Editorials

Brawls, Comebacks and a FedEx Delivery: Just What the Doctor Ordered

As odd as it sounds, Don Mattingly couldn’t have hoped for anything more on Tuesday night.

In fact, despite the carnage, Dodger fans everywhere should be thanking Ian Kennedy and Co. for what just might be exactly what these Dodgers needed.



Less than 24 hours after writing that I hoped the Dodgers had hit rock bottom upon blowing a two-run lead in the ninth, the Dodgers overcame an eighth inning lead and a benches clearing brawl for an emotional 5-3 victory Tuesday night.

When you’re mired in a slump, you’re always looking for something to jump start the season.

Sometimes it’s an offensive outburst, sometimes it’s a big comeback and sometimes it’s an emotional kick in the butt.

For the Dodgers, they got No. 2 and 3 in one game on Tuesday night.

After both Yasiel Puig and Zack Greinke were drilled mercilessly in the head by Kennedy, the benches cleared for a second time and the Dodger bench was visibly upset.

Whether it was reliver JP Howell, hitting coach Mark McGwire or even Puig, the Dodgers were clearly less than impressed with the bush-league antics coming from the Arizona bench.

Despite the brawl, however, the Dodgers still found themselves trailing the game 3-2 with just six more outs between them and their second straight loss against Arizona.

After Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier and Juan Uribe all walked to load the bases, the game was left in the hands of the most unlikely of heroes — backup catcher Tim Federowicz.

And one night after stranding runners like they were trying to, the Dodgers did the unthinkable — they got a hit when they needed one.

And this one was a big one.

On the first pitch he saw, FedEx smashed a fastball off the left field wall, knocking in all three runners — even Uribe all the way from first — to put the Dodgers up by two.

But, it wasn’t quite time to get excited just yet — as the Dodgers knew they were still three outs away from a much-needed celebration.

With Kenley Jansen now securely in the closer’s role, however, the anxiety levels around Chavez Ravine were at an all-time low.

After blowing fastball after fastball past the first two hitters, Martin Prado popped out to left and the Dodgers earned just their second win against Arizona of the season.

Was it a season-changer? It sure felt like it.

Then again, as usual, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

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