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Dodgers get to Phillies bullpen to take rubber game

Aug 23, 2007 - 10:29 PM By Vince DiGregorio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) - The Los Angeles Dodgers had trouble scoring against a wildly effective starter, but had no problems against an ineffective bullpen.

The Dodgers scored four late runs to back the solid pitching of Chad Billingsley in a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the rubber game Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.

Billingsley (8-4) pitched seven innings and allowed only a run on four hits. He walked two and struck out seven. The righthander had pitched into some tough luck as of late, losing four of his last five starts that included a pair of 1-0 setbacks.

"I was happy with the way I threw today," Billingsley said. "Kept the ball down. Kept the ball in the park. Got some ground balls and some quick innings. I was able to put guys away when I needed to."

Ramon Martinez drove in two runs, while Juan Pierre and Jeff Kent added RBI singles off three Phillies relievers.

With the score tied 1-1 in the seventh inning, Martinez led off with a single against Phillies reliever J.C. Romero (0-2), then took second on a sacrifice and third on a groundout. Pierre followed with a bloop single to shallow center field on a 1-2 pitch that gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

"I knew I was gonna battle and fight," Pierre said. "That's how baseball works. You (can) hit a line drive right at them, then you bloop one over their heads. It was a good matchup and I just found the right spot."

It didn't matter to Romero how hard the hit was.

"That (hit) is going in the book as a 1-for-1," Romero said. "It's still a base hit, RBI and an 'L' for us, so it doesn't matter if it's a jam shot or a two-run homer. When you lose, it's a sour taste."

The Dodgers then scored three runs in the eighth to take a 5-1 advantage. Tom Gordon started the frame for Philadelphia and didn't retire a batter of the four he faced with two walks and two singles, one of which was Kent's RBI hit.

"I thought my control was off a little bit," Gordon said. "I felt some of the pitches I threw were OK, but at the same time, they were on them."

Geoff Geary replaced Gordon with the bases loaded and none out. He got Luis Gonzalez to hit into a 1-2-3 double play, but Martinez followed with a two-run single to make it a 5-1 game.

"We got a little clutch hitting at the right time," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "Today, we showed a little patience up there at the plate and it paid off."

Tadahito Iguchi hit a solo home run off Jonathan Broxton in the eighth to pull Philadelphia within 5-2, but Takashi Saito pitched a scoreless ninth for his 34th save.

Phillies LHP Fabio Castro made his first major-league start after 25 career relief appearances. After retiring the side in order in the first inning, Castro got himself in trouble in the second when he walked the bases loaded. However, Billingsley helped Castro escape the jam when he swung at a 3-2 pitch out of the strike zone to end the frame.

In the third, Castro pitched out of a first-and-third, one out jam when Kent hit into an inning-ending double play. Castro walked his fifth batter of the game, Russell Martin, with one out in the fourth, but again escaped as Gonzalez bounced into an inning-ending double play.

Los Angeles finally took advantage of Castro's wildness in the fifth inning when Billingsley walked with one out and came around to score on a double by Rafael Furcal that gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

"Obviously, all the walks bothered me," Castro said through an interpreter. "But that one to (Billingsley) that scored (was worse)."

Furcal went to third on the throw, but was stranded there as Castro retired the next two batters to end the threat.

Castro went five innings and allowed a run on only two hits, but walked six batters and had four strikeouts.

"Was (Castro) real pretty and smooth?" Phillies manager Charlie Manuel asked. "Not necessarily, but he got outs when he had to. He got two double plays when he had to and he threw strikes when he had to. That's what got him through five innings with one run."

Conversely, Billingsley had no control problems in the first four innings by retiring 12 of the first 13 batters he faced, allowing only a leadoff single in the third by ex-Dodger Jayson Werth.

"Chad's command was on target from the first inning on," Little said. "It was a very good game for him."

Billingsley ran into his first bit of trouble in the fifth when Aaron Rowand and Werth both singled to put runners at the corners with one out. But like Castro, Billingsley got an inning-ending double play when Carlos Ruiz grounded to short.

"(Billingsley) threw the ball well. We couldn't get a whole lot of hits off the guy," Rowand said. "He hit his spots. He didn't throw anything over the heart of the plate, that's for sure."

The Phillies got to Billingsley in the sixth to tie the game, 1-1. Pinch hitter Shane Victorino led off with a walk and stole second two outs later before scoring on Pat Burrell's RBI double to deep center.