UG-U-LY

Remember when we laughed at the Giants because they countered the Dodgers Hanley Ramirez acquisition with a trade for Marco Scutaro?  Well, half -way into the game I broke out my calculator and determined that Scutaro was hitting .346 in 98 at bats as a Giant.   He was raking tonight hitting in the two hole.   (Ramirez is batting .301 as a Dodger).  Another young Giant infielder named Joaquin Arias has become a Dodger killer, with three hits and 5 RBI tonight. 

Matt Cain was dominant through 7 innings tonight (photo by Evan Bladh)

Remember a week ago when Melky Cabrera was suspended for 50 games  for the positive PED test and many said the Giants were dead?  They played in a demoralizing loss that day of the announcement of the announcement and looked lifeless.    Since then, they are 5-1 and have gained 2 games on the Dodgers in the process.  This is a team on a mission and the Cabrera suspension has lit a fire in them.

Remember when the Dodgers waltzed into San Francisco and broke out the brooms for a three game sweep a three weeks ago?  That seems like ancient history now.  

Remember three games ago when the Dodgers returned from a tough road trip with a 7-3 record and were in first place?  Well don’t look now, but they’re dangerously close to falling into third place behind the Diamondbacks.

For the third night in a row, the Dodgers played a crucial pennant stretch game against the club that they must beat and came up empty.  Spotting the Giants an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, the announced crowd of 40,173 knew this one was over before the seats were even warmed up.  Chris Capuano gave up a two run homer to Joaquin Arias and Giant ace Matt Cain was handed the ball with a 3-spot to his credit.

The core of the Dodger offense, Victorino, Kemp, Ethier, and Ramirez all left runners in scoring position as Cain continued his recent dominance over the Blue Crew.  It is the 4th consecutive win for Cain over the Dodgers in his career after he lost his first 8 decisions against them.

Rubby De La Rosa delivers his first pitch in over a year.  His results were mixed.  A bit wild.   Probably a little nervous.  In post game interviews he admitted to having butterflies.  His fastball was clocked as high as 95 MPH.  (photo by Evan Bladh)

The boo birds were out tonight as the fan base became increasingly frustrated with the anemic Dodger offense.  As the Giants tacked on three additional runs in the 6th, the restless crowd let out an enormous “bronx cheer,” when the Giant offense was finally retired. As the innings pressed on and the Blue failed to score, the remaining Dodger faithful were really giving it to the home club.

Giant Manager Bruce Bochy removed Matt Cain  after he had thrown 105 pitches.  He left with a comfy 8-1 lead in the 8th.  The Dodgers pushed across three runs against the back end of the Giant bullpen, but that rally ended feebly with another inning ending double play.  Something the Dodgers have become quite prone to of late.  They lead the league in that category.

Former Dodger Kevin Gross threw out the ceremonial first pitch, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the no-hitter he pitched against the Giants at Dodger Stadium (photo by Evan Bladh)

In pre-game comments, Dodger manager Don Mattingly admitted that the club is struggling, but was confident that they will snap out of it.  His post game comments continued to be optimistic.  "Andre hit well.. Matt had the big hit in the eighth...Victorino had a hit and hit that bullet to short where he made that spinning play...cost us a few runs."

Let's face it though, this was out and out embarrassing.  Giant fans are giddy with joy.  Dodger fans are searching for the nearest bar to drown their sorrows.  Bumgarner, Lincecum, and Cain came into town and set down Dodger bats like a bull would take out a blind matador.  My 6 year old grand-daughter has a word for it.  She calls it “UG-U-LLY.”  It was 8 to 4 UG-U-LY.  It doesn’t get much worse than that.

Dodger Manager Don Mattingly during pre-game presser (photo by Evan Bladh)

Call them the “Jekyll and Hyde” Dodgers.  They are either very good or very bad.  Not a lot of room in between.  “I can’t remember a Dodger team that ever played this bad at home,” said ThinkBlueLA.com’s Ron Cervenka to me earlier in the day when we met for lunch.  We both pretty much agreed that the entire team is slumping and in an incredible funk that they can’t seem to escape from.  Mattingly called this "a weird season." 

 "Each series with these guys (San Francisco) is different," continued the Dodger skipper.  "We sweep them, they sweep us.  We play good on the road, then we get swept at home.  It's hard to explain.  I'm not giving up, it's painful to go through this.  We'll take the day off, re-group and the season starts again on Friday."

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During the post game press conference it was announced that Jerry Hairston's hip injury will require season ending surgery.  He should be ready by the time Spring Training rolls around in March, 2013.