Cardinals-Dodgers: Don't Blame Closer Ryan Franklin for Game Two Loss

Congratulate Los Angeles pinch hitter Mark Loretta for his game-winning hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning that propelled the Dodgers to a 3-2 win in Game Two of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Thank Dodgers manager Joe Torre for his perfect timing in inserting utility infielder Loretta in the ninth inning, despite his horrible 0-for-15 history against Cardinals All-Star closer Ryan Franklin.

Applaud Torre for sending Juan Pierre in the game as a pinch runner for James Loney earlier in the inning, as Pierre’s speed was essential in scoring the game-tying run from second base on Ronnie Belliard’s single to shallow center field.

Shower third baseman Casey Blake with praise for battling back from a 1-2 count to draw a two-out walk and sustain the rally, representing the winning run in what had been a pitching duel between the Cards’ Adam Wainwright and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw.

Whatever you do, don’t blame Ryan Franklin.  

A quick, cursory glance at the box score from the game will show that Franklin gave up the winning run and was credited with a blown save and a loss.

But if Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday catches Loney’s liner with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the game is over. St. Louis would have won 2-1, and the Cardinals would be heading back to Busch Stadium full of confidence with a chance to take the series lead in Game Three.

However, Holliday couldn’t make the game-ending grab, and the Dodgers took advantage of the fortuitous opportunity and stayed alive in the game. Franklin tried to stay focused, but he seemed unsettled after Blake battled to earn a walk following Holliday’s miscue.

Belliard, batting after Blake, shot a single up the middle on the first pitch he saw from Franklin.

Franklin was rattled and threw three consecutive balls to the next batter, Russell Martin. The third pitch was a passed ball that skidded past catcher Yadier Molina, last year’s NL Gold Glover at the position. The bases were full after Franklin walked Martin, setting the stage for Loretta’s magical hit.

The Dodgers claimed a thrilling come-from-behind victory and a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

Like Torre, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa made all the right moves in the game.

La Russa bravely kept Wainwright in the game through the eighth after Wainwright gave up a fourth-inning home run to Andre Ethier. La Russa used pinch hitter Troy Glaus for Wainwright in the ninth, knowing that Ethier would be up first in the ninth.

The veteran manager used left-handed relief pitcher Trever Miller against the left-handed Ethier, and the tactic worked as Miller retired Ethier for the first out. Then he wisely brought in Franklin to face Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez, and that strategy worked, too. But St. Louis’ plans went awry when a hard-charging Holliday couldn’t record the final out.

If not for the Cardinals' crucial ninth-inning errors, Franklin would have a save, Wainwright would have a win, and La Russa—not Torre—would be the manager recognized for making the correct late-game decisions.

Now the Cardinals find themselves barely hanging on to their postseason lives after Wainwright, Miller, and Franklin had combined to shut down the Dodgers for most of the game.

The Dodgers deserve all the credit for withstanding the Cardinals’ best shot, but St. Louis’ pitchers and its manager did everything right to win the game.