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