Jerry Sands and the kids lead Dodgers to 5-4 victory over Astros

These days, there is no lead the Dodgers are going to feel comfortable with. No hero they can rely on, even if it’s rookie Jerry Sands providing the first grand slam of his career. No relaxing until the final out.

When you’ve lost as many tough, late games as the Dodgers have, confidence becomes fragile. Every opposing threat is nervous time.

So even after Sands’ slam left them with a 5-0 lead in the third inning, they had to sweat out the rest of the game Tuesday before hanging on for a 5-4 victory to end a three-game losing streak.

Helping to come to their late-inning rescue was Rubby De La Rosa, who was making his major-league debut. De La Rosa, who just flew in earlier in the day from double-A Chattanooga, made it a little easy.

De La Rosa came on to pitch a perfect eighth, retiring the Astros in order on nine pitches. He struck out two and hit as high as 98 mph on the radar gun.

Since this youth movement was going so well, the Dodgers went to rookie Javy Guerrato close it in the ninth. In his fifth major-league game, Guerra shut the Astros out in the ninth for his first save.

Guerra became the sixth Dodger to record a save this season.

The Dodgers had taken a 1-0 lead in the second against left-hander J.A. Happ when Jay Gibbons hit his first home run of the season.

The next inning, the Dodgers managed a two-out rally against Happ after Jamey Carroll walked and James Loney singled. The Astros gave the Dodgers an assist when Bill Hall booted Matt Kemp’s hard grounder for an error.

Which loaded the bases for Sands.

Sands, who had just hit the first home run of his career Sunday, topped that by crushing a Happ pitch to deep center.

That gave Chad Billingsley what normally would have had the appearance of a comfortable lead. These days, of course, have not been normal times for the Dodgers.

Billingsley had a 2.25 ERA in his four May starts but was supported with a total of just three runs, going  0-3 for the month.

This time prosperity seemed a stranger. Staked to that early 5-0 lead, he gave four back. Billingsley (4-5) went six innings, allowing the four runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out nine.

And on Tuesday, the kids and the Dodgers hung on, nervous and all.

ALSO:

Pitcher Rubby De La Rosa is 'very surprised' to be in the major leagues

Angels outfielder Vernon Wells' dad has a different frame of reference

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Jerry Sands is congratulated by third base coach Tim Wallach after hitting a grand slam home run during the third inning of the Dodgers' 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday. Credit: George Bridges / MCT

Comments

[Labeldude]

Hope this was more a look at the future rather than a look at what Ned's going to trade away at the deadline.

[16blows]

Well, a win is a win but it was still not pretty...only 1 of the dudgers runs was earned due to inept Astro defense, while all 4 of Houston's scores were legit; ned & mr. baseball will take it, nonetheless.

sluggo sands did it again - hit another hr, and as I alerted slappy 'e' a couple days ago, sluggo will pass slappy in taters on the season within a week or so, now just 2 down.

He still whiffs too much (x2 more tonight, now 22 in 90 at bats), and he's still out of position as an OF'r (not fluid/looks too mechanical out there/belongs at 1b), but at least he's a threat at bat (strikeouts, doubles or home runs, that order).

Yes, de la rosa looked good (just like jansen did last year for awhile, and like broxton did when he was brand new, and yhency brazoban before that, and... well, time will tell.)

Must temper jubilation due the fact was the Astros that gave this game away to the dudgers... if lost angeles 22-28 isn't great, Astros 18-31 be a rank waft even more odoriferous. Still, the dudgers have no need wait for September call-ups... the future is now.

[Badlands]

The kids are allright!

[HI Dodger Fan]

finally, ned gets rid of cormier. this move is about two months too late but at least it was finally, mercifully done. seems like the kids did okay, huh? now, how about getting ivan, jr. back up here and letting castro go?

[skyharbor]

Dodgers are now in 26th place among the 30 major league baseball teams. But we have momentum.

[Los Doyers]

NoHeadNed,

Please do not make any trades, deals, or attempt to do the general managers work, as you have been found incompetent to fulfill the job requirements. Including, but not limited, improving the club via VIABLE FA's (Thames, G Anderson, R Johnson, Lilly, Barajas, ManRam, J Shcmidt, etc while at the same time, not ransacking the farm sub-mediocre players, ex: Dotel, Theriot, Blake, Posednik deals all come to mind? Am I know im forgetting some other questionable deals. The sooner the can get your puppetmaster, McCrap outta there, the sooner he'll take you with him! The end of this dreadful season will not come soon enough!

[Dodger BooHoo]

Momentum, that made me laugh...

[California Son]

The Dodgers seem to win one out of four games these days whether they need to or not.

[bleednblue]

As the Dodgers play in Houston, and playing as bad as they are, I can not help myself to think of the 1977 classic Bad News Bears! This movie is most-famously remembered for the scene in which Coach Leak leads the Astrodome crowd in the chant "LET THEM PLAY!" At this point the Dodgers are the 5th worst team in the MLB, and still falling. I am all in favor of letting the Kids Play! “LET THEM PLAY!” I say! We already have 13 players on the current roster under the age of 29, Kershaw, Billingsley, De La Rosa, Elbert, Guerra, Jansen, Loney, Mitchell, Sands, Gwynn, Navarro, Kemp, and Ethier who is the oldest at 29. Let’s bring up Tray Robinson, Dee Gordon, Ivan DeJesus, to replace the 35 years and over Gibbons, Miles, and Castro. Who are they fooling, we all know that Blake, Frucal, Padilla, Thames, Garland, Kuroda, and Broxton, will be gone by next season. So I say again, “LET THE KIDS PLAY!” "LET THEM PLAY!" "LET THEM PLAY!" "LET THEM PLAY!"

[alanw19]

we win...it'll be a better day in the hours till we next play again

lets make it 2 in a row

[These Dodgers Suck!]

Failure to execute on the part of Happ should not be construed as new found dominance by Sands.

[CrowdedPen]

hmmm, when reliever "Hawk"(sworth) returns from DL, me wonders which of kiddies will get re-demoted, Javy???........Rubby?????.......Elbert?????
(all have pitched well since recall).......or Janson?????

(???best move may be to send back a position player, & just keep the Xtra arm in the 'pen????

[Hollywood Dodger Mark]

Hall missed a homer by 11 inches.

[Scott]

Maybe a youth movement (a euphemism for phasing out veterans) is the way to go. The fact is that the only guys contributing who are over 30 are Carroll and Miles, with everyone else hurting or inept. These kids probably can't save the season but it will make this team a little more bearable to watch. Hopefully Ned doesn't get trade happy and swap our kids for a Carlos Beltran-type player.

[Chumpy Kemp]

I wonder if Loney is paying attention.