Los Angeles Dodgers Struggle After All-Star Break
On a hot and humid night by the Mississippi River, it was St. Louis pitcher, Chris Carpenter, who was bringing the heat to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The layoff from the All-Star break didn’t bother him and he showed no signs of rust.
Prior to last night’s match, Carpenter was in a two-game slump and looked to take his frustrations out on the Dodgers.
Carpenter relieved some of his stress for eight innings, allowing only an Andre Ethier home run to ensure the righty's 10th win in a Cardinal 7-1 victory.
The All-Star pitcher returned to his usual form with an impressive outing and didn't walk a batter for the first time since June 2, and 70 of the 101 total pitches went for strikes.
Carpenter's command improved
The former National League Cy Young Award winner could not point to one specific reason to explain his previous struggles, but all the rumours and speculations should be put to rest after Thursday’s performance.
"I definitely felt better," Carpenter said of his delivery. "I still have some work to do, but no question it felt better than the last few times. I commanded my breaking ball well. I commanded my fastball well, for the most part, on both sides of the plate. I kept it down."
Heading in to this match, the Dodgers’ game plan showed gaping holes, as Los Angeles was more concerned with surviving than winning.
"You face those guys, Carpenter and Wainwright. The way you go about it, you don't set out to beat them, you set out to match them and we didn't do it and all of a sudden our patience disappears at the plate and we let him dictate the strike zone," said Los Angeles manager, Joe Torre.
"It was Carpenter tonight. We let him get a lead and he was strong tonight. He's so good. He knows what to do with a lead, pitching in and around the strike zone."
Dodgers stumble
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Dodgers still have problems which were manifested in a rough night against St.Louis.
The Cardinals opened the first inning with two runs without a single hard-hit ball. Colby Rasmus and Felipe Lopez walked to start the inning and Albert Pujols loaded the bases with a single to right.
Consecutive hits to second base from Allen Craig and Matt Holliday guided Rasmus and Lopez to home plate as the Cardinals took the lead they would not relinquish.
Look no further than the Dodgers' issues at their starting pitching to explain their misfortunes. The Cardinals have two solid pitchers in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, while the Dodgers are still looking for a suitable starter.
Los Angeles’ Clayton Kershaw got into trouble as predicted and the left-hander pitcher played himself out of the match.
"He had no command," said manager Joe Torre. "His breaking ball just had no sharpness to it. He hasn't pitched in a week. You have to chalk it up to that. His last outing was outstanding. It goes back to being 22 years old. You just understand this will happen from time to time and not much you can do about it. He's grown so much, this kid. He's going to be very special. He's just starting this journey of his. He's done a remarkable job to get where he is. It won't affect his next start."
The young southpaw’s brief appearance ended after 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) and 11 base runners on 88 pitches.
The Dodgers will have to go back to the drawing board and get ready for their next opponents, the San Francisco Giants which they will face on Tuesday night.
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