Was there a full moon going?

The Good

• The fifth inning: A five run frame kicked off with a rather bizarre sequence (shocker, I know).  Jose Castillo tracked down a deep infield grounder by James Loney, then proceeded to throw the ball closer to first base coach Mariano Duncan than teammate John Bowker (and it wasn't a great throw to Duncan, either).  Loney was moved to second with a Casey Blake single, then touched the plate after Andre Ethier followed suit with a knock of his own.  From there, "Singles Night at the Ravine" partied on, as Angel Berroa's hit to right kept men on the bags and pushed Blake across the dish. 
  
  Then came the true sign that everything was coming up "Dodgers" during this particular frame.  Mark Sweeney, one of the all-time great pinch hitters drowning in a sea of sub-.100 waves, sliced a double into left.  Not a typo.  A two-bagger racked, with the same number of runs scoring off Sweeney's first hit since June 5th.  Juan Pierre then kept the rally alive with a bunt dropped just beyond the plate, then reached second when Bengie Molina rifled the ball past Bowker (who must have figured he entered the Twilight Zone by now).  The gaffe also accounted for another Dodger run.  Matt Kemp, Russell Martin and Jeff Kent then went down in order, but that combo of juggernaut production and bad San Fran D made it a brand new ball of wax.
• Andruw Jones: With Casey Blake on third, Andre Ethier on first and two outs, Andruw Jones took a bat in place of Brian Falkenborg and was met with the usual sea of boos.  Down early in the count, Jones kept fighting, fouling one off and watching two of Sergio Romo's pitches go astray before stroking one to left field.  Another ribbie for the Dodgers and for Jones, a sound he hasn't heard in quite some time: Cheers.  He remained in the game as part of a defensive substitution and mustered up a familiar K in a ninth inning rally attempt.  Cue the usual boos.  What have you done for me lately, Andruw?
• The Relief staff: Ramon Troncoso, Brian Falkenborg, Cory Wade and Hong-Chih Kuo tossed the final 6.1 innings without allowing a hit, Wade's one walk the only blemish of any kind.  That's good stuff, especially considering how their task quickly shifted from "mop up" to "potential preservation." 
• Matt Kemp legging out a single to second: By doing so, he extended a hit-streak to fifteen games.
• Juan Pierre's early grab: The contest got off to a rather slick start when the speedster made a sliding catch to robber fellow left fielder Fred Lewis of a base hit. In a game featuring some rather shoddy D, it feels appropriate to mention the best exception.

The Bad

• Hiroki Kuroda: Ever have one of those days where you can barely brush your teeth without something going seriously awry?   Well, if you're looking to swap war stories with anyone over a few beers, give Kuroda a call and let him know you're buying the first round.  The Japanese import, scuffling hard since the All-Star break, didn't even last four innings before his seven earned runs amounted to the pen being summoned.  "He was probably around the plate, but I don't think he was locating his fastball as well as he  would like to," said Torre.  "His slider was very erratic.  He just doesn't look comfortable." No argument from his hurler, who hasn't been pleased with his work since coming back from the vay-kay.
  
  But as ineffective as Kuroda's stuff was, his actual undoing was a bad fourth inning decision that opened the floodgates and eventually buried him.  With one out, Aaron Rowand on third, and Bowker on first, Kuroda fielded a hot shot from Rich Aurilia, checked Rowand, then attempted to nab Bowker at second with an easy play at first.  Thinking he could make a double play of it (and unaware Bowker had already broken before the ball hit Aurilia's bat), he ended up loading the bags with Omar Vizquel at the dish.  Damage appeared minimized when Kuroda fanned the gold glove SS, but then of all people, pitcher Kevin Correia laced one up the middle to score Rowand and Bowker. 
  
  From there, things went straight haywire.  Aurilia then scored when Berroa had to make an awkward barehanded play near second base umpire Brian Runge and put his throw near Loney's feet, allowing Fred Lewis to beat out the attempt.  Another SF run was cashed when Ethier's shoe string catch (in my opinion after seeing the replay, definitely successful) was ruled no good.    Randy Winn then shot one past Kuroda (almost insult to injury) and out of Kent's range, piling on a seventh score.  That was all Joe Torre needed to see, but he never should have seen it in the first place.  A simple throw to first could have changed everything.
  

The Weak

• Casey Blake's ejection (which led to Joe Torre's): It had been a rough night for the newest Dodger, who in the eighth inning got called for the second time on a third strike check swing.  Blake's frustration was obvious and he let plate ump Angel Campos know he wasn't thrilled, but opted instead to vent most of his frustration while in the dugout.  Apparently, that wasn't enough restraint for first base umpire Greg Gibson's liking, as he took it upon himself to run Blake.  The third baseman burst out of the dugout to exchange words with Gibson (who, it turns out, drop kicked him once in the minors).   Joe Torre followed to take up his player's case and in the end, both found themselves watching the final frame on television.
  
  "I just wanted to know why the umpire was looking in the dugout instead of on the field," wondered Torre after the game.  "That was my contention.  You're looking for trouble when that happens."  Unfortunately, it was he and Blake who found it.  To his credit, the third baseman admitted he should have known better (or at least have been more conscious of his history with Gibson) and even attempted to joke around a bit with the writers surrounding him.  "You wanna talk to the trouble maker," he asked with a laid back smile.  Not that he felt he was entirely in the wrong.  "I just said, 'Why?'," said Blake of his confrontation with Blake.  "Why are you still looking in the dugout?"
  
  Was Blake still hot under the collar and mocking Campos' call from the dugout?  Yeah, which he owned up to.  But at the same time, you're talking about a tight game with divisional race implications and a batter whose already had this same call against him earlier on.  A good ump is going to be aware of the particulars and only run a guy if he's truly showing him up or doesn't leave the field in a timely manner.  In my opinion, Gibson went on a very unfortunate and unprofessional ego trip.
  

The Bizarre

• The Dodger fan who jumped into the Giants dugout: I hope that doesn't require much elaboration, in terms of why it was bizarre.  Dude literally hopped into the visitor's dugout, caused some nonsense, then got dragged out face first by a quartet of Dodger bouncers.  In a word, moron.  My guess is he'll require a call to a buddy for some bail money.   

The Even More Bizarre

• Omar Vizquel's intercepted gift:  After the brouhaha in their dugout, the San Fran shortstop tossed his cap to a Giant fan with good seats.  Seemed innocent enough, but the security lady nearby apparently though otherwise and decided to snatch it.  The recipient protested heavily and Vizquel seemed to be indicating that he offered the cap, but no dice.  Vizquel eventually tossed the guy a ball, which I believe remained in the ticket holder's hands. 

AUDIO

• Joe Torre: Download joe_torre_postgame_giants.mp3
• Casey Blake: Download casey_blake_postgame_giants.mp3
• Hiroki Kuroda: Download hiroki_kuroda_postgame_giants.mp3
• Andre Ethier: Download andre_ethier_postgame_giants.mp3

AK