Dodgers Diaries

I can’t recall a game with so many defensive gems, from slick double plays on both sides of the ball to Andrew McCutchen running down deep flies to the capper: Randy Wolf’s no-look throw on Lastings Milledge’s swinging bunt and Mark Loretta’s “done it like I play here all the time” scoop of said throw at first base.

Too bad the Dodgers couldn’t get their act together with the bats until Wolf, their sudden star, left the game. The Dodgers led 3-1 when Wolf gave way to Hong-Chih Kuo in the seventh, only to see Kuo and George Sherrill throw gasoline on the fire. By the time the smoke cleared, the Pirates had come back to take a 4-3 lead.

The Dodgers, who ended up rallying for the 8-4, could only blame themselves for failing to score more earlier. They led off the game with three straight sharp hits but managed only one run. Rafael Furcal got thrown out stretching a single -- his speed has completely evaporated, don’t you think -- and Manny Ramirez was stranded at second when Matt Kemp’s fly ball landed in McCutchen’s glove and Ronnie Belliard flied out.

Does Russell Martin feel dissed after Joe Torre pinch-hit for him in the top of the eighth? Maybe, but you could feel Torre’s urgency to win the game right there and then, and he clearly wasn’t going to worry about bruised feelings. A loss would have started a whole lot of harder questions than “what’s wrong with Russell Martin.” Martin has been pretty consistent at .254. The Dodgers have shown they can win with those kinds of contributions from their backstop.

In fact, with last night’s win, they’ve guaranteed themselves a playoff spot. With another win today, they’ll clinch the division. Not bad for a bunch of guys who have trouble beating the Pirates.

--- JOHN ROSENTHAL.