiffs on some nasty Lindblom smoke. The Dodgers get out of it. Eveland cant get through the 6^th inning though. Still a good effort from Eveland. His final line is 5.2 innings, no runs, off 5 hits, no walks, and 5 whiffs. Eveland makes 78 pitches, while ahead 3-0.

Top 7^th. Loney leads off with a double off the center field wall, Miles sacrifices Loney to third, because I guess that’s what you do when you have a runner at second and nobody out. Sigh. With an out wasted, Ellis is hit by a pitch in the back. Sellers singles into right field.  Loney scores 4-0 Dodgers! Gywnn hitting for Lindblom lines right to Hill, for an inning ending double play.

Guerrier begins the bottom of the 7^th by whiffing Cowgill, Parra lines out to Loney. Mdonald grounds to Miles who throws wide, and Loney has to acrobatically reach and leap for the throw all the while keeping his foot on the bag for the third out. Wow.

Patterson relieves Hudson. The Dodgers don’t score in the 8^th inning. Gordon flies out. Gibson brings in Ziegler to pitch to Sands and KeMvP. Sands singles up the middle. Rivera bounces out to end the top of the 8^th.

Bottom of the 8^th, Mattingly brings in the sometimes sketchy Nathan Eovaldi. Dodger pitchers walk 5 batters in this inning., Why does Donnie bring in Eovaldi? Im not sure, but he begins by walking Sean Burroughs. Roberts force out erases Burroughs, but his takeout slide prevents the double play. Hill walks. And cue flustery meltdown……..NOW Young walks. Bases loaded. Finally Mattingly decides to do something. His choice is to bring in Scott Elbert. An impossible spot for poor Elbert, should have never been in the first place. Theres a passed ball that scores Roberts. Its 4-1 now.

Then Montero walks. Bases loaded again. Can someone, nay anyone come in and throw strikes please? Mattingly’s answer is Dougie. Somehow Dougie whiffs Goldschmidt. Dougie then predictably walks pinch hitter Blum. Let me retype this Dodger fans. Dougie walks Geoff Blum. This brings up that bastard Parra. I cover my eyes, not wanting to see the inevitable blown game. Im pleasantly surprised as Parra flies out. Dougie barly is able to clean up after Eovaldi takes a big dump on the mound. Its 4-2 Dodgers going into the 9^th inning.

Castillo starts the 9^th. Getting loney to ground out. Gibson makes another move, and brings in shaw. Miles is hit by a pitch. With Ellis at bat, Miles is pathetically picked off for what could be the final TOOTBLAN of the season. Ellis grounds out and we go to the bottom of the 9^th with the Dodgers up 4-2.

As Javy Guerra enters to close the game out,The bottom of the 9^th starts lovely with a throwing error from Dee Gordon. Lyle Overbay’s grounder to second, should have been an easy double play, but Gordon couldn’t turn it, as Mcdonald takes him out with a good slide. Oh Dee. Roberts sacrifices for some reason. Hill flies out, and the Dodgers win! Eveland gets the win. KeMvP another game ball, and Guerra a save. All around a good night.

Tomorrow Hiroki Kuroda will take the mound, in what could be his final start for the Dodgers. Stacie will return to cover her final game this year. Join us tomorrow for a 640 start time televised on KCAL, as Hiroki goes for his 14^th win. If you wanna catch the Dodgers before the season ends, you better do it now! 2011 is officially a winning season for the Dodgers. People may not think this is much but it’s a huge moral victory for Don Mattingly and the Dodgers. Well see you tomorrow. GO BLUE

Dodgers begin final 2011 series in the desert

Dodgers Lineup
Gordon6
Sands9
KeMvP8
Rivera7
Loney3
Miles5
Ellis2
Sellers4
Eveland1


Dana Eveland-2-2 vs. Daniel Hudson-16-11


Here we are Dodger fans. The final series of the 2011 season. The Dodgers will play their final three games of the year in the Desert of Arizona against the Dbacks.
The NL west division champions led by Manager and former Dodger world series hero Kirk Gibson, have already clinched, and are playing for home field advantage in the playoffs. apparently they hold a tiebreaker over the Brewers becuase of head to head games.

The Dodgers are pretty much just playing out the schedule. well all be on triple crown watch, as Matt KeMvP enters the game with a .324 avg, which is third behind Reyes and Braun, 37 homeruns, which tie him for first with Pujols, and 120 RBI which are first. he also ranks first in runs scored 112, and second in steals with 40. KeMvP also was named NL player of the week. congrats Bison! thank you for an amazing season!

The pitching matchups tonight has COC graduate Dana Eveland going for the Dodgers tonight. As you know Eveland was basically rescued from the garbage bin, going from total journeyman, to triple A all-star. Eveland had a great season for the Isotopes, but has been up and down in his time with the Dodgers. on the road, he was terrific. two great starts, one in Pittsburgh, and one in San Francisco. two wins. then he had two lousy starts at Dodger stadium, and two losses. quite perplexing. Im not sure what to make of him this season. this could be his last chance to prove to the Dodgers that he can be an option for the vacant 5th starter spot. Eveland is 1-1 against Arizona.

The Dbacks will counter with Daniel Hudson. he has had a solid year, going 16-11 with a 3.43 ERA.
He had won four starts in a row, before losing the last two. The Dodgers have always had issues with him. and he is 2-1 against the Dodgers lifetime.


there is an article that Kuroda is still 50/50 on returning next year, but the stupid Japanese Media is trying to coax him back to play for a "farewell season with the Carp" well keep you posted on this breaking story, as Kuroda's final start will be tomorrow. I still believe hell be back next year, at least I hope.......

in other news, the Dodger rookies were subjected to some playful hazing. they were forced to dress up and run around Petco Park in the stands and sign autographs while wearing their costumes. its great to see the Dodgers so loose, and having fun. the Rooks are great sports! notice Trent Oeltjen as Harry Potter, Dee Gordon as Gumby, Justin sellers as the Blue Man, Jansen, and Fedex in dresses, and Javy Guerra as a taco??! ha! check it out below.......

Its a little early for Halloween guys

Well otherwise there is not much else to talk about. after this series, we will have alot of cool stuff coming up during the offseason. our DBF season in recap, Stacie will have Blue Bios, well have some Podcasts on their way....well tell you more later.
tonight's game is at 640PM. Make sure you get your Dodger fix in before the season is over. With a win tonight the Dodgers will assure a winning season. quite an accomplishment, for Don Mattingly and the Dodgers. Join us after the game for our postgame recap. GO BLUE

Kershaw wins 21st, as Dodgers win 80th game

Dodgers  6 6 0
Padres     2 51
WP-Kershaw-21-5
LP-Luebke-6-10
HR-Cunningham-3-BigRod-16

Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw gets his 21st win

Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw completed his Cy Young award season. his final start completes what is likely the most dominating single season pitching performance of any Dodger pitcher not named Koufax.
The other story going on was Matt KeMvP's quest for the MVP and triple crown. he currently began the day tied with Pujols for home runs, first in RBIs, and third in avg .3 points behind crazy eye Ryan Braun. otherwise this was a meaningless game.

Kershaw and the Dodgers beat San Diego 6-2. Kershaw pitches 7.1 allowing two runs off 4 hits. he walked 1 and whiffed 6. The Dodgers scored two runs early in the first,  two in the 5th, and then two more in the 8th.

The Dodgers score in the first, with 1 out, Carroll walks, and Bison doubles into the gap. Maybin attempts to slide in order to cut off the ball. but it careems off of his foot. allowing Carroll to score from first.
Bison tags up to third on Rivera's fly ball to right. Miles then immediatly singles in KeMvP. 2-0 Dodgers.

Miles singles in a run

Kershaw whiffs Bartlett and Hundley in the first. Kershaw whffed 6 on the night.

in the top of the third, KeMvP's second at bat sees him hit a long towering fly ball right to the wall in center, anywhere else this ball is a homerun but you know playing in the mosoleum that is petco park its an out.

move to the 5th, Gordon grounds out, Carroll walks again. KeMvP's groundball single is ruled an error on Bartlett, even though KeMvP beat it out. Rivera singles in Carroll, and Miles groundball force out, scores KeMvP. making it 4-0 Dodgers.

That would he more than enough for our Ace, despite tiring out in the 8th inning. boy San Diego really sucks. Kershaw had only allowed one hit until the 5th. Aaron Cunningham homered just over the wall in left. 4-1 Dodgers. Kershaw has a 123 6th inning. Luke Greggerson relieves opposing pitcher Cory Luebke in the top of the 7th. Luebke pitched ok, but is no match for Kershaw.

move to the top of the 8th, with Josh Spence on the mound, Miles and Loney grounded out, San Diego makes a pitching change. Hamren relieves Spence. Sands walked, and Big Rod follows with a two run home run. 6-1 Dodgers. its Big Rod's 16th homerun of the season.

Big Rod watches his 16th homerun go out.

Bottom of the 8th and Kershaw begins to tire. Hudson leads off with a double, Cunningham flies out, but Hudson tags up to third. Gonzalez triples home Hudson, and its 6-2 Dodgers. Mattingly calls in Jansen to relieve Kersh, and he predictably, blows away pinch hitter Will Venable, who apprently doesnt believe in wearing batting gloves, as he flings his bat in the stands twice after whiffing trying to hit the Aspirin tablets Jansen was throwing. Jansen whiffs Maybin to end the 8th.

Will "no bat" venable has no bat, and he also flinged his into the stands

 The Dodgers go down 123 in the top of the 9th, as KeMvP grounds out in his last at bat. he ends the day going 1 for 4 with a double, and his average drops to .324 hes about .8 points behind Braun.

Guerra into close it in the bottom of the 9th. he whiffs Bartlett, hundley singles to center, Guzman walks, and Denorfia grounds into a double play to end the game.

The Dodgers now have their 80th win of the season with three games left to play. Clayton Kershaw finished what should be his Cy Young season by leading for the pitching triple crown. he leads in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Kershaws final numbers are a 21-5 record, 2.28 ERA,  and 248 strikeouts.

Congratulations Kershaw on an excellent season. The Dodgers finish 13-5 against San Diego, and have won 6 of their last 8 games.

Join us tomorrow as COC graduate Dana Eveland will take the mound against Daniel Hudson. this should be a good game, as the Dodgers fly to Arizona for the final three games of the 2011 season. tomorrow's game is  at 640 on Prime Ticket. theres still lots of reasons to watch the last three games. KeMvP's quest for the triple crown and or 40/40. The Dodgers quest for one more win to ensure them of a winning season. and this may be our last chance to watch Dodger baseball before four long boring months of the offseason. congratulations to Kershaw for an amazing season. his dominating excellence is wonderfully refreshing isnt it Dodger fans? weve been drinking up his magnificence all season long.
Go Kersh!, and GO BLUE

Kershaw goies for win 21, while Dodgers go for win 80

Dodgers Lineup
Gordon6
Carroll4
KeMvP8
Rivera7
Miles5
Loney3
Sands9
Big Rod2
Kershaw1


Clayton Kershaw-20-5 vs. Cory Luebke-6-9



Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the final time today, as The Dodgers play the rubber game of this three game series in San Diego.
Kersh has already solidified himself for the NL Cy Young Award. heis 12-1 over his last 13 decisions. Kershaw is tied for the leage lead in wins, first in strikeouts, and first in ERA. this extra win could certainly help his chances, but I think hes already got the cy young won. Hes been the most dominating pitcher this season, and him leading the pitching triple crown should be enough to give him the Cy Young.
Kersh is 6-3 against San DIego, and he needs 9 strikeouts to take over the MLB lead again. (he trails Verlander)

San Diego willl counter with righty Cory Luebke. his last start in Colorado, saw him carry a no-hitter into the 6th inning. he allowed a two run homerun that game, but that was the only hit, in the one-hitter that he allowed while whiffing 9 Colorado batters, which was a career high for him. Luebke is 1-1 against the Dodgers. although we really havent faced him much.

normal lineup today playing behind Kershaw. not much really going on right now. The Dodgers are just playing out the schedule. after today, they have just three games left in Arizona, as the season ends after wend night's game. Arizona has already clinched the NL west division, and the Giants have been eliminated.
after today, the last three games will be a Bison watch. Matt KeMvP only needs three more homeruns for 40/40, and we watch as he pursues the triple crown.

The Dodgers are 79-78, and only need two more wins in their last four games to ensure a winning season.

Today's game is on at 110 televised on Prime Ticket. tune in Dodger fans, this will be your final chance to see Kershaw pitch. catch the games while you can, the season is almost over. join us after the game for our daily game recap. GO BLUE

Harang Hangs the Dodgers Out to Dry

Dodgers 0 4 1
Padres    3 5 0
WP- Harang (14-7)
LP- Billingsley (11-11)
S- Bell (42)

Harang Shuts Out Dodgers

The Dodgers barely squeak out a measly 4 hits against Aaron Harang tonight in San Diego. Chad Billingsley has a classic 5th inning meltdown and only makes 78 pitches. He ends the season with a even 11-11 record and a 4.21 ERA. The offense sputtered as KEMvP went 1 for 4 while Sands, Loney, and Gordon had the other 3 hits.

In the 1st, Bison has a 2-out single, but that is all. Bills has a very quick 1st inning. It only takes him 7 pitches to strikeout Venable and retire the Padres in order.

Loney singles when the shortstop Parrino can't handle the hotly hit ball, but FedEx whiffs after. Loney then proceeds to steal second. He is 4 for 4 in steal attempts this season. Sellers whiffs to end the inning. Bills only walks Hermida in the bottom half of the inning.

The Dodgers go down 123 in the 3rd. Bills allows another walk to Parrino but nothing else.

KEMvP strikes out in the 4th, and the Dodgers go down in order again. Ugh. Why can't we hit Harang? In the bottom of the 4th there's an awesome play from the youngins. Hermida doubles and as he attempts to get greedy and go for a triple, Sands throws to Sellers who then cannons the ball over to Mitchell at 3rd who tags him out! Nice!

FedEx whiffs, and again the Dodgers go down pathetically in the 5th. The bottom of the 5th gets ugly for Bills. He's pitching well up to this point, and I'm not sure what triggers the meltdown to ensue. He begins by whiffing Martinez. Ok, good. Then Rizzo singles. Maybe that rattled him? He walks Parrino. Harang misses a bunt and strikes out. Then for some ungodly reason Bills serves up a slow 66 mph curve to Venable who promptly singles bringing in Rizzo to score, 1-0 San Diego. Hudson then singles in Parrino, 2-0. Then Venable scores on a FedEx error when he tries to pickoff Hudson and throws it away. 3-0. Bills hits Maybin before the inning is finally over when Headley grounds out.

Bills goes 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts.

In the 6th Sands doubles extending his hitting streak to 12 games. The Dodgers fail to do anything else. Kuo comes into take over where Bills left off and he only allows a 2-out walk to Rizzo who is then cut down by FedEx attempting to steal 2nd. Nice throw!

In the 7th, annoying Parrino makes two good plays to help Harang take down the Dodgers in order. Kuo is still in and he hits Parrino but Harang strikes out trying to bunt him over for the 2nd time during the game.

Will Kuo Pitch Next Season?

Useless Oeltjen whiffs in the 8th, and the Dodgers-you guessed it-go down 123. Lindblom strikes out Maybin, and then Elbert comes in and strikes out Blanks, Hermida singles, but Martinez whiffs to end the inning.

Harang goes 8 strong innings, allowing 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts on 105 pitches.

Heath Bell comes running in for the 9th, and allows a Gordon squib single. That's 11 games straight now for Gordon with a hit. Sands whiffs. KEMvP hits into a double play to fittingly end this horrible game.

Tomorrow is the rubber game at 1:05pm. Clayton Kershaw will go for his 21st win of the season. Join us tomorrow for our pregame post in the morning. Good night, Go Blue!

Chad Billingsley Takes Final Trip to the Mound

Dodgers @ Padres
Game 2
5:45PM

Chad Billingsley (11-10, 4.23) vs. Aaron Harang (13-7, 3.82)

Chad Billinglsey is 70-51 with a 3.68 ERA in His Career

Chad & His Wife Tiffany

Chad Billingsley's season has been up and down with both glimmers of greatness and myriads of meltdowns. We can't forget the May 14th loss to the D-Backs when Bills only allowed 1 hit and 1 unearned run on an error when he threw to second base and Miles and Carroll were no where to be found. Or there was his complete game 3-hitter on July 3rd when he lost to the Angels because of a Branyan homer. Then of course there was the September 8th debacle in Washington when he only lasted 2 1/3 innings. Luckily the bullpen pitched scoreless ball afterwards and the Dodgers scored 3 runs in the 9th to win the game 7-4. 


Bills will try to avoid another meltdown when he pitches for his final time this season in San Diego tonight and tries to capture his 12th victory. Chad has had a few good starts in a row, and he looks to finish strong as he heads into his multi-year contract with the Dodgers. During Spring Training he signed a 3-year deal worth $35 million with an option for a $14 million 4th year. He is 11-7 in his career against the Friars with a good 2.76 ERA. Billingsley made his Major League Baseball debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 15, 2006, against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park in San Diego, California. The Dodgers went on to win 7-3 in that game. In 2008 Bills had a record 0f 16-10 with a 3.14 ERA and was even 5th in the NL with 201 strikeouts. This season he only has 149 strikeouts so far. After his ace-like season in '08 Bills has been somewhat stalled and in 2009 and 2010 he was 12-11 and this season is looking quite similar. Bills is a decent hitting pitcher and has 9 hits this season with 1 homerun. Can Billingsley ever attain ace stature? I'm not sure, but he is one of the core players which we have built this team around. He may not ever be on Kershaw's level, but he has potential if he can put two good halves together during the season. 


Aaron Harang will pitch for the Padres, and he is looking for his 14th win in a surprisingly successful season for the righty even though the Padres are mired in last place. He is 3-6 with a 4.83 ERA in his career against the Dodgers. Matt KEMvP has 1 homerun and 4 RBIs against him in 9 ABs. 

The Dodgers have won 6 of their last 7 games, and we are now 2 games over .500. The Dodgers are 12-4 against the Padres this season and 5-2 at PETCO Park.

Lineup:

Gordon 6
Sands 9
KEMvP 8
Rivera 7
Loney 3
Mitchell 5
FedEx 2
Sellers 4
Bills 1

Thankfully we're back to a lineup without three automatic outs in it like last night. Sands is hitting 2nd in the lineup today and should see some good pitches batting in front of KEMvP. Loney is back at 1st, and FedEx is behind the plate again.


Let's hope for some more Bison blasts! Only 3 more for 40!

Go Blue!

KeMvP's birthday homer, and Lilly's gem down San Diego

Dodgers 2 4 0
padres    0 4 0
WP-Lilly-11-14
LP-Leblanc-4-6
SV-Guerra-20
HR-KeMvP-37

Do I need to say more?

The Dodgers Celebrated Matt KeMvP's birthday in style today. our MVP turned 27 as his Mom watched from the stands. The Dodgers beat the Padres 2-0. Mattingly's throwaway lineup could only muster up 2 runs off 4 hits. No Loney, No Rivera, with KeMvP and Sands the only legitimate threats. not suprisingly Bison and Sands accounted for both of the Dodgers runs,( a Sands double, and A bison homer on his bday). Crafty Lefty ted Lilly and the Dodger Bullpen made it stand up. as much as weve ridiculed Ted Lily on this site, he gave another solid outing. pitching 6.1 innings of shutout ball while whiffing 7 San Diego batters. Dougie, Jansen, and Guerra took care of the rest.

the Dodgers go down 123 in the top of the first with Gordon and KeMvP whiffing.
Lilly pitches around a denorfia single for a scoreless bottom of the 1st. the Dodgers score their first run in the top of the second. Sands leads off with a double. oeltjen sacrifices Sands to third. (why are we sacirficing a runner from second and third, when second base is in scoring position?, but I digress...)
Mitchell's grounder scores Sands, 1-0 Dodgers.

Sands scores in the second inning

we were forced to watch in horror as Eugenio Velez was inserted into the lineup and gave his predictable 0 for 4. except this time he tied the major League record for most hitless at bats in a season. tied with Councell, and Bill bergen. if none of you are familiar with Bergen, please look him up. he was a Dodger. and known for his offensive failures. however he also was known for amazing defensive abilities. anyways, hes not gonna get a hit Donnie, stop playing him! we cant take watching him hit anymore. just move on! geez

so with the Dodgers up 1-0, the Padres threatened in the third. Parrino walks, Leblanc sacrifices him to second. Maybin walks. bartlett's force out grounder is broken up nicly by maybin, as Gordon is unable to turn the double play. but it wouldnt matter as Lilly whiffs Denorfia.

bottom of the 4th, Hundley doubles, but Lilly gets the next three San Diego hitters to all pop up. Hudson, Cunningham, and Gonzalez. nice!

move to the top of the 6th, Gordon reaches on a bunt hit. it appears that Leblanc picks him off first base, but instead a balk is called. apparently Leblanc flinched his leg before coming to a complete step. Gordon is awarded second base. sellers flies out to end the inning.

the Padres had 8 men in scoring position, but couldnt score any of them. in the bottom of the 6th, bartlett singles, but Lilly whiffs Denorfia, and Hundley, and Hudson grounds out.

top of the 7th. The Birthday boy, Matt KeMvP, our MVP, blasts his 37th homerun to right field. his Mom was watching from the stands. after KeMvP crossed the plate he high fived Mamma Bison. (or Mamma MVP)
This gives the Dodgers some breathing room, up 2-0.

you cant spell MVP with out KeMvP

Cunnningham doubles to lead off the bottom of the 7th. The ball dropping in between three Dodgers near the foul line. Gonzalez grounds out to Lilly. with Lilly at 99 pitches, Mattingly brings the hook. Dougie is called upon from the bullpen. Kyle Blanks, hits a groundball to Sellers. Cunningham had broke for third, but Sellers fakes to first, and catches Cunningham in a rundown, and eventually tagging him out. heads up play! always get the lead runner if you can. Hermida bats for Leblanc and walks. Dougie whiffs Maybin to end the frame.

Bottom of the 8th. Dodgers stil up 2-0. Jansen enters and whiffs the side.  Bartlett, Denorfia, and Hudley all had no chance to even make contact off of Jansen.

Guerra enters to close shop. Hudson grounds out, Venable pops out, and Gonzalez whiffs ending it. thats Guerra's 20th save! great job Javy!

with this win, the Dodgers improve to 79-77. they need just two more wins for a winning season.
thank goodness San Diego sucks as bad as they do, or we might have had some issues with the lineup Donnie out out.
both the Brewers and Arizona officially clinched tonight. its the Brewers first division title since 1982. Arizona had essentially clinched weeks ago.
we also learned that the Dodgers will be leaving KABC 790 after the season. our new flagship radio station will now be 570 KLAC. an all sports talk format. interesting is this could conflict with Dodger talk, as that is still under contract with KABC.
well the Dodgers get another win, KeMvP htis another home run. on his birthday no less, with his mom watching! there should be no argument at this point. KeMvP is the best palyer in baseball, and deserves to win the MVP. remember the MVP and Cy Young are individual awards, based on individual performences, not team performences.
great game! join us tomorrow as Stacie returns to cover an early game. a saturday 535pm start time. televised on Prime Ticket. Chad Billingsley will take the mound in what could be his final start of 2011. hell draw Aaron Harang. tune in tomorrow Dodger fans! GO BLUE

Dodgers Look for Win on Bison's Birthday

Dodgers @ San Diego
Game 1
7:05pm

Ted Lilly (10-14, 4.27) vs. Wade LeBlanc (4-5, 5.07)

The Dodgers open the second to last series of the season in San Diego for a three game set against the last place Padres. The AZ Diamondbacks magic number is down to 1 in order to clinch the NL West Division title. Last night's finale at Dodger Stadium was magical, wasn't it? Not only did we beat San Francisco and take the series, but Matt KEMvP was unearthly and crushed 3 doubles and a homerun in his final at-bat of the season at Chavez Ravine. Hopefully next season we can unleash Bison's Beastmode in the playoffs.

Tonight Ted Lilly will go to the mound, and he is on a bit of a hot streak and has not allowed a homerun in his past four games which is one game shy of his personal record. Last time out against the Pirates he only allowed 1 run on 4 hits in in 7 innings. This most likely will be his second to last start. LeBlanc lost to the Dodgers back on August 31st, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits in 6 innings.

Jerry Sands has a 10 game hitting streak, and Dee Gordon has a 9 game hitting streak. Sands is hitting .358 since he was recalled from AAA on Sept. 6.

Lineup:

Gordon 6
Sellers 5
KEMvP 8
Sands 9
Oeltjen 7
Mitchell 3
FedEx 2
Velez 4
Lilly 1

Wow, this lineup looks awful. One of Donnie's forfeit-like concoctions. Good thing we are playing San Diego since we have Mr. 0 for 33 at second base tonight and Aussie boy in left field.

Today is Matt KEMvP's 27th birthday, the same number which adorns his jersey. Happy birthday, Matt! thank you for an incredible season!

Can Bison get 4 more homeruns to reach 40? Can Loney continue his incredible comeback from the dead? Can Sandman cement a spot next year on the team? Only 6 games left Dodger fans. Let's enjoy them! Join us after the game for our recap! Go Blue!

Kuroda, KeMvP and Dodgers dethrone Giants in final home game

Giants     2   6 0
Dodgers  8 13 0
WP-Kuroda-13-16
LP-Bumgarner-12-13
HR-Rivera-5-KeMvP-36
Beltran-21-Sandoval-23



The Giants have been dethroned form their fluke thrown. we could all hear the Giants withering playoff hopes dwindle away into the cool Chavez Ravine night, the Dodgers win in their final home game 8-2 as they finish their home schedule 42-39. our MVP center fielder Matt KeMvP went 4 for 5 with three doubles, and a two run home run. Rivera drives in three runs with a two run shot and an RBI single. and Hiroki Kuroda in what could be his final start in blue at Dodger stadium, pitched 7 innings of two run ball to earn his 13th victory.
the loss almost assures San Francisco of a trip home for october to watch the playoffs from their living rooms. the touching moment came in the 8th when Kuroda left to a standing ovation, and KeMvP made a curtain call to the fans after hitting his 36th homer.  we won't see Dodger stadium until next April. kind of sad isn't it?

of coarse we can't escape the first inning without allowing run or runs to score. Christian and Keppinger both ground out. Beltran drives one over the wall in center field for a home run. 1-0 SF. Sandoval annoyingly singles, but Huff's grounder ends the inning.

Gordon annoying tries to bunt and pops out to Sandoval. someone please teach this kid how to bunt, or tell him to knock it off. Sands long fly ball is caught at the warning track in center field. Bison drills a double into the left field corner. then boom goes the dynamite. Rivera slams a huge homer halfway up the left field bleachers. Dodgers lead 2-1! thats the 5th home run for Rivera with the Dodgers, ad his 26th RBI in 25 games. yeah baby! Miles singles up the middle, but Loney is called out on strikes. but the damage is done!

Rivera watches his home run go out, in the first inning.

Kuroda retires the Giants in order in the 2nd inning, as Kuroda whiffs Sandoval.
Bumgarner retires the side 123 in the bottom of the 2nd.

top of the 3rd, Bumgarner whiffs. Christian tries to bunt for a hit, and Kuroda has to come off the mound to throw him out. Keppinger lines to Loney ending the third.

Bottom of the third, Gordon leads off with a single. Sands singles into left, and runners at first and second, and here comes Bison! he hits a long drive into right field, Beltran makes a nice running catch as the ball sliced into his glove. Gordon tags up to third. Rivera's base hit up the middle scores Gordon. 3-1 Dodgers!
Miles line drive is snared by Huff, and Rivera is doubled up off first base. but the Dodgers get one more. 3-1 blue.

Matt KeMvP makes a diving catch off the bat of Beltran's liner. great catch! sandoval singles. Carroll grabs Huff's grounder, they get a force on sandoval, but his takeout slide prevents Gordon from turning the double play. Belt pops out to Rivera, and thats it for the 4th.

Big Rod singles in the bottom of the 4th, with two outs. Kuroda's little pop fly into shallow right is completely FUBARed by Keppinger and beltran as it bounces off of Keppinger's glove. Big Rod hustles into third. Gordon's base hit past the diving Keppinger scores Big Rod. 4-1 Dodgers. thank you Dee!
Sands long fly ball is caught for the last out.

Kuroda polishes off the Giants 123 in the top of the 5th inning.
Bumgarner who was hit for in the top half, is done for the night after only 4 innings of work. he allows 4 runs off 9 hits. walking none, and striking out only 1. he makes 74 pitches. Steve Edlefsen relieves him, and allows a leadoff Double to KeMvP, that almost goes out. Rivera lines out to left. then the youngster begins to have a walkapalooza. Miles walks. and Loney (now a legitimate hitting threat) also walks. bases loaded. Bochy brings a hook for the youngster.another youngster Joaquin enters to pitch to Big Rod. he walks, and the team walkapalooza is official, as the Dodgers take a 5-1 lead. Carroll's RBI force out, brings Miles home. Big Rod is erased at second. 6-1 Dodgers. Kuroda grounds out to end the frame.

Kuroda gets three consecutive grounders to end the 6th inning 123.
Gordon walks to leadoff the bottom of the 6th. with Sands at bat, Gordon is thrown out trying to steal. good throw darn it. Sands grounds out. KeMvP hits his third double of the game! MVP. Rivera's grounder ends the inning.

Sandoval goes deep off of Kuroda to begin the 7th. the home run ball going over the short wall in left field.
6-2 Dodgers. beltran flies to Rivera. Belt flies out to KeMvP. Crawford pops out ending the top of the 7th.

Runzler the Simi Valley native relieves Jouquin in the bottom of the 7th. Miles grounds out. Big Rod Whiffs. Carroll flies out. 6-2 Dodgers after 7 innings.

With Jansen warming in the bullpen, Kuroda allows a leadoff single to Hector Sanchez. Mattingly brings a hook, and calls in Jansen. Kuroda leaves to a standing ovation. The honorable right hander leaves leading 6-2. we can only hope that this will not be the last we see of Kuroda.
Kuroda pitches 7+ innings, allowing 2 runs off 5 hits. walking none, and whiffing 4 making 92 pitches.

Burrell draws a pinch hit walk. Burriss runs for him. Andres Torres pinch hits for Christian. Jansen whiffs Torres. Keppinger who was 6 for 37 against the Dodgers this year, flies to KeMvP. with two outs, we have a rematch from the other night. Carlos Beltran vs. Kenley Jansen. remember Jansen struck him out the first time. Jansen wins round two by retiring Beltran on a pop up to Gordon. man Jansen is awesome!

high sock wearing barry Zito enters to pitch the bottom of the 8th. Mitchell batting for Jansen grounds out. Gordon walks. Sands flies out. as Bison steps up to the plate chants of MVP grow louder for our Elite Center fielder. KeMvP blasts his 36th homer of the year to straight away center field. he raises his average to .326 with 36 home runs, 118 RBIs. with a Home Run in his final home at bat, he takes a curtain call from the crowd, amidst more chants of MVP.

Matt KeMvP blasts his 36th homer

move to the top of the 9th. with an 8-2 lead, the Dodgers bring in Elbert. Derosa flies out to Sands. Huff grounds out. Belt singles, Pill walks. hector Sanchez whiffs to end the game. as Tommy Lasorda watched from the bench.

Tommy Lasorda watches from the bench on his 84th birthday

thats two out of three from the Giants. the Dodgers improve back over .500 at 78-77. Kuroda wins his 13th.
If this was Kuroda's last start at Dodger stadium, it was a good one. I hope well see him again next year.

what a great way to end the home schedule. the Dodgers will go out on the road for their final road trip. three in San Diego over the weekend, and then three in Arizona and then thats it. tomorrow is a 710 start time, as Ted Lilly takes the mound against matt Leblanc. join us tomorrow for our daily recap.

think about this though...if KeMvP goes 40/40 he probably wins the MVP. if KeMvP wins the triple crown theres no way anyone can deny him what he rightfully deserves....the 2011 national league most valuable player award. I must confess my never-ending love for Matt KeMvP. don't judge me. Im happy with Bison. The Dodgers have dethroned the Giants. looks like San Francisco will have to wait another half a century for their next fluke championship. Auld lang Syne San Francisco. GO BLUE

last home game

Dodgers Lineup
Gordon6
Sands9
Kemp8
Rivera7
Miles5
Loney3
Big Rod2
Carroll4
Kuroda1


Madison Bumgarner-10-12 vs. Hiroki Kuroda-12-16


Tonight the Dodgers will play their final home game of 2011. no matter the results, the Dodgers will have a winning record at home.
too bad we couldnt get a win on my birthday last night. we learned that Dana Eveland is not the answer to our 5th starter vacancy. tough start for Dana. I still believe he can still be useful as a spot starter. I hope the Dodgers keep him around.

tonight The Giants who are within 3.5 games of the Wild Card behind Atlanta, will give the ball to Lefty Madison Bumgarner, who has won his last five starts. including a sept .11th win against us.
Bumgarner is 12-12 against the league, and has always pitched well against the Dodgers. 4-1 record and a 2.97 ERA will prove that.

The Dodgers will counter with righty Hiroki Kuroda. the former Japanese league ERA champion was battling a sore neck, but looking to finish the season on a good note. Kuroda is 12-16 this year with a 3.19 ERA. hes always been effective against the Giants too with a 3-3 record and an ERA of about 3.00. with 1 more inning pitched, his 175,000 Dollar option vests. he is a free agent, and this could conceivably be his final start at Dodger stadium. but my bet is he comes back next year. man I hope so. as you know, Kuroda has shown loyalty to the Dodgers, unheard of in this modern age. He invoked his no-trade clause back in July amisdt swirling trade rumors. insisting he only wants to pitch for the Dodgers. our opinion as you know is that by holding onto our core players will allow us to hold onto Dodger tradition as long as we can. Kuroda a man of deep integrity is a big part of this core group that should wear Dodger Blue forever. Let's root Hiroki onto victory in his final home start!

Stacie will be covering two games during the last week. this saturday against San Diego, and the tuesday night game in Arizona. I will be covering the finale on wend. night.
once the season is finished we will have our DBF season in recap, and lots more stuff in the offseason, so stick around!

the Giants have won 9 of their last 10, during their desperate last minute run at the playoffs. Their payoff chances are dwindling away. one more loss could be the dagger in their coffin. wouldnt it be just fitting and wonderful for the Dodgers to be that dagger stabber? The Dodgers will be playing the role of spoiler during their final week.
Lets send these bastards home. The Dodgers need 4 more wins for a winning season, and a win will give the Dodgers a season split with San Francisco. join us afterwards for our postgame recap.

one last note about tonight's game. Tommy Lasorda will be in uniform and in the dugout as a honorary coach. it is also Tommy's Bday today! happy Birthday Tommy! he is 84. it is also "sweet" Lou Johnson's birthday, as he turns 77. wow! lots of birthdays going on!

we will not go gently into that good night. we will fight. we are going to play on. we will protect and serve the citizens of Dodgertown. we will make our final stand. GO BLUE