FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Chicago's Alfonso Soriano is a game changing kind of player and with one swing of his bat in the seventh inning today, it appeared as though he'd put the Cubs in line for a win and a split of their four game series with the Dodgers. But fortunately for the Dodgers, Soriano wasn't the only one hitting the long ball on Thursday.  With one swing of pinch-hitter Andre Ethier's bat, the Dodgers went from what looked like a disappointing loss to an exhilirating win.

TODAY's DIFFERENCE MAKERS

3) James Loney- Loney's fifth inning homer broke up Jason Marquis' perfect game and tied the game at 1-1.  He also contributed a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh and an infield single in the ninth ahead of Ethier's heroics.

2) Russell Martin- Gimpy, tired, worn down....none of this seems to matter to the heart and soul of the Dodgers.  He had two hits and scored two runs, including the go-ahead run in the seventh and the game tying run in the ninth.

1) Ethier- His opposite field three run blast was his 11th of the year, but only his second since August 5th (he hit one at Philadelphia on August 22nd).

AROUND THE HORN

The Dodgers had three homers on the game (Matt Kemp went deep in addition to Loney and Ethier).  The three homer game was the Dodgers' third of the year, and Kemp has homered in all three games.  On June 12th, Kemp, Hong-Chih Kuo and Wilson Betemit homered against the Mets at Dodger Stadium.  On August 29th, Kemp, Shea Hillenbrand and Russell Martin hit round trippers at home against the Nationals.

Chicago closer Ryan Dempster's blown save on Thursday was his first since June 10th and only his third of the year.

Soriano's two homer day (he drove in all four Cubs' runs) included a rare homer against Dodger reliever Jonathan Broxton.  The homer was only the second of the year against Broxton and the second three run homer against him (San Diego's Mike Cameron hit a three run blast against Broxton in 2006).

Takashi Saito's save was his 37th of the year and his 14th straight convereted save.  His last blown save came on July 14th against the Giants.

Chad Billingsley takes the hill for the Dodgers on Friday at San Francisco.  In his last start at San Francisco on July 13th, Billingsley threw six innings of shutout ball in a 9-1 Dodgers win.  Former Dodger and current Giants outfielder Dave Roberts is 6 for 10 lifetime against Billingsley, and Barry Bonds is 2 for 5 with a double and a homer.

Giants' lefty Jonathan Sanchez starts for San Francisco on Friday as the Giants try to win their first game at home against the Dodgers this year.  The Dodgers had three game sweeps in both of their previous visits to San Francisco so far this year.   Sanchez is 1-3 on the year with a 5.27 ERA.  He's allowed five homers in 41 innings pitched, but only one in 16 innings pitched since July.

DODGER FLASHBACK

On their way to a World Series win in 1981, the Dodgers were helped by outstanding performances by many players.  On September 7, 1981 many of the old familiar faces chipped in to push the Dodgers to a 5-1 win over the Giants, but there were surprise performances as well.

The Dodgers built a 4-0 lead after three innings, with Ron Cey's two run homer off of Ed Whitson in the third inning being the big blow.  Davey Lopes had a hit and two runs scored in the first three innings, and Steve Garvey contributed a RBI single.  The lead was held by starter Bob Welch into the sixth, but he needed relief help after giving up the Giants' only run.  Alejandro Pena got the Dodgers out of the sixth with no further damage, and then turned the ball over to a then unknown but now familiar name to Dodgers fans...Tom Niedenfuer.

Of course the reliever is known now for his fateful gopher balls against the Cards in the 1985 playoffs but in 1981, he was a rookie pitcher trying to establish himself.  He went a long way toward doing that on this night, throwing three innings of shutout, one hit ball.  Niedenfuer would finish 3-1 with a save on the year and would throw 5 2/3 shutout innings for the Dodgers in post-season play.