October 8, 2009: Mark Loretta’s hit completes Dodgers’ ninth-inning rally in Game 2

A generational talent made his first postseason start in Game Two of the 2009 National League Division Series. A veteran big leaguer, extending his career for a few days, struck the game-winning hit. From beginnings to endings, Game Two between the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals had all the elements of a great postseason game, including a ninth-inning comeback from a near-certain loss.

The 2009 Dodgers won 95 games, more than any other in the Frank McCourt era. McCourt’s ownership had some success on the field but was better characterized by what did and did not happen off the field.1 Investments in star players and upgrades to the ballpark were frequently discussed but rarely materialized due to an eventual bankruptcy that led to the sale of the club.2 Despite this, a well-stocked farm system fueled the Dodgers’ run of playoff berths led by outfielders Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, catcher Russell Martin, and pitcher Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers entered the 2009 season with high expectations following a season in which they won the National League West and a playoff series for the first time since their 1988 World Series championship. Of note, the Cardinals had eliminated the Dodgers in the 1985 and 2004 postseasons.

The Cardinals won the NL Central Division championship and returned to the playoffs for the first time since they won the World Series in 2006. Featuring Albert Pujols, the National League MVP for the second consecutive season, and two aces in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals were a veteran team with a chance to win it all. Although the bullpen had been a concern, the team hoped to ride the strength of its starting pitching to a long October run.

That plan got off to a shaky start in Game One of the NLDS with Los Angeles scoring five times off Carpenter, including a first-inning two-run home run by Kemp en route to a 5-3 victory. Opposing Wainwright for Game Two was the relative newcomer Kershaw, making his first postseason start. The 21-year-old had had a strong first full season in the majors, amassing a 2.79 ERA and 185 strikeouts over 171 innings. On the rare occasions in which he struggled, command was a problem; he walked 13 percent of the batters he faced. Although this was his introduction to many baseball fans, Kershaw had been the Dodgers’ top prospect a year earlier, rising as high as number 5 in all of baseball.3

Kershaw and Wainwright were brilliant, dueling through six innings, with each allowing only a solo home run. Matt Holliday homered for the Cardinals in the second inning, while Ethier homered for Los Angeles in the fourth.

Kershaw was in full command on this afternoon, mixing in a 95-MPH fastball with a sharp curve and striking out four while walking only one. Finally, the Cardinals broke through. Tiring after approaching the 100-pitch barrier, Kershaw conceded a bloop single by Mark DeRosa to lead off the seventh, followed by Colby Rasmus’s double off the center-field wall that gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Wainwright pitched a clean seventh and stranded three runners in the eighth inning to finish allowing only one run on three hits while striking out seven against only one walk. The Cardinals lined up their bullpen as desired with lefty specialist Trever Miller and All-Star closer Ryan Franklin, a right-hander.

Los Angeles countered in the ninth with the heart of the order, starting with Ethier, who had led the team with 31 home runs. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa elected to start the inning with Miller. After eight pitches, several left dangerously close to the middle of the plate, Ethier popped out to second base. As was his reputation, La Russa immediately went to the bullpen again to match up with the forthcoming right-handed Dodgers hitters. Franklin, attempting to complete his first postseason save after registering 38 in the regular season alongside a sparkling 1.92 ERA, entered to face Manny Ramírez.

A lazy fly ball to center field brought the Cardinals to within an out of gaining control of the Series.

The Dodgers’ last hope was James Loney, a solid hitter but not the same threat as Ethier and Ramirez. On a 2-and-2 pitch, Loney hit a looping liner to Holliday in left field. The ball sailed far enough for Holliday to make a catch but was sinking fast. In a full sprint and stuck between catching the fly with his glove up or down, Holliday did neither as the ball ricocheted off his glove onto the grass, giving the Dodgers life. Holliday had made only one error for St. Louis after arriving from Oakland in July and the Cardinals had among the best outfield defenses in baseball.4 The mistake was as unlikely as it was untimely.

With Loney reaching second on the misplay and pinch-runner Juan Pierre taking his place, Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake came to the plate. After falling behind 1-and-2, Blake fought back to earn a nine-pitch walk. Given new life, the Dodgers, who led the majors with 22 last-at-bat wins in 2009, now had the winning run on base.5 Down to the bottom of the lineup and the end of the bench, the Dodgers turned to second baseman Ronnie Belliard, a trade-deadline acquisition from Washington. On the first pitch, a curveball down in the strike zone, Belliard served a single into center field, scoring the speedy Pierre from second to tie the game.

The stunned Cardinals were reeling. Dodger Stadium was now raucous, thumping from the cheers of the elated fans. Meanwhile, Franklin walked catcher Russell Martin on four pitches far from the zone, bringing up the pitcher’s spot in the lineup and a need for a Dodgers pinch-hitter. Enter Mark Loretta. Although he was a two-time All-Star, the 38-year-old Loretta returned to Los Angeles to join his fourth team in five years, hoping to squeeze every moment out of a productive big-league career. A forgettable regular season ended with a .232 batting average and without a home run. Loretta, who grew up in La Cañada, 12 miles from Dodger Stadium, stepped into the batter’s box with a chance to give his hometown team a commanding two-game lead in the Series.

On the second pitch, Loretta floated a hit just beyond the infield, settling softly on the outfield grass. Blake crossed the plate with the winning run as the Dodgers streamed from the dugout, sprinting past the shell-shocked Cardinals players. Listeners to the radio broadcast across Southern California heard Vin Scully call out the winning hit:

“0-and-1 the count to Mark Loretta … out of a stretch goes Franklin’s strike one pitch, Loretta gets one into left center. Dodgers win 3-2!”6

Ever attuned to the moment, Scully let the radio listeners hear the delirious Dodger crowd for 32 seconds before recapping the rally – a dropped fly ball, two walks, and two soft singles that found their way into center field. Instead of one thunderous blow, the comeback was initiated from the bottom of the Dodgers’ lineup battling to extend the game to the next batter until they finally broke through.

Two nights later, the Dodgers eliminated the Cardinals in a 5-1 victory at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. However, Los Angeles’ season came to an end in the NLCS: The Dodgers lost for the second straight year to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games. Although Loretta came to bat twice in that round, his game-winning single in Game Two of the NLDS was his final major-league hit. Kershaw’s first postseason start was the opening act of a Hall of Fame-worthy pitching career. Kershaw’s beginning and Loretta’s ending propelled the Dodgers to one of the most dramatic wins in club history.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN200910080.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2009/B10080LAN2009.htm

The game itself can be seen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUEyv02HwEs

Notes

1 Dodger Blue, “Dodgers History: Timeline of Dodger Stadium Renovations.” https://dodgerblue.com/dodgers-history-timeline-dodger-stadium-renovations/.

2 Bill Shaikin, “Dodgers New Owners See Winning Business Model; Others See Trouble,” Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2012. https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-xpm-2012-dec-15-la-sp-dodgers-guggenheim-20121216-story.html.

3 Brandon Heikooop, “Clayton Kershaw: Most Hyped Dodgers Prospect,” Bleacher Report, May 25, 2008. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25344-clayton-kershaw-most-hyped-los-angeles-dodgers-prospect.

4 Dylan Hernandez, “Rally is out of left field; Dodgers come back in the ninth for 2-0 series lead after the Cardinals’ Holliday drops what would have been the third out,” Los Angeles Times, October 9, 2009. https://www.proquest.com/docview/422233412/8932AC06A03C4550PQ/2?accountid=3783

5 “Game 2 NLDS Cardinals vs. Dodgers,” Major League Baseball, Fox, October 8, 2009. Broadcast at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUEyv02HwEs

6 “Game 2 NLDS Cardinals vs. Dodgers,” Los Angeles Dodgers radio broadcast, KABC, October 8, 2009. Broadcast at https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=MU49T3ch7yM