Joe Blanton went back to work without his best stuff, perhaps rusted from two short outings over the last 17 days, perhaps affected by that unfamiliar relief role he accepted without protest. He got two outs. He gave up two hits. The second knocked in Ramirez with the Dodgers' fourth run.
Blanton got the inning's last out, lifted his cap and rubbed his head, retired to the dugout without pout or infield protest.
"You know, I'm the kind of guy, I'm going to do pretty much whatever it is they ask," he said the other day. "They ask, 'Can you throw out of the bullpen?' I'm not going to say no. I'm not going to be that guy that's going to do that."
Between now and a potential series-ending Game 5 start tomorrow night, someone ought to post Blanton's thoughts on Cole Hamels' mirror. Called "this season, our most consistent pitcher" before last night's game, Blanton was used just twice thispostseason, both times against Colorado. He pitched an inning in one, he threw almost three in another. He kept the Phillies close after J.A. Happ fell apart in Game 3. He kept them close in their 5-4 loss in Game 2 of the NLCS.
He kept them one swing away last night, too, no matter how nasty it got for him at times, no matter how much he battled without his best stuff.
"He's that guy with the mentality and the go-get-'em and the grit and the desire and whatever you want to say," manager Charlie Manuel has said this postseason.
So far in this series we have seen Hamels wave his hands in disgust when the same guy who staked him to a two-run lead in his first World Series start of 2008 threw away a doubleplay ball. We heard grumblings from Randy Wolf about being bypassed for the Dodgers' first three starts of this series. We have watched Ramirez fail to even try to take out the second baseman during another successful doubleplay.
