6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Another Brutal Loss In Extras: Braves 2, Dodgers 1

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Sunday, August 09, 2009

Another Brutal Loss In Extras: Braves 2, Dodgers 1

It's not like the Dodgers didn't have their chances in this one; despite letting Japanese import Kenshin Kawakami take a perfect game through the first three innings, the Dodgers erased themselves (Orlando Hudson in the fifth on a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play) or stranded baserunners in scoring position, leaving men at second in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and most depressingly, tenth innings, and failed to advance even one base in the eighth after a leadoff walk to Rafael Furcal.

The ensuing Kelly Johnson homer in the top of the tenth off Guillermo Mota — so good so often lately — seemed like an inevitability somehow, erasing all the good work of Clayton Kershaw and the three other relievers ahead of him. I confess, I thought Broxton would be the one to give up the lead, especially with his toe-induced wildness; but he struck out the first batter he faced, Martin Prado, and induced a couple infield bounce outs after that.

The Dodgers actually managed to load the bases in the bottom of the tenth (the final runner being Manny Ramirez on an intentional walk), and even pushed across a run on Andre Ethier's bloop double before that, but Matt Kemp wasn't up to the task, quite, and hit a ball up the middle that Yuniel Escobar turned into the final out with a fantastic play that nipped Kemp by a step.

You hope for better this afternoon, that's for sure. Jon's take is about right.

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Labels: braves, dodgers, recaps