Dodger Defense Takes A Me Day As Three Unanswered Runs Cost Dearly

Sometimes you just have to put your hands up in the air and shrug your shoulders. That’s what tonight’s game made me do for about three hours. That’s what the Dodger defense did by making three errors allowing the Giants to score three unanswered annoying runs. it’s ok Dodger defense, kick your feet up. Unwind. Let go of the stresses, and just take the day off. Don’t try to even make those routine plays. You go boys! Get your Saturday afternoon bumbles on. I know you can’t win them all, but the Dodgers just had one of those days where you just throw your hands up and say whatever. I could hardly muster up the motivation after this sloppy game to even put in captions longer than three words. I throw my hands up and say oh well…..which is what the Dodger defense did.

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28, right) tags out Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez (13) during the seventh inning.

The Dodgers entered game two of this three game series with the last place Giants (I’ll never get sick of writing that) at phony Book park with a 1-0 series advantage, thanks to the bat of Juan Uribe in the Dodger’s blowout 10-2 win last night. With trade rumors swirling, the Dodgers would send right hander Stephen Fife to go toe to toe with lefty Madison Bumgarner.

The Dodger defense took a little nap today, but we’ll get to that in a second. Before the game we learned reports were surfacing that the Dodgers and Marlins are close to finalizing that Ricky Nolasco trade we’ve been hearing about for weeks now. According to reports, the Dodgers will send three minor league pitchers, Steve Ames, Josh Wall, and Angel Sanchez to Miami for Nolasco, and the Dodgers would eat up the rest of his salary. I don’t really have anything to complain about with this move. I don’t care about losing any of those pitchers, and Nolasco is decent, so it’s fine by me. He’s not a difference maker, but we’re not giving up anyone important, so I’m fine with it. Although what the team really needs is relief pitching. We’ll have more on the Nolasco deal later tonight once it becomes official.

Stephen Fife

I would almost rather talk about Ricky Nolasco then recap this crappy game that took place today at Phony Book Park. The Dodger’s shoddy defense was their undoing today. The Giants took advantage and scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the second and added an additional run to go up 4-0 on the Dodgers. Nick Punto, Tim Federowicz, and Hanley each committed an error. Hanley’s error was a two-baser, and almost comical in a sad Bill Buckner type of way. Of course that led to a run, and three of the Giants’ four runs were unearned.

The Dodgers were unable to hit lefty Madison Bumgarner, who held the Dodgers hitless into the fifth frame. Bumgarner whiffed Yasiel Puig four times tonight. Maybe he was just pumped after learning he was selected to the all-star game? Just wait until fellow all-star Clayton Kershaw takes the mound tomorrow San Francisco. Congratulations to Kershaw by the way.

Back to Bumgarner who was annoying on the mound and at the plate. He allowed just two runs on three hits through seven, and whiffed nine while not walking anyone. He also contributed on offense with a bases loaded walk, and a sacrifice fly. His opposing starter Fife wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t missing bats. Fife didn’t whiff anyone but allowed one earned run on seven hits in 4.1 innings. Poor Fife was victimized by the horrendous defense.

Bumgarner is a dork

Perhaps more funny that the Dodgers hilariously bad infield defense was what happened in the bottom of the first to the Giants. You know you never know what you’re going to see in a Baseball game. Gregor Blanco led off with a double off of Stephen Fife. After Marco Scutaro sacrificed him to third, Buster Posey doubled him home to give the Giants a 1-0 lea… Or wait. No. Apparently Posey was batting out of order. He was supposed to be the cleanup hitter and Pablo Sandoval was penciled into the third spot. Manager Don Mattingly very astutely points this out. Apparently Donnie was making amends for his two-trip mound game a couple of years back.

The nationally televised Fox cameras hilariously zooming in on the lineup card which indeed showed Posey hitting fourth, and Sandoval batting third. Whoops! So the umpires nullified Posey’s hit. Sandoval is automatically called out without ever stepping to the plate. Posey’s double is erased, and he has to bat again with two outs. Blanco is ordered back to third. The second time around, Posey flies out, and the Dodgers get a huge break. Now there is something I have never seen before. Perhaps the Giants can next time put little name tags on their uniforms with numbers written on them to signify the order they bat. Just a suggestion, don’t shoot the messenger.

Anyways, the Dodgers committed three errors, and looked rather confused throughout the early part of the game. They weren’t the only ones. In the bottom of the second, the Giants plate their three unearned runs thanks to some truly awful Dodger defense. I like you Punto, but good god man you were bad tonight. It started with Brandon Belt being plunked with a pitch on the leg. With one out, Andres Torres an infield single, Punto’s bad throw on Brandon Crawford’s easy grounder pulls Hanley off the bag at second, and the Dodgers don’t get anyone out on the play. A bases loaded walk to opposing starter Bumgarner of course, walks in the first run of the frame. Blanco’s infield single is butchered by Punto, allowing a run to score. Scutaro’s sacrifice fly scores Crawford, giving the Giants a 3-0 lead at the time.

Hanley’s two-base error came in the fourth. A routine Andres Torres grounder goes right through his legs, like Bill Buckner in the World Series. I almost would have laughed had I not been crying. Torres advanced to third on a Brandon Crawford fly ball, and scored on a Bumgarner sac fly.

The Dodgers didn’t have a hit off of Bumgarner until the fifth inning when with two outs, Andre Etheir singled, and then Tim Federowicz slugs a two-run home run to left. The Dodgers pull within 4-2.

Good catch Donnie

The Dodgers wasted two scoring opportunities. One in the seventh when Hanley tripled on a long drive to left that Torres came close to catching. But Hanley was tootblan’d out at the plate on Juan Uribe’s chopper to third, so no dice there. Then in the eighth, the same type of thing happened. Jerry Hairston doubled off of sandy Rosario with one out in the top of the eighth.  Nothing happens though because M.Ellis grounds out, and then Javier Lopez whiffs Carl Crawford to end that frame. Sooooo Lame.

Although I do gotta give props to the Dodger bullpen for picking up the last 4.2 frames for Stephen Fife. J.P. Howell, Ronald Belisario, and Paco Rodriguez threw scoreless ball, so that’s something good. Hanley did extend his hitting streak to 17 games too! Sorry guys, I’m delaying the inevitable here.

Sandoval, you are fat

On to the top of the ninth. Sergio Romo enters the game and the results are predictable. Romo whiffs Puig for his fourth whiff of the night. Gonzo whiffs, and Hanley pops out. Dodgers lose 4-2. The Dodgers fall to 41-45.

Once again, the Dodgers have acquired Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins for Stephen Ames, Josh Wall, and Angel Sanchez. We’ll have more on the trade later.

For now that’s all I have for tonight. The Dodger defense took the night off, so I am taking the rest of this night off. Check back in with us tomorrow afternoon as the Dodgers go for a series win in the rubber game at Phony Book Park. National League all-star Clayton Kershaw will battle injury replacement Chad Gaudin at 1:05 PM.