First things first…Happy Jackie Robinson Day!
It would be nice to see the Dodgers pull off a win tonight in honor of Robinson, after losing 4-6 to the Pirates last night.
The Dodgers had a 4-3 lead going into the ninth inning. Hiroki Kuroda looked decent through six in his Dodger Stadium debut, giving up three runs on seven hits. Scott Proctor, Joe Beimel, and Jonathan Broxton all came out of the bullpen to hold the Pirates at three runs. Takashi Saito then came in to close out the ninth but ended up giving up a three-run shot to Nate McLouth with two out. The Dodgers were unable to rally in the bottom of the ninth, giving Saito his first blown save and loss of the season.
Matt Kemp was back in the lineup in place of Juan Pierre, and went 1 for 5. Russell Martin went 2 for 4. Delwyn Young, Andruw Jones, DeWitt and James Loney all had an RBI each. Loney’s game-tying RBI single in the sixth extended his hit streak to 13 games. Jones’ groundout RBI in the second inning was just his second of the season. His triple in the fifth also gave him a standing ovation from the home crowd who had begun booing him and his average that sits barely above .100. Kuroda also had his first major league hit, a double in the fifth.
The loss puts the Dodgers at 5-8 and a last place position in the NL West.
