BK Live From the Ravine — Dodgers vs. Reds

And Freel promptly steals second. That's no good, either. Mercifully, Scott Hatteberg can't get him over. Pop out to Lofton, one out. It's always nice when players violate cardinal rules of baseball fundamentals...but not all that useful when the pitcher bails them out by hucking the ball into center, as Penny just did on a botched pickoff. Freel to third.

Penny just flat out blew two fastballs past Edwin Encarnacion for the K. If he can manage to keep Freel at third, that would be a nice pick-them-up for the Blue. This game looked like it had 1-0 Cincinnati written all over it. Junior at the plate. It's a shame that guy hasn't been able to stay healthy over his career. Yeah, he's come back a little, but seriously, what the hell was in the water in Cincinnati. It seemed like every time the guy took a step anywhere, he blew out a muscle, sprained a knee, was hit by a bus or whatever.

Of course, were he still the stud from Seattle, he probably wouldn't have popped out to end the inning, so it's better for Dodgers fans in the end.

0-0.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Featured Beatles song during the break: "Twist and Shout"...

Since just about everyone on the planet has never heard of Chris Michalak, here are a few things you should know.

First of all, it's pronounced mah-HALL-ick. He's thrown 1387.1 innings in the minors over fourteen seasons. (Furcal flies to left-center, one out.) he's pitched for the Diamondbacks, Rangers, adn Blue Jays, and before resurfacing with the Reds had been out of the bigs since '02. (Lofton grounds out to short).

• went 8-9 in his only full Major League season, 18 starts, 17 pen appearances with the Jays and Rangers.
• went to Joliet High in Illinois, where he was the starting quarterback for their state title team as a junior. Congratulations for that.
• Dude's been around AAA: Edmonton, Tucson, Durham, Albuquerque, Oklahoma, Pawtucket, Colorado Springs, Louisville, Indianapolis, Albuquerque again, Tucson again, Louisville again. Perhaps it was in that second Albuquerque trip he learned to get guys to ground to third, as Lugo just did.

END OF THE FIRST: 0-0.

TOP OF THE SECOND
Penny starts Rich Aurilia off with high cheese. Strike one. Aurelia is a guy who I wondered how he kept getting recycled year after year once his run of great seasons ended. But he's been reasonably productive this year for the Reds. Eighteen homers. That would make him Babe Ruth on the Dodgers.

The Reds, by the way, are another team that have made so many moves this year that their supplemental bio list (info on guys who aren't in their media guide) is thicker than "The DaVinci Code." Arroyo, Bray, Castro, Clayton, Cormier, Franklin, Guardado, Hollandsworth, Norris Hopper (GREAT NAME!), Lohse, Majewski, Michalak, Phillips, Ross, Schoeneweis. That doesn't even include Lee Tunnell and Billy Hatcher, two coaches who apparently missed the first printing this winter.

Penny walks Todd Hollandsworth. One on, one out.

Does anyone out there have a little spare time to do some Norris Hopper research? Now that I know he exists, I want him to do something significant tonight. His CBS Sportsline Bio presents him as a mysterious silhouette. Not much to go on, there.

Comebacker, Penny to second, Furcal makes a great play to get the throw off, then is picked up by Nomar at first when Garciaparra picks the throw out of the dirt. Ah, the DP. The pitcher's best friend.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND

Between-inning music: "Hard Day's Night." Good tune.

Garciaparra flies out before I can even start typing. Brings Jeff Kent to the plate, who promptly lines a single to center. Ethier at the plate.

I don't mean to root against the Dodgers here, but how can you not get behind a 35-year-old lefty with a funky motion who has pitched more than 1,300 innings in the minors for nine AAA teams? That doesn't even get into the A, AA squads. This guy must really, really love baseball, or have absolutely no other marketable skills.

Although it's also hard not to root for Russell Martin, who just took Michalak over the wall in left center on 2-0 (insert offspeed pitch here, because that's all the guy throws), giving a bit of life to the Dodgers and my near-dead fantasy team. I'm totally on life support. Basically, I have to sweep every statistical category my league has to have a shot at the playoffs. It's looking grim.

Repko lines out to Encarnacion, who makes a killer leaping catch. Sucks for Repko. Dude could have used the double.

2-0 Dodgers.

TOP OF THE THIRD
No Beatles music. Odd.

Penny faces our old buddy David Ross, and gets him to ground deep in the hole...great play by Furcal. Dude can throw, that's for sure. Ross, by the way, is another guy who would be leading the Dodgers in homers (yes, I know they play in a park which is about seven feet to each power alley, but these are statistics to illustrate a general lack of power hitting. Not to be taken literally.)

Penny walks Michalak. That's weak. Although the guyis hitting .400 with a double. So maybe it was a good idea. Walk him, get to Freel, who's only hitting .282.

Of course, that plan works better when you don't walk Freel, too.

...ball three.... ball four.... ball eight.... ball 12... "We're just not getting the calls tonight!"

Walk to Hatteberg loads the bases.

Encarnacion grounds up the middle, basically on to second base. Furcal makes the grab, hovers over second, and gets the man at first. Double play. Penny isn't making it easy, but he's still got the no-hitter through three. Unfortunately, his pitch count might have him out of the game by the fifth.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Break music: "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Penny grounds softly to first, and seemed so intent on not running to first that if Hatteberg had stopped on the way to the bag, Penny may have stopped, too.

A lazy pop and a grounder later, it's still 2-0.

TOP OF THE FOURTH
Break music: "Love Me Do."

Anyone have any requests? I'll see if I can get them on the soundboard. I'm thinking a little "Happiness is a Warm Gun," "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," or maybe "Revolution No. 9." You know, to confuse the hell out of the crowd.

Griffey rips a high fastball into the gap in right. Guess the guy can still turn on a fastball, eh? There goes the no-no. Now Aurilia hits a flair to right that was in...the...air...forever...then drops. Repko didn't exactly take the shortest distance between two points is a straight line route to that one. A little parabolic. First and third for Hollandsworth...

...who grounds to second for the fielder's choice and the RBI. There goes the shutout. Hollandsworth is another one of those guys that seems like he's on six teams a year, and you always say, "that guy's still around?" Take away a few big years in Colorado pre-humidor, and he's never really done much. Oh to be left-handed!

Perfectly executed hit and run by Brandon Phillips, except for the part about nearly killing Hollandsworth with the line drive. That must have scared the *&@) out of T.H. First and third for Ross.

Close pitch on 2-2, but that ball was wide.

On the 3-2 pitch, Ross strikes out, and Phillips gets caught between first and second. Eventually, Hollandsworth tries to come home, but they get him. If you're a Cincinnati fan, after the third DP to end an inning (this one being particularly exotic), what blunt object do you use to hit yourself in the head?

2-1 Dodgers.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Nomah leads off with a ground rule double to start the Blue fourth. In between innings, they had Kid Rock and Pam Anderson on the Jumbotron. Pam got big props from the crowd... but not as big as Lasorda. On one level, I respect that. On another, I don't.

Great play by Kent going the other way for a second consecutive ground rule double. He got all inside out on that mother. Ethier follows with a bloop to left, and suddenly it's 4-1 L.A. The sound guys respond with "Getting Better." Well played. Penny, already at 85 pitches, is in great shape to win this game.

It's fun to watch guys lead off right now. Ethier is about five inches off first, and still breaks back on each pitch.

Great bunt by Penny following the Repko single. Almost too good. He looked a little annoyed the ball stayed fair. By the way, even at full speed, Brad Penny is not a swift man.

Furcal lines out. End of the fourth, 4-1 Dodgers.

TOP OF THE FIFTH!
Quick, pick your winner in that car race (to "Drive My Car". Red white or blue?

It was blue.

Freel on third, two outs.

Encarnacion pops to third, and that's it. Penny makes it through the fifth and only throws 19 pitches!

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Ryan Franklin in for the Reds. Fire, meet gasoline!

And Lofton promptly grounds out. But Lugo walks, making me look a little smarter for poking fun at Franklin. This is one of those games the Dodgers need to blow open here, and get it over with. Penny is going to have to come out (I think that's Beimel warming up in the pen...), and it would be nice for the Dodgers to be in a position to leave one reliever in for a couple innings, rather than have to make situational pitching changes.

Lugo steals second, and Ross throws the ball into center. That'll help the above scenario come to fruition!

Reds have the infield pulled in, and now they'll have to pull the middle guys back to double play depth. How about a squeeze with Kent? He bunts all the time, right?

I was kidding about that, of course, but it might have been a better idea. Kent hits the ball on the nose, but grounds into the 6-4-3 DP.

Still 4-1 Dodgers.

TOP OF THE SIXTH
Ken Griffey Jr. leads off, followed by Aurilia and Hollandsworth. That's two lefties for new hurler Joe Beimel to face. Strategeous!

The line for Penny- 5 IP, 4 H, 1ER, 5BB, 3K. 104 pitches in five innings, 63 strikes. Pick out the number in that line that doesn't seem to match with the others...

Good start for Beimel. Strikes out Junior on a curveball in the dirt, then gets a quick groundout from Aurilia. That brings up Hollandsworth. It still bothers me, by the way, that a team that puts Todd Hollandsworth in its lineup is giving the Cardinals a run in the Central.

A walk and a slow roller later, now Beimel is in trouble. Furcal never had a chance on that play. Now David Ross is in a position to deliver wrath to the team that gave up on him. By the way, if the Dodgers win the World Series, does he get a share? He should, after grounding out to Kent.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
They're getting away from the whole Beatles thing. Although obviously, for Kiss Cam, it needs to be Barry White. By the way, Kiss Cam at Lakers games is way better. It's a more intimate environment, I guess.

Broken bat infield bloop single for Martin, followed by the Benny Hill song on the stadium PA. I'm not sure that one was Benny Hill worthy. Not much the Reds could have done about that one. Really, that music needs to be saved for actually follies, or it loses some of its power.

Passed ball on Ross, Martin to second. That was a much more Benny Hill worthy play, but they already went to the well on that one. If the Dodgers are going to succeed in the pennant race, everyone is going to have to be on their game. Everyone.

Like that move, for example, from Martin, won't cut it. Little looked like he'd just swallowed roll of quarters.

Drew pinch hits for Beimel, and is intentionally walked. They must have been reading his August stats! Wild pitch sends Repko to third, Drew to second. Furcal has been nails in these situations the last couple months...

Lofton — a .283 hitter with bases loaded...

If he goes yard here, they might even be able to put in Hamulack without worrying...

No dice. Great play by Freel to rob K-Lo of a couple RBI.

Still 4-1 at the end of the sixth.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH
We're getting away from the Beatles thing, here. Nancy Bea played a little "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," not a Beatles tune the last time I checked.

Royce Clayton to pinch hit for Franklin. He, of course, was the guy brought in to replace Ozzie Smith in STL... while Ozzie Smith was still on the team. Hence the start of a beautiful friendship between Ozzie and Tony LaRussa.

Elmer Dessens relieves Beimel.

Weak grounder from Clayton. That's about what he did in St. Louis, too.

Gotta love Dessens. (Hey, that was just a loud out from Freel- would have been 10 rows deep in Cincinnati) Here's a guy who pitches like he truly appreciates being rescued from Kansas City. No complaining from him! Granted, it's not like a guy in the pen can really become a backup per se, but still. Dude gets guys out as if every game, Colletti approaches him and says "F up tonight, and we're shipping you to back."

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
The 44,000+ in the house tonight pushed the Dodgers over the 3 mil mark. Good for them. Eleven years in a row, I think they said. That is, depending on your owner, either a good thing or a bad one. See Cubs, Chicago for an example of what I mean.

By the way, I don't think Saito is available tonight, so we're looking at a Broxton 9th, if things stay the way they are right now, and since the Dodgers are getting out in the bottom half of this inning faster than I can type, that seems likely. Two down, for Kent.

Walk! Rally caps. We used to do the inside-out thing on my team in little league. I never really approved of the shark cap look.

Single by Ethier. I'm telling you, a couple more games like this one, and he might just stick in this league...

Repko runs the count to 3-2, and RIPS a pop up to shallow center, good enough to score two. That makes up for the line drive double he should have had earlier in the game. Best of all, it means Dessens bats for himself, and very well could finish the game. Sweet placement of that flair, J.R.!

6-1 Dodgers, end of the seventh.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH
There's a guy in the deck below the press box actually doing the ol' "Hey, batter batter batter batter.... swing!" thing at the Reds. I'm not sure that tactic works at the Major League level, but it's worth a try. And he gets extra points for saing Swing! early enough to account for the time it'll take for his taunt to travel to the plate. The man understands waves and physics and all that.

By the way, it's second and third with only one out. This whole Elmer saves the pen thing may not work after all...

I shouldn't have made fun of Hollandsworth. Two run single makes it 6-3. Enter Brett Tomko...

who comes in, promptly gives up a homer to Brandon Phillips, then walks Ross. Writers across the press box are revising their stories as we speak...

Enter Jonathan Broxton. Two on, one out. We could be here for a while.

Fielder's choice...one left to go....

Strikeout to Hatteberg. That's a way to pitch, big man.

TOP OF THE NINTH
This isn't going to be easy. After pop out from Encarnacion, Brox walks KGJr. No good there...

Strikes out Aurilia swinging. That's why this kid will make a great closer someday. He makes people miss. It's very tough to close when you can't strike guys out regularly.

Cincinnati down to their last out...

Single up the middle from Hollandsworth. First and second...

Three pitches, three strikes to Phillips. That last one was right down the pipe. Phillips must have been looking for the slider (can't blame him). I can picture Little in the dugout saying, "Give him the heater, Jonathan."

6-5 Dodgers. Easy as pie, right? Catch the post game, and thanks for following along!

—BK