Dodgers rally, walk off in 10 on Gordon's hit
Rivera's sac fly in ninth ties game; Capuano strikes out 12
Instead of being on the Dodger Stadium field with his players, manager Don Mattingly was in the video room watching his club pull out yet another improbable victory after being ejected by third-base umpire Jerry Meals in response to a questionable call that took away a run in the sixth inning.
With their manager forced to watch from afar, the Dodgers rallied like they have all season and tied it in the ninth before securing their first series victory against the White Sox and salvaging a sharp performance by Chris Capuano.
"We fight," said Gordon who still had shaving cream in his left ear and on his chin from the celebration. "We fight until the end and we're going to keep fighting."
A Tony Gwynn triple with one out in the 10th inning paved the way for Gordon's heroics. Those fireworks wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for a Juan Rivera sacrifice fly the inning before to tie the game by scoring Bobby Abreu, who led off the ninth with a single and advanced to third on an Elian Herrera base hit.
However, the game may have had a different outcome had it not been for the controversial sixth.
With the Dodgers trailing, 1-0, it appeared Matt Treanor scored on a Herrera sacrifice fly to shallow right after White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers dropped the ball at home.
The White Sox appealed that Treanor left third base too early and Meals called him out to end the inning.
"Just seeing where he was at, looking across. There's a timing, you look at where a guy is at, looking over there when [right fielder Alex] Rios was catching," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "It was all of us saying the same thing."
Replays showed Treanor's foot was still on the bag when Rios caught the ball in right field as well as Meals looking toward the outfield and not at the baserunner.
Mattingly came out moments later to argue with Meals -- and eventually home-plate umpire Gary Darling -- after injured center fielder Matt Kemp argued that replays proved Treanor had tagged up. The manager said Meals said something to Kemp along the lines that he couldn't argue the play because he's on the disabled list and that prompted Mattingly to leave the dugout in anger.
"I really went out to protect Matt," said Mattingly, who was ejected for the fourth time this year. "I didn't go out there to argue the play."
Eventually being told by Meals that he was 100 percent sure of the call got Mattingly only further frustrated.
"I understand close calls and bang bang and you can't see things and trying to see that at fast speed is different than replay," said Mattingly, who added the replays showed Treanor's foot was on the bag for 40 clicks -- 1.3 seconds -- before taking off. "It's hard for me to believe you can overturn a run if you are not 100 percent sure you got it right."
"Donnie stood up for all of us right there and he showed us he had our back," Treanor said. "Fantastic argument, by the way."
The controversial call and late game rally overshadowed a terrific performance from Capuano. The lefty threw eight strong innings and struck out a season-high 12, showing the promise he displayed through the first two months of the season.
He was aided by three spectacular catches by Andre Ethier in right field, including one that robbed Brett Lillibridge at the wall in the eighth.
"You just keep going until they tell you to stop," said Capuano, who came out after throwing 111 pitches. "I think after the eighth, I didn't take myself out or anything, but I didn't argue. I was pretty tired."
From there on out, the Dodgers' bats took over. Abreu led off the ninth with a pinch-hit single and after Gordon couldn't put down a bunt, Herrera delivered his third hit of the game to put runners on the corners. Rivera hit a sacrifice to right field and Abreu scored to tie the game.
After a 1-2-3 inning by reliever Ronald Belisario, who got the win, Gwynn hit a one-out triple to left field that rolled to the wall after left fielder Jordan Danks tried to make a highlight-reel diving grab.
"I heard the crowd go up in arms, so I figured it got past him, so I was thinking inside-the-park at that point," said Gwynn, who had been 0-for-12 before the hit.
The center fielder would have to settle for a triple, then waited until Gordon came to the plate to score the winning run on a single that ensured the Dodgers would prevail in their Major League-leading 31st one-run game.
"Our boys fought," Mattingly said. "It was a nice way to end it. It's been a tough series with these guys."