A heads-up Justin Maxwell stolen base followed by a Pete Orr fly ball to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Nats a 5-4 walk off win against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park on Wednesday night. The Nats’ comeback win was sparked by a Ryan Zimmerman three run home run, a shot into the centerfield bullpen off Trolley righthander Chad Billingsley that tied the score at three. Billingsley was into the sixth and pitching a no-hitter until Zimmerman’s blast. It was Zimmerman’s 31st home run and 100th RBI of the season. The Nats went ahead 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, but couldn’t keep the lead — as a shaky outing by closer Mike MacDougal and two Cristian Guzman throwing errors allowed the Dodgers to tie the game in the top of the 9th.

The Nats looked like they were headed for yet another anemic night at the plate, as Billingsley mastered the Anacostia line up with six innings of no hit baseball. But with runners on first and second in the sixth, the suddenly tiring Billingsley was visited by Dodger pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. On the very next pitch — with Zimmerman at the plate – the Dodger righty threw a ball that hung up-and-in on Zimmerman, and ended up over the fence. In all, Billingsley threw six innings, giving up only one hit. It was a masterful if vain performance by the 12-10 Dodger. Nats fans were pleased to discover that they’re not the only ones frustrated by poor defense. An eighth inning fly ball off the bat of Adam Dunn dropped between confused left fielder Manny Ramirez and centerfielder Matt Kemp, while a sure double play bouncer up the middle was thrown wide at first. The miscues sent the Nats into the top of the ninth with a one run lead and a chance to close out the game.

The Nats were actually lucky in the 9th, despite MacDougal’s keep-em-in-the-game pitching and their two errors: two line shots ended the inning with the bases jammed. The Dodgers were only able to score once in the top of the ninth, leaving the score tied at four. In the bottom of the final frame, Justin Maxwell hit a single past a diving Ronnie Belliard into left, was sacrificed to second by Alberto Gonzalez and then stole third. A surprised Trolley catcher Russell Martin threw wide of the bag at third to put Maxwell 90 feet from home. That brought journeyman Pete Orr to the plate. His long fly ball to right — dropped by the usually sure-handed Andre Ethier — won the game.

This is the second in a series of guest commentaries by “MH” — our regular guest columnist and erstwhile fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers . . .

Questions continue to surround the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, but one question in particular seems to haunt “dem bums”: are they really the best team in baseball, or a fluke that’s just waiting to collapse? The Dodgers’ stellar record would certainly seem to suggest they’re the best (if not in all of baseball, then certainly in the NL), but naysayers persist, claiming that the Dodgers are simply fortunate to be in the NL West – an “easy division.” Their suspicions seemed vindicated at the end of July, when the league-leading Dodgers headed east to face central division powerhouse St. Louis – where they won only one game of a four game set. The Trolleys were outscored in the series 22-8 (which included a 10-0 blowout), and their pitching looked simply mortal. The Dodgers were a paper tiger. At least that is what Dodgers skeptics would have you believe.

More than any other factor in the St. Louis series, defense was crucial. Both teams brought tightly wound starters, bullpens and formidable fielders. The Dodgers activated Hong-Chih Kuo from the DL, and he proved his worth on the Dodgers roster – which had recently suffered from the loss of both Corry Wade and Ronald Belisario. The L.A. bullpen seems to have weathered the worst that baseball (and injuries) can offer — and is now set for the final run to the flag. Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, and the Manny Ramirez-Juan Pierre duo combined to form a formidable defensive perimeter in all but the second game in the four-game series. The Cards saw the Dodgers defense and raised it an impressive batting staff – to the extent that game three of the four-game tilt was a fifteen-inning leviathan. There wasn’t much a hurting Dodgers bullpen could do to combat the Cards’ assault.

Crucial to the success of the Dodgers has been its pitching staff, and with the introduction of George Sherrill (a trading deadline addition from the Orioles), and the activation of Kuo, the pitching is likely to get a lot sharper. The emergence of Clayton Kershaw (who is what everyone wants — an overpowering lefty) has been crucial. And for those critics that saw in the Cards’ series an indication of the Dodgers’ raw skill — or lack of it — there is the Dodgers’ uncanny ability to add fresh blood from a pitching heavy farm system. Then too, while the L.A. nine seemed outclassed by the Redbirds in St. Louis, they have gone 4-4 since (which includes a rough road swing), lead the NL West by nearly seven games and remain the most dangerous team in the west. Are the Dodgers the best team in baseball? Maybe not, but they will bring the heat and the bats against any team they face in the regular and post-season. The emergence of superstar-to-be, Andre Ethier, the addition of Sherrill, the continued outstanding infield defensive play and the genius of Dodger manager Joe Torre will make sure of that.

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