Billingsley gives Dodgers a re-start
Chad Billingsley piled up the zeros, then the Dodgers piled on the runs.
Behind six scoreless innings from Billingsley and a six-run ninth inning, the Dodgers emerged from the All-Star break with a 9-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at AT&T; Park in front of 43,230.
With fog from the adjacent bay swirling over his head, Billingsley held the Giants to four hits while throwing a season-high 96 pitches.
“He was especially impressive when he got into jams,” Dodgers Manager Grady Little said.
In the first inning, Billingsley faced Barry Bonds with one out and two on, but a well-placed changeup forced Bonds to ground into a double play.
“The best he threw in the night,” Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said.
Said Billingsley: “I made quality pitches when I needed to.”
The double play was one of two hit into by Bonds, the second coming in the eighth inning with Jonathan Broxton on the mound and the Giants, down 3-0, making a final push to get back into the game. Bonds, who was walked twice by Billingsley, remained four home runs shy of Hank Aaron’s record of 755.
Billingsley raised his record to 6-0, lowered his earned-run average to 3.26 and picked up a win over the Giants’ own hard-throwing 22-year-old, Matt Cain.
Billingsley encountered minor trouble in the fifth inning, as the Giants put runners on first and third. But Billingsley escaped unscathed by forcing Randy Winn to ground out to second.
Cain (3-10) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings.
Andre Ethier got the first hit of his three-for-four evening in the third inning, when he scored the Dodgers’ first run on a single by Juan Pierre. Pierre then stole third and scored on the resulting throwing error by Giants catcher Bengie Molina.
Martin, who started in the All-Star game on this field three days earlier, increased the lead to 3-0 by driving in Rafael Furcal in the fifth.
But the Dodgers did their most significant damage in the ninth with Vinnie Chulk and Jack Taschner on the mound.
The Dodgers strung together seven hits in a row to score six runs, the last three coming on a bases-clearing double by Ethier that sailed over the head of center fielder Randy Winn.
“All season long, we’ve been hitting a lot of balls right at people,” Little said. “I thought we got partial payment.”
Five Dodgers had multi-hit games, with Martin, James Loney and Ethier collecting three hits.
The Dodgers’ solitary concern was the right wrist of Martin and it wasn’t a serious one.
Martin was hit by a pitch by Pat Misch in the seventh.
“Luckily, it didn’t hit me in the bone,” Martin said. “It got flesh. I should be fine tomorrow.”
In the hours leading up to the game, Little expressed the obvious desire to avoid a repeat of last season’s start to the second half. By losing 13 of their first 14 games after the All-Star break in 2006, the Dodgers nearly plunged out of contention.
Friday, the circumstances were somewhat similar to last season. Several key players were hurt, and they were on the road.
But the result was different, thanks to Billingsley.
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Out on the blue
Barry Bonds has hit 64 home runs against the Dodgers. Pitchers who have given up multiple home runs to Bonds as Dodgers:
7: Chan Ho Park
5: Orel Hershiser
4: Hideo Nomo
3: Carlos Perez
3: Odalis Perez
3: Jeff Weaver
2: Jesse Orosco
2: Ramon Martinez
2: Mike Hartley
2: Omar Daal
2: Mark Guthrie
2: Kevin Brown
2: Terry Adams
* NOTE -- 25 other Dodgers pitchers have given up one home run.
Source: Los Angeles Times and baseball-reference.com
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