It was Friday the 13th but the only hockey masks
in sight last night in Los Angeles were downtown at the Staples Center where the Kings were taking Lord
Stanley’s Cup with an overtime win over the Rangers.
On this night in Chavez Ravine, Clayton Kershaw was dealing,
Matt Kemp was going yard and Dee Gordon was flashing the glove, appropriately
since his major league dad went by the nickname Flash.
No, the only horror stories being played out last night were
up the coast in Frisco where the Giants went into the ninth leading 4-2 and
watched the Rockies Horror Show, a five-run ninth inning that chased closer Sergio
Romo and allowed Los Angeles to close the gap in the NL West to a still scary
7.5 games.
Bearing in on the halfway point of a high expectations
season, the Dodgers have yet to display the promise they are believed to
possess. The surplus of starting outfielders and the gaggle of former closers
in the bullpen have not played as advertised.
The Dodger bats have been relatively quiet, with the quartet
of Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Hanley Ramirez all hitting in a
pedestrian range of .247 to .261. Of these batting averages championships are
not made. Only Cuban defector Yasiel Puig, in his first full season in the
majors, is delivering with a .321 average, 11 dingers and 40 RBI.
The starting pitching has been stellar. Kershaw (6-2), Zack
Grienke (8-3), Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-3), Dan Haren (6-4) and Josh Beckett (4-3) would
be a formidable rotation in a playoff series if the Dodgers can get to one.
It’s the pen that has fallen short. Last night, setup man
Brian Wilson and closer Kenley Jansen surrendered runs in the eighth and ninth
frames as the Dodgers held on for a 4-3 win.
Frightening.
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