Dodger Thoughts

I’m not gonna pretend to have the words that can turn 20 strikeouts and a walkoff home run into something more spectacular than 20 strikeouts and a walkoff home run.

Twenty strikeouts. And a walkoff home run.

That was the story today for the Dodgers, who outlasted Cincinnati in 11 innings, 1-0, on Yasiel Puig’s blast to win their 26th game out of 32, matching their best stretch of that length in Los Angeles history.

Los Angeles has opened up a 2 1/2 game lead in the National League West, and without for a moment believing that the divisional race won’t still end up a fight, I have begun to open up room in my consciousness for the pursuit of the best record in the league.

Steadily, the Dodgers have been gaining ground here, too.

Cincinnati, I thought, was a very impressive opponent. Yet the Dodgers not only won three of four from the Reds, they held them to the following from Friday through Sunday: 29 innings, 11 hits, two runs, three walks, 24 strikeouts, 0.63 ERA.

Los Angeles wasn’t exactly lighting the scoreboard on fire, especially today. The 20 strikeouts were, by two, a franchise record dating back to Brooklyn for games of any length. When Brooklyn and Boston played to a 26-inning tie in 1920, the two teams combined for only 14 strikeouts. At one point, Cincinnati retired 11 Dodgers in a row with 10 strikeouts sandwiching a caught stealing.

That misbegotten baserunner was Puig, who went jazzhands on the basepaths all series. He was also one of four Dodgers to strikeout at least three times Sunday – another franchise record. Meanwhile, Puig went 5 for 15 with two walks and the no-doubt home run against the Reds – not so bad for a so-called struggling player.

A moment has to be devoted to a couple of pitchers who have had their ups and downs this season: Chris Capuano, who threw 6 2/3 shutout innings, and Brandon League, who pitched the final two for his third victory since Tuesday. Since the All-Star break, League has pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings.

Los Angeles is off Monday, then takes on the New York Yankees on Tuesday and Wednesday, capped by a heartdropping matchup between Hiroki Kuroda and Clayton Kershaw.

Check out my Twitter feed for a lively journey through some of my journalistic keepsakes of decades gone by …

Reds at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.

Reds at Dodgers 6:10 p.m.

Reds at Dodgers 7:10 p.m.

A bases-empty, two-out, 0-2 hit batter by Zack Greinke, followed by a home run, and suddenly a 2-1 deficit was a 4-1 deficit.

It was the kind of ill-timed event the Dodgers corralled and conquered during their 23 victories out of 28 games since June 22, but the sequence was the key difference tonight in a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Cincinnati, ending the team’s six-game winning streak.

Unlike Wednesday, there was no happy bounce leading to a miracle comeback for Los Angeles. It was Cincinnati’s night. The Reds got their fifth run on a pinball single up the middle by Shin-Soo Choo, their second on an RBI blooper by .201-hitting ex-Dodger Cesar Izturis. (For good measure, their first run came on the 11th career home run by another ex-Dodger, Xavier Paul, in his 700th career plate appearance.)

Not even two errors by Choo – one throwing, one baserunning – could bail out Los Angeles. The Dodgers scraped two RBI groundouts by Adrian Gonzalez, but again waited all game for the big blow. Tonight – in a rarity for the past month – it didn’t come. A hard lineout to left field by Carl Crawford with two runners on ended the game.

This is no joke: My wife and I went to see “The Way Way Back” tonight, and in the moments before the movie started, I was tracking the Dodgers and Blue Jays on my cellphone.

With two out in the ninth and two strikes on Andre Ethier, I stopped getting updates.

I checked Twitter, and this is the last tweet that was made available.

Wow

— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) July 25, 2013

That was all I got. The movie started, and my phone went reluctantly back into my pocket.

But the picture was quite enjoyable. I actually lost myself in it right away. When it ended, I hesitated to go back to my cellphone to spoil my state of contentment.

But walking to the car, I checked again.

Oh my goodness.

Here’s the part that I think is the craziest (aside from scoring the tying run from first base on a single, or following that with five runs in the 10th inning off a pitcher with a 0.00 ERA, or Brandon “Never give up! Never surrender!” League pitching two shutout innings for his second win in two nights):

Seventeen runners in scoring position. I know Dodger fans, like me, were frustrated that the team wasn’t converting those runners into runs, that it was an unpleasant reminder of the first 2 1/2 months of the season. Honestly, during that Ethier at-bat, I was ready to tweet, “The Dodgers stole one Tuesday, then gave it back tonight.”

But 17 runners in scoring position. Do you realize what it takes to get that? And it was just another night for the Dodgers, who ended up with at least eight runs for the fourth night in a row for the first time since 1985 and the third time in Los Angeles history.

And as you no doubt have heard by now, the Dodgers won their 10th consecutive road game for the first time since 1954, and as Mike Petriello at Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness points out, they are on their first 23-5 run since 1955.

Can we just call this October and pop the champagne? I sure feel like it. Why let The Man decide when we declare ourselves World Champions? This is our moment.

Or can the Dodgers play like this in the fall? That’d be good, too.

Dodgers at Blue Jays, 4:07 p.m.

Winning after Chris Capu-oh-no.

Winning after Shaky Marmolade.

Winning after this.

Winning.

Despite being down five runs in the seventh inning, the Dodgers roundhoused Toronto, 10-9. Los Angeles is 22-5 since June 22 – WWWWWWLWWWWLWLWWWWWLWLWWWWW – and 5-0 after the All-Star break for the first time since 2004.

With 33 runs in their past three games, the Dodgers have their longest streak of scoring at least nine runs in a game since 2006. The franchise record (since 1916) is four games in a row.

Majestically merciless are these Dodgers of late.

Los Angeles knocked out an opposing starting pitcher after six outs for the second game in a row, delivering a trio of four-run innings in a 14-5 victory over Toronto.

A.J. Ellis had career highs of four hits and five RBI, two of the latter coming on a booming home run to dead center in the second inning that put the Dodgers ahead – to stay, to say the least.

Toronto had 13 hits of its own, but allowed 21 baserunners while also making five errors.

As was the case Sunday, the Dodgers ended tonight’s game tied for first place, pending the result of Arizona’s game later.

The Dodgers have won four consecutive games after the All-Star Break for the first time since 2007. That year, the streak put the Dodgers 13 games above .500, but the team finished 82-80.

Dodgers’ first four games after All-Star Break
2013: 4-0
2012: 1-3
2011: 1-3
2010: 0-4
2009: 2-2
2008: 1-3
2007: 4-0

Dodgers at Blue Jays, 4:07 p.m.

Dodger Thoughts, December 10, 2011:

So instead of talking about the spectacular return of Matt Kemp from the disabled list, with a homer and double in the second inning alone and four times on base in the Dodgers’ 9-2 victory over Washington – a game that puts Los Angeles in a tie for first place in the National League West, pending the result of Arizona’s game at San Francisco today – we’re going to be talking about another injury.

Long after Hanley Ramirez blew the game open with a three-run homer in the Dodgers’ seven-run second inning, after Clayton Kershaw had completed a seven-inning outing with nine strikeouts and only two hits allowed (both home runs by Jayson Werth), the Dodgers loaded the bases with two out in the top of the ninth. Carl Crawford beat out a grounder to the right side, and then mayhem struck.

Kemp, who had been on third base, was slowly jogging home on Crawford’s grounder when he realized that a throw would be coming home. He then suddenly accelerated and stepped awkwardly into the plate, appearing to hurt his ankle in the process.

As quick as that, happy days turned into the blame game. Why was Kemp still in the game? Why was he running so slow on the play? Why did he suddenly try to score and risk injury?

Why was Kemp still in the game? Because as much as you don’t want him to overdo it on his first game back, Kemp didn’t need any rest, and the chances of him hurting himself were remote.

Why was he running so slow on the play? For the same reason people asked why he was still in the game – he didn’t want to overdo it. Except he underdid it.

Why did he suddenly rush into home at the end? Because he realized he had been going too slow, and his baseball instincts kicked in.

It was an extremely unfortunate play, particularly if it sends Kemp, who has homered in three of the last four games he has been able to play in, back to the disabled list for the third time this season.

I don’t think it’s reasonable to blame Don Mattingly for leaving Kemp in the game. And frankly, as much as Kemp might be at fault for running too slow at the start and too recklessly at the finish, for misreading the situation, what good does it do to be critical? We should be far past the point of questioning Kemp’s effort in a baseball game, and no one is going to feel worse about the outcome than he will.

Once again, Matt Kemp has been activated from the disabled list. Will this be the charm?

Kemp is in center field and batting sixth today, behind right fielder Andre Ethier. Carl Crawford is leading off in left field, and Yasiel Puig will be available off the bench. Scott Van Slyke has gone back to the minors.

Dodgers at Nationals, 10:35 a.m.
Kershaw CLXX: Kershawperation Petticoat