This weekend's sweep of the Washington Nationals by the Los Angeles Dodgers was a sweep earned by the excellent pitching of Chad Billingsley, Derek Lowe and Clayton Kershaw. It is clear that the 2008 team's fate is tied to whether its pitching staff can be dominant down the stretch.
The 1990 Dodgers were a rarity in the team's history in that they were better offensively than they were on the mound. The team's 4.49 runs per game placed it third in the National League, while the pitching staff's yield of 4.23 runs per contest put the Dodgers in the middle of the pack. On July 28, 1990, the Dodgers relatively explosive offense was on display in the team's dramatic comeback win over the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium.
Things certainly looked bleak for the Dodgers when they entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 7-4. When Atlanta retired two of the first three batters of the inning, a defeat seemed almost certain. But the 1990 Dodgers were a tough team to beat at home (going 47-34), and they would not go down for the count on this night.
Kirk Gibson started the two out rally with a RBI hit to score Mike Sharperson from second to pull Los Angeles within two runs. A single by Kal Daniels put the tying run on base, and a walk to Eddie Murray loaded the bases and increased the tension on Atlanta reliever Mark Grant. Veteran Hubie Brooks came through in the clutch for the Dodgers, driving a single to center to score Gibson and pinch-runner Jose Gonzalez to tie the score at 7-7. On Brooks' hit, he advanced to second on the throw home with Murray going to third. Atlanta decided to walk the left-handed hitting Mike Scioscia intentionally to bring up righthander Juan Samuel, but Samuel foiled the strategy by singling to drive in Murray with the game winner.
On the year, Murray was the primary force in the Dodgers' lineup as he hit .330 (second in the National League) with a .934 OPS (second only to Pittsburgh's Barry Bonds' .970). Daniels was third in the league with a .920 OPS, and hit a team leading 27 homers. Murray had 26 bombs with Brooks hitting 20, and Samuel and Gibson provided speed to the Dodger attack with 38 and 26 stolen bases respectively. While the Dodgers' offensive fireworks were enough to save the team eightteen years ago tonight, they weren't enough to keep the team from finishing in second place five games behind the Cincinnati Reds.
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