Like Spinal Tap's amps, Chad Billingsley goes to 11

The Good

• Chad Billingsley:  He began the game with a three up/three down inning (featuring two K's), then added another pair of strikeouts one frame later.  Perfect through four until Bengie Molina led off the fifth inning with a ball laced to center field.   Only four more hits followed, a pair of which  had to wait until the ninth.  Eight strikeouts.  No walks.  Filthy stuff.  I'm not sure if Billingsley owns the team's formal "ace" title, but I doubt anyone would argue furiously if he gets referred to as such. 
  
  You'll likely also see him in SportsCenter highlights jerking his head out of harm's way and snaring a come-backer from Jose Castillo in the seventh.  Dude is lucky he escaped with a melon still on his shoulders.  "You just want to protect yourself as much as possible, hopefully have good enough reflexes to just knock it down."
  
• Russell Martin: Before getting nailed at second on a steal attempt, he came through with a big hit in the first inning to score Kemp and put the Blue on the board early.  Martin copycatted himself in the third inning, scoring Kemp again while moving Casey Blake to third base.   
• The third inning:  After Martin cinched his second ribbie of the night, good fortune continued twice over in the frame. Jeff Kent's bomb to center brought Casey Blake home and Martin to third, then James Loney knocked one into left for a Martin-scoring sac fly.  Unfortunately, cut off man Vizquel was able to nab an advancing Kent and end the inning, but Martin was already heading to the dugout by then.  Run is in the books.  No give backs!
  
• Defense: Nearly everyone who fielded a ball found themselves on the right end of a web gem-ish moment.  Aside from the previously mentioned Ethier-Martin connection, Casey Blake (who also added two hits) dipped himself into the left field stands to snare Jonathon Sanchez's foul ball, turned an Aaron Rowand base line grounder into a long double play and vacuumed up Dave Roberts' one bouncer in the ninth.  Angel Berroa tracked a deep gap shot from Dave Roberts, pirrouetted, then got the throw to Loney with a footstep to go.  Pablo Ozuna's late game insertion  immediately paid off on a tough grounder from John Bowker.  Andruw Jones also ran down a couple of long balls in center, the first of which crashed him into the wall while looking over his shoulder.  The sequence was so impressive, about half the fans were appreciative enough not to boo him during his first at bat.
  
  "We're playing both side of the ball right now," admired Torre.  As Ethier noted, blue glove work is an area the Dodgers strive to collectively swell their chests.  "Guys take pride in that.  We get together almost every day as a group and go over the previous day or what we might have not done so well lately and really try to address those things, do well, and pull together as a team out there. 
  
• Matt Kemp:  Those at bats continue to grow more productive in a variety of ways.  He led off the first inning with a walk, then swiped his 25th bag of the season, becomes the ninth player in L.A. Dodgers history to steal a quarter-century's worth in a season before turning 25.  Another free pass was drawn in the third.   In the fifth, Kemp knocked one into left, making it now 17 for his hitting streak, the longest since Nomar's 22 (6/16-7/13, 2006).  Stoked, Kemp decided, "Why not add another stolen base?"  The night concluded with him scoring a pair of runs.  A mental error (unless it was Larry Bowa's fault) led to an out after Kemp bolted home without even the slightest hesitation upon Kent's grounder to third, leaving himself vulnerable for a way too easy play at the plate.  But his evening as a whole more than evened things out.
  

The Fun

• Martin and Loney rocking out: In between innings, the jumbotron showed footage of the pair playing "Guitar Hero" as part of a "Sports Illustrated for Kids" photo shoot.  They were both obviously having a good time and Martin eventually emerged with the ax title.

The Weird

• That nothing weird happened: Given the first and second nights of this particular series, a game featuring just the ordinary was anything but.

AUDIO

• Joe Torre: Download joe_torre_sf_post.mp3
• Chad Billinsgley: Download chad_billingsley_sf_post.mp3
• Andre Ethier: Download andre_ethier_sf_post.mp3
• Matt Kemp: Download matt_kemp_sf_post.mp3

AK