Dodgers 7, Padres 2

So the Dodgers pull out a win in the first game of a three game series in San Diego.

Scott Proctor picked up the win, his record goes to 1-0. Justin Hampson takes the loss, he's now 0-1.

Clayton Kershaw had another good start but his first major league win continues to allude him. He went 5 and 1/3 innings and struck out five, but walked four batters. Kershaw seems to have the same issue that Chad Billingsley had when he first came up: getting his pitch counts too high and too quickly and sketchy control issues. Billingsley however, has worked on these issues. He's getting deeper into games and serving up less walks. If Kershaw can make similar adjustments, he and Billingsley will be a powerful 1-2 punch at the top of the pitching rotation for years to come.

The offense, meanwhile, struggled against Greg Maddux before busting out against the Padre bullpen. They were able to cash in on a few situations with runners on and in scoring position which is a positive sign considering their failure to do so in recent games over the last few weeks. This team is not going to be a home-run team, they will need to play small ball efficiently and cash in with a big inning to get the win (ie. the four run 7th inning that gave the Dodgers the lead).

In some bad news, Rafael Furcal's back doesn't look like it's going to heal as soon as originally thought.

From Dodgers.com:

A disappointed Rafael Furcal had his return date pushed back again by doctors and is expected to be out another three weeks with lingering lower back pain.

That's bad news for an offense that's been having its struggles. Meanwhile, Nomar Garciaparra's calf is healing, and it looks at though he's going to begin a minor league assignment soon playing at shortstop. Does he still have the range and speed to play at that position? I guess we'll find out soon enough. If he can though (and can stay healthy), he can be an excellent utility infielder.

Chad Billingsley takes on former Dodger Randy Wolf tomorrow at 7:05 L.A. time.

Oh, and the Lakers won tonight against the Boston Celtics making the series 2-1 in the Celtics favor. They gotta take the next to at home to any chance at the series.