Dodgers Dominate, Defend Diamond

Los Angeles baseball continues to dominate the major leagues. The L.A. Dodgers have a 29-13 record to lead all teams. You can’t second guess Joe Torre’s first place boys in blue. Russell Martin’s 8th inning RBI single gave the Dodgers the 2-1 edge and the eventual three game sweep of the Mets in L.A. I consider Martin the most promising young catcher and leader in the game today. He’s been in a dreadful slump, but his first hit of the series turned out to be the game winner that snatched the series for L.A. Martin is now hitting .353 in May after culminating April with a substandard .205 average.
The Dodgers brandished the brooms last night and established closer, Jonathan Broxton’s brash breaking balls sealed his 11th save of the season. The Mets were held without a homerun in luxurious Dodgers Stadium. A New York player has not hit one out of the park in any of the team’s last seven road games. In fact, the last time a Met his a homer was Gary Sheffield on May 13th in Citi Field. The team wasted a phenomenal effort by Livan Hernandez. Hernandez pitched seven strong innings and allowed a run on seven hits. J.J. Putz gave up two 8th inning walks and an Orland Hudson single with one out to set the stage for Martin. The two-time All-star L.A. Martin lined a 1-0 pitch off the New York righty into left field for his 16th RBI. He hit the ball right on the screws to snap a 1-1 deadlock and make a winner out of rookie left-hander, Brent Leach. Leach retired both batters he faced in the top of the 8th and was the winning pitcher because L.A. took the lead in their half of the inning. Putz was the pitcher on the losing side, his third of the year for the Mets. The Dodgers improved their record at home to 17-3 to tie a major league record for 20 games with the 1998 New York Yankees.
The Dodgers are second in the majors in hitting and runs, and tied for first in on-base percentage. Casey Blake, Hudson and Andre Ethier are all contributing offensively, even with Manny Ramirez out of the lineup. Since his absence, L.A. slammed and slugged their way to an average of six runs per game. In those 10 glaring games, the Dodgers had at least 11 hits in seven of the first eight games. Juan Pierre, Ramirez’s replacement, has filled in adequately with a .447 average. Juan is a quiet athlete, but his shadowy presence is a far contrast from conspicuous speed. If Ramirez and Pierre were cups of coffee, Pierre would definitely be the decaffeinated. Pierre factored into the Mets’ fielding woes Tuesday with a liner to left field. New York’s Daniel Murphy charged the leadoff man’s rocket, but it skimmed off his glove. Pierre scored on Hudson’s ensuring single. Juan struck again last night with an infield single and scratched across L.A. first run on an Ethier sac fly. Pierre and Hudson give the Dodgers two too fine five-tool players with steady skills. Orlando has emerged as one of L.A.’s offensive leaders. He inherited the number three spot in the order vacated by Manny. Hudson was also the only Dodgers to start all 41 games for the team this year coming into Tuesday night. Blake leads the team in homeruns and Ethier is the Dodgers top RBI man. Blake smoked the go-ahead three run shot off John Maine Tuesday. The smash saw the slugger taking a good swing into the home field seats for a 5-3 Dodgers win. Ethier, Martin, Matt Kemp and James Loney make up the youth of the lineup. All four are under age 30 and present a potent advantage at the plate against NL pitchers. Kemp hit .325 in April with 3 homers and 3 triples and 3 doubles. The centerfielder is only clubbing .222 this month, but has a homerun and six walks. The 27 year old Ethier averaged .306 in April but a substantial drop to .194 in May should not be too concerning. The right fielder is capable of carrying a heavy load and is the only one of the core four who did not come up through the farm system originally with the Dodgers. He joined the team in a 2005 minor league deal with the Oakland A’s. Torre often draws comparisons of Ethier and Loney with Paul O’Neill and Bernie Williams. I think those are two very good measuring sticks for the Dodger youngsters. L.A.’s steady catcher, Martin, was the hitting hero last night, and Kemp’s grand slam a week ago propelled the winning pulse. His diving outfield catch protected the shutout the next night. Free agent, shortstop, Rafael Furcal, improves the infield defense and Hudson brings a Gold Glove and speed as well. Hudson has already achieved and accomplished much in his career, and was one of the more-touted off-season signings. Mark Loretta has excelled as a pinch hitter. Loretta’s keen eye Tuesday caught Ryan Church off guard. Church attempted to score the go-ahead run for the Mets but Loretta appealed the run, citing Church missed touching third base. The umpires accepted the appeal and Church was called out to end the inning. The Mets gift-wrapped the victory for L.A. but credit the Dodgers for remaining focused throughout.
Randy Wolf deflated the World Champion Phillies at Citizens Bank Park last week by firing six innings of three hit ball. Wolf had a no decision in L.A.‘s extra inning victory over New York on Monday night. He was charged with two runs and six hits over 7 2/3 innings. All but one player in Torre’s lineup contributed a hit or run in the Phillies win. Kemp made diving catches in the field as put down a sacrifice bunt. Pierre stole two bases. Loney keyed a five-run fourth inning with a massive homerun. The Dodgers find ways to eradicate opposing teams by being patient at the plate and having timely hitting. They scored 10 runs and socked 23 hits in the three game sweep of New York. However, they were only 4 for 30 with runners-in-scoring position this series. The Dodgers have proved better in that department in previous games.
Pitching has been efficient and the bullpen has worked hard for Torre all year. They have a few injured arms and a shortage of bench players, but it does not seem to be a problem. Opening day ace, Hiroki Kuroda, is on the DL. Starter, Eric Stults, replaced Kuroda and has gone 5-1, including a Saturday shutout, since. Stults was scheduled to pitch Wednesday night but was scratched with a sprained thumb. He is expected to be back for his next start in the rotation. Jeff Weaver, a long reliever, replaced the sidelined left-hander and allowed a run on four hits over five innings of work against the Mets. Weaver weaved his way out of trouble with men at the corners in the first inning and lowered his ERA to 3.00. He was lifted after throwing 69 pitches and Leach shouldered the load during a tie game in the 8th. The rookie impressed in a pressure situation by inducing two groundouts. Because Torre has 13 pitchers in the active roster, Wolf was the first available pinch hitter off the bench. But, the bullpen turned in a shutout effort over four innings to facilitate the win. Chad Billingsly struggled handedly in Game 2 of the sweep as the second inning unraveled for him. He was over-throwing the ball, missing his target and got out of a rhythm. Chad lost his command early but gutted it out in time to strike out seven Mets. He escaped with a win after 6 1/3 trying innings on the hill. Billingsley is 6-1 this year and continues to roll. Cory Wade has been utilized frequently in relief. Wade pitched a scoreless eighth Tuesday but surrendered the game tying single from Gary Sheffield’s bat Monday. The Dodgers made a winner out of reliever Ramon Troncoso Tuesday, and the revamped bullpen has had few hiccups since April.
Torre has L.A. playing National League baseball impeccably. They lead the NL West by 8 ½ games. The Dodgers prevailed in each of the three series they played over the last nine days by beating the Mets last night. Backed by polished professionals, L.A. knocks in runs and advances runners, doing the little things to create offensive opportunities. The hitters consistently deliver clutch hits at Chavez Ravine in the absence of their best player. They have defended their diamond with bold plays and blossoming pitching. The Dodgers looks loose, but play a tight defense, a definite formula for success. The 2009 Dodgers were build around Ramirez, but a fully functioning crisp core can carry the franchise to the top of the division. The accurate and acute arms are authorizing and Manny’s associates are producers of only a slightly lesser degree. The scrappy young guys can certainly maintain and hold down the fort until Ramirez returns. They have the confidence to forge ahead after withstanding the past week’s schedule. The players know nobody can do Manny’s job, but if they each do their own, L.A. can still be successful.

Parting points: At volume peak with “Santa Monica” by Ever clear (for the Dodgers) and “South Side” by Moby (for the Chisox, I hear they are trading for Jake Peavy)