Before the series began on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, no Dodger fan would have ever imagined the outcome.
Ticket holders at Dodger Stadium certainly got their money’s worth: three walk-offs in three days, and a series sweep.
Game one took a walk-off balk to bring a victory to Los Angeles, while game two saw a flair for the dramatic with a Matt Kemp walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning.
And Wednesday afternoon proved to be no different as Garret Anderson blooped a single to shallow center field in the bottom of the 14th inning to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Arizona Diamondbacks, 1-0.
Wednesday’s triumph clinched another series sweep for the Dodgers, their second against the Diamondbacks already this season.
Los Angeles has now won 18 of their last 23 games, while Arizona has seen defeat in 10 straight.
Anderson had the opportunity to win the game for the Dodgers in the bottom of the tenth inning when he came up to the plate with a runner on second base and two outs; however, he struck out swinging, which resulted in streams of booing from the impatient Dodger crowd.
“I don’t mind hearing boos when I’m out there not doing the things I’m capable of. I’ve had that before, and it was well-deserved,” Anderson said after his walk-off hit.
“I mean, I wasn’t getting some things done. But I just try to contribute as much as I can. Fortunately I was able to do something today when it counted.”
After Matt Kemp led off the bottom of the 14th inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch, Diamondback center fielder Chris Young was unable to track down the bloop by Anderson.
Dodgers starter Carlos Monasterios was again effective on the mound, throwing five scoreless innings and striking out three while surrendering only two hits.
Rookie Travis Schlichting closed the game for the Dodgers and earned his first major league victory, throwing four scoreless innings of relief despite allowing four hits and a walk.
Cesar Valdez took the loss for Arizona.
Former Dodgers pitcher Edwin Jackson was exceptional for Arizona, completing nine full innings of work. Jackson only gave up three hits and three walks while striking out nine batters, but it wasn’t enough for the struggling Diamondbacks.
Ramon Troncoso, Justin Miller, Jonathan Broxton and Ronald Belisario also combined for five scoreless innings of middle relief in setting up Schlichting for the win.
“Anybody who doesn’t think pitching is the name of the game, take a look at the numbers of this series,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.
Although the pitching was indeed excellent, the Dodgers’ bats seemingly went dry until when it absolutely counted.
Many people expected to see a power surge from Los Angeles when slugger Andre Ethier returned to the lineup to begin the series, but there aren’t any style points awarded in Major League Baseball, and everyone in Dodgertown is elated with the series sweep.
Los Angeles is hot on the trail of the division leading San Diego Padres, who are closing a series with the New York Mets Wednesday evening at Petco Park.
Moving forward, the Dodgers have no time to relax as the sizzling Atlanta Braves come into town to open up a four game series beginning Thursday night. Hiroki Kuroda will take the hill in the opener for Los Angeles and will be opposed by Kris Medlen of Atlanta. Game one is scheduled to start at 7:10 PST.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com