It would make sense to think that no one was sweating out the ninth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers victory on Opening Day against the San Francisco Giants more than first-year skipper Don Mattingly.
Perhaps Jonathan Broxton just wanted to make Mattingly perspire just a little bit more.
Broxton surrendered a solo home run to Pat Burrell in the top of the ninth inning, but then finally clamped down things and earned the save as the Dodgers held on for a 2-1 victory over the defending world champions in front of a packed crowd of 56,000 at Dodger Stadium on Thursday evening.
The marquee pitching matchup between starters Clayton Kershaw and Tim Lincecum was as advertised. Kershaw was magnificent in earning the victory, allowing no runs in seven innings of work. Kershaw scattered four hits, walked one, and struck out nine.
Kershaw threw 65 of his 96 pitches for strikes, and actually had recorded eight strike outs through the first four innings. Hong-Chih Kuo pitched a scoreless eighth inning to set up Broxton in the ninth. It marked the fourth straight time that the Dodgers defeated the Giants in a home opener.
“It was a good way to start the season,” Kershaw said afterwards. “(That was) a great atmosphere: a sellout, Opening Day, a fun time to compete. A win is a win.”
The Dodgers offense predictably struggled against Lincecum, going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. But they found a way to win this game.
Matt Kemp scored both Dodger runs. In the sixth, he drew a one out walk, reached third on a throwing error by Miguel Tejada, and scored when a pickoff attempt by Buster Posey dribbled away from Pablo Sandoval. Kemp would again walk in the eighth and scored on a double by James Loney.
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DODGER NOTES
The Dodgers and Giants will play the second game of a four-game series tomorrow night at Dodger Stadium in a 7:05 start. Chad Billingsley will start for the Dodgers against Giants right-hander Matt Cain.
Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito was involved in a minor car accident on Wednesday night in West Hollywood. His status for Sunday, when he’s scheduled to pitch for the Giants, is uncertain.
The inclusion of Davey Lopes to the Dodgers coaching staff is already paying dividends. The Dodgers were very aggressive on the bases, and Matt Kemp stole a base. It was this aggressive base running that in part contributed to Posey’s errant pickoff attempt at third in which Kemp scored.
The Dodgers start the season with five players on the disabled list. Casey Blake (back), Jon Garland (strained oblique), Jay Gibbons (depth perception in left eye), Dioner Navarro (torn oblique), and Vicente Padilla (forearm surgery) are all on the 15-day disabled list. Navarro is expected to be out until May; the other could return during the month of April.
The Dodgers began a season-long honoring of the 30th anniversary of the 1981 championship team by having Fernando Valenzuela throw the ceremonial first pitch. Former teammate from that club Jerry Reuss caught the pitch. The Dodgers also showcased the #4 on a baseball patch on their uniform sleeve in memory of Duke Snider, who passed away in February.
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Jon Moncrief is one of the Dodgers Examiners, beginning his second season covering the team for Examiner. He also covers the Los Angeles Kings as well. You can follow him on Twitter by clicking on this link. In addition to his Examiner duties, which include writing nationally about the NHL, Jon also is a featured contributor for the college football website Bowl Gamer, and is the co-host of the weekly web-TV show INSIDE SPORTS.
Please be sure to read more about the Dodgers from my fellow Dodger Examiner Jim Smiley.
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