The Dodgers were on a nationwide stage again on Monday Night Baseball, but couldn’t get the bats going against Chris Carpenter, as the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 3-2.
Knuckleballer Charlie Haeger made his Dodger debut, and came out shining, retiring the first nine batters he faced. Haeger’s first mistake was a solo homerun to Albert Pujols in the fourth to tie the game. Haeger then gave up a two-run, go-ahead homerun to Rich Ankiel in the seventh. He ended up taking the loss, despite posting his first big-league quality start, with seven innings pitched and three earned runs.
Carpenter shut the Dodgers down for his 13th win, giving up a run in the first and then just one more after that until he left after the eighth. Rafael Furcal scored in the first after a leadoff single, double by Ethier, and sacfly by Casey Blake. James Loney cashed in Matt Kemp in the fifth for the Dodgers’ second run.
With Hiroki Kuroda missing his next start due to a mild concussion after Saturday’s line drive to the head, Haeger might be called on to take his place in the rotation, and his knuckleballing allows him to pitch as early as Thursday. No word on Thursday’s starter, yet, though Billinglsey will take the mound on Tuesday and will face Mitchell Boggs. Billingsley is pitching on a week’s rest, while Boggs has been bouncing in and out of the fifth starter’s role for the Cardinals, posting a 1-1 record with a 3.78 ERA.
