Today the Dodgers played, to say the least, a very strange game in Oakland. Not weird in the typical sense, like blown calls, or interesting plays — no, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about an interesting day for Aaron Harang. In a year where he has had overall success, (5-3, 3.59 ERA) he could not find the strike zone. Ironically, he did not allow a hit past the first inning. The problem is, he only lasted 3 2/3 innings and managed to walk a career high eight batters, allowing three runs all the while. But hey, for what its worth, Sandy Koufax also had an outing in 1955 where he also walked eight batters (in five innings) and Koufax ended up to be…pretty good. 1955 also wasn't a bad year for the Dodgers either, seeing as we won our very first World Series. So if by some weird chance, this outing is an omen…I wouldn't mind that.
Strangely enough, Harang wasn't the story of the night. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Brandon McCarthy, making his first start since June 7th, pitched an absolute gem tonight. McCarthy allowed only two hits, struck out five and only allowed one free baserunner with a walk in an outstanding 81 pitch outing. There are sometimes when you come up against a great pitching performance, and you have to give credit where credit is due. Tonight — the credit goes to Brandon McCarthy.
The Dodgers bullpen had a long, but very effective night as they didn't allow another run to keep the Boys in Blue in the game. Overall, it wasn't as bad as a performance as you would typically think a 3-0 loss would be. We ran into a pitcher that had an amazing outing and sometimes you just have to accept that, move on to the next game and keep truckin'.
The next game is scheduled for tomorrow at 7:05 pm PT. Nathan Eovaldi still seeks his first win since being brought up for the Dodgers despite an incredible 1.82 ERA. Hopefully we can find a little bit more luck against Tommy Malone, who is taking the mound for the Athletics.
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