The Dodgers failed to complete the sweep of the Rockies and see their winning streak snapped at four.
Manny Corpas got the win, he's 3-3. Hong-Chih Kuo took the loss, he's 5-3.
Greg Maddux had his best start as a Dodger this season. He went seven innings and surrendered no runs on only two hits while striking out three. And he did this all on 68 pitches. Cory Wade pitched two perfect, scoreless innings in relief. Hong-Chih Kuo came in and gave up the winning run. He got only one out while giving up a run on four hits.
The Dodger offense, meanwhile, struggled to score any runs against Rockies' pitching. They collected eight hits and a walk, but grounded into two double plays and had a run get caught stealing. The best offensive player for the second day in a row was Ángel Berroa, who went 2-4. Six other Dodgers collected one hit each, and Nomar Garciaparra collected the only walk. The Dodgers also failed to collect any extra-base hits or advance a runner past 2nd base.
As of this writing, the Arizona Diamondbacks are trailing 1-0 to the Cincinnati Reds after four innings. With the loss, the Dodgers' lead in the NL West is reduced to four games. The Dodgers will now travel to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates for a four game series starting Monday at 4:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the loss, the Dodgers fall back to five games over .500 (76-71).
Opinion: A pretty ugly offensive game for the Dodgers. I think it really shows how important a hot Andre Ethier is to our lineup. The offense looked like they were fighting an uphill battle all day. Stranded runners, rally-killing double plays. We were falling right into Aaron Cook's (starting pitcher for the Rockies) trap. He's a sinkerball pitcher, and go the Dodgers to roll-over into 17 groundball outs through eight innings. In any case, we still won the series, and as long as we keep doing that, we'll glide right into the playoffs.
EDIT: The Cincinnati Reds beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in extra innings for the second day in a row. Arizona remains 4.5 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West race, but the Dodger Magic Number is now 10.
The Dodgers take the second game of the series and win their fourth overall.
Clayton Kershaw got the win, he's 4-5. Jorge De La Rosa took the loss, he's 8-8.
Clayton Kershaw had a pretty good, albeit short start. He went six innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out seven. Chan Ho Park pitched two scoreless innings in relief, striking out four in the process. Jonathan Broxton retired the side in order in the 9th, striking out two.
A handful of different players contributed offensively. In fact, each player in the starting lineup reached base at-least once, including Kershaw. Russell Martin went 1-5, but had two RBIs. 
Casey Blake went 1-4, but his one hit was a solo homerun. Blake DeWitt went 0-1, but drew three walks and scored twice. Ángel Berroa probably had best game offensively. He went 2-3 with two doubles, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
The Arizona Diamondbacks as of this blog writing are up 2-1 against Cincinnati going into the 8th inning. With the win, the Dodgers move to four games up on the Diamondbacks. Should the Diamondbacks win, they'll lower the Dodgers' lead back to 3.5 games. If they lose, the Dodger lead will rise to 4.5 games. The Dodgers will try to go for the sweep tomorrow starting at 12:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move to six games over .500 (77-71)... With the Dodger win, the Magic Number is now 12 games. Should the Diamondbacks lose later tonight, that number will be lowered to 11.
Opinion: I really like that we are going out there and handling our business. Yes, it's good to know what Arizona is doing. If they lose, that's better for us, sure. But the win itself is the most important thing. I mean, it's so simple. We just keep winning, and we don't need to worry about Arizona. It kinda helps, too, that we are playing only pretty bad teams, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, whatever that means...
EDIT: Cincinnati tied the score with Arizona to go to extra innings. They then got the go-ahead run in the top of 10th. They shut down Arizona in the bottom of the 10th to get the win. So with Arizona's loss, they fall to 4.5 game back of the Dodgers in the NL West race. That also lowers the Dodger Magic Number to 11.
The Dodgers beat the Rockies to take the first game in the weekend series and win their third game overall.
Chad Billingsley got the win, he's 15-10. Jeff Francis took the loss, he's 4-10.
Chad Billingsley went six innings giving up two runs on three walks and six hits, while striking out three. Pitch count was an issue, as by the time Billingsley was taken out of the game before the 7th inning, he had made 96 pitches. He did do a good job, though, of holding the Rockies to two runs. He gave up a run in each of the first two innings, but held the Rockies scoreless over the next four. Four pitchers from the Dodger bullpen pitched a combined three scoreless innings, giving up only one hit over that span. Cory Wade was among that group. He went 1.1 innings, striking out a batter. Scott Proctor pitched a perfect 9th, striking out one to close out the game.
The Dodger offense heated up in the last third of the game. They had scored only three runs through the first six innings. They then managed to score four runs in the last three. Seven different Dodgers reached base at least twice. Manny Ramírez went 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored. 
Nomar Garciaparra went 1-2 with a walk, a double, and two runs scored. Matt Kemp went 2-5 with a double, two RBIs, and a run scored. James Loney had a short and sweet game. He came in as a defensive replacement in the 7th innings. He then proceeded to go 2-2 with a double and three RBIs.
The Arizona Diamondbacks won as well today, so with the win, the Dodgers will hold on to the 3.5 game lead. The Dodgers will try to extend their win streak to four tomorrow, starting at 5:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move to five games over .500 (76-71)... Also with the win, the Dodger Magic Number is lowered to 13... Chad Billingsley's win was his 15th, good for first place on the Dodgers... James Loney's three RBIs today brought his team leading total to 83.
Opinion: Good win for the Dodgers, especially from a pitching standpoint. When Chad Billingsley gave up two runs in the first two innings, I started thinking "Uh-oh." For some reason, however good our pitching is, the Rockies somehow seem to be good at hitting us, especially notorious Dodger killers: Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe. Hawpe and Holliday both went 2-4, by the way. But we were able to shut the rest of the team down. The pitching held them to seven hits and three walks, and of course, most importantly: two runs. Props most of all to the bullpen. Three innings, one hit and no runs against a pretty good hitting team. Also, I have to give props to the hitting. After coming out kind of slow, only two runs through the first three innings, then getting a third go-ahead run in the 4th. More importantly, though, instead of letting the Rockies stay in the game and attempt some kind of late-inning comeback, they put the final nail in the coffin by scoring four runs in the final three innings. Anyway, good job on both end of the Dodgers today. Let's keep it up into tomorrow. Magic Number is 13 and shrinking...
The Dodgers get some good pitching to avoid the sweep of the Rockies.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 10-10. Jorge De La Rosa took the loss, he's 6-7. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 10th save.
Derek Lowe went 6 and 1/3 innings, giving up just one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out seven. It was an odd game for Lowe, who threw 107 pitches by the time he was pulled in the 7th, and only had six groundouts in the game. Hong-Chih Kuo came in and pitched a scoreless 1 and 2/3 innings striking out two and Jonathan Broxton gave up a double, but struck out the side in the 9th for the save.
The Dodger offense found themselves scoring only three runs again. They've scored three runs in their last three consecutive games and have done it four times in their last five games. They are 1-3 in those four games. Manny Ramírez went 1-2 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored. Matt Kemp went 1-4 with a double and a run scored. Andre Ethier went 1-4 with a RBI. 
James Loney had the best day for the Dodgers. He went 2-3, with a homerun, two RBIs, and a run scored.
The Diamondbacks won today, completing their sweep of the San Diego Padres, so the Dodgers will remain two games back in the NL West. The Dodgers now travel to Philadelphia to begin a four game series, starting tomorrow at 4:05 L.A. time.
Also: James Loney's two RBIs give him 70 on the year, good for first place on the Dodgers... Today was a day of "10"s: James Loney hit his 10th homerun, Derek Lowe got his 10th win, Hong-Chih Kuo picked up his 10th hold, and Jonathan Broxton picked up his 10th save.
Opinion: Hard to say this game was a must win with over a month left in the season, but going into Philadelphia after suffering a sweep at the hands of the Rockies at home would have been tough... The last two days, I've complained that we've gotten way too many hits to only score three runs on. Well, today, the Dodgers collected just the right amount of hits to score three runs on (five). We are going to need to do better than that... It was good to see the bullpen come through today after struggling the last three games... Speaking of 10s, we are beginning a 10 game road trip tomorrow in Philadelphia. This is a team that knows how to hit (especially in their park), knows how to pitch, and has an excellent bullpen. Plus, they probably aren't too happy after we swept them in four games last week. We are really going to need to be on our game. Arizona will be taking on the Florida Marlins, who aren't playing as well as they were earlier this year, but still might be able to help us out. We'll find out...
The Dodgers fall again to the Rockies to guarantee a series loss.
Taylor Buchholz got the win, he's 6-3. Jonathan Broxton took the loss, he's 3-5. Brian Fuentes picked up his 24th save.
Chad Billingsley made a good start, but threw far too many pitches. He went six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks, while striking out six. He did this, however, on 114 pitches, only 68 of which were strikes. The bullpen did not fare much better. Chan Ho Park went two innings and gave up an unearned run, and Jonathan Broxton gave up the go-ahead run in the 9th.
The Dodger offense collected a handful of hits but failed, again, to collect enough runs from those hits. Jeff Kent went 2-4. Russell Martin went 2-4, as well, collecting a double and a run. Matt Kemp went 1-4 with the only Dodger RBI on the day.
The Diamondbacks beat the Padres again, and so the Dodgers will fall to two games back in the NL West. They'll try to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Rockies tomorrow at 12:10 L.A. time.
Also: Danny Ardoin, starting at catcher today, stole a base. It was only his second career stolen base. His last stolen base was over three years ago (June 7th, 2005)... Every position player in the starting lineup except Casey Blake collected a hit today... The Dodgers were not able to draw a walk in the game... The Dodgers had four errors in the game (from Martin playing at 3rd base, one from Blake playing at 1st, and one from Ardoin).
Opinion: Well, these have been two ugly losses against a team we need to, and should be beating. Again, like last night, we collected a bunch of hits, and hardly any runs. Two runs today came on an error. So, we really only had one run today on nine hits. If you don't count the three "gimme" runs the last two games, the Dodgers have collected only three real runs from 20 hits (six doubles) and two walks. And that's not good... Also, the bullpen again today looked a little shaky. Jonathan Broxton has given up a run in three of his last five outings. You start to question if Broxton should be our solution at closer, and then you realize we don't have any other real options. And that's also not good... 
I'm not so sure if this whole "Give Russell Martin the day off, play him at 3rd" thing is working out. Martin plays in a spot where he doesn't get to play often and looks uncomfortable, Blake is moved around, and the only person who really gets the day off is James Loney, who probably needs it least of all. How about, if we want to give Martin the day off, give him the day off... So, we find ourselves back at two games behind Arizona. We really need to stop doing this. If we want to get to the playoffs, we can't keep playing this cat and mouse game. It's like riding a roller coaster that never really goes over the peak. We get near the peak, or even settle on the peak, then we roll back down. Then we start climbing again, we get to the peak, sit there for a few games, and start rolling back again. Except, there's one problem. Other than being increasingly frustrating, the ride is going to be over in 36 games, and if we haven't gotten over that peak by then, well... Oh, and finally, good ole' Mark Sweeney was at it again. He came in to pinch hit in the 6th inning and grounded out. I gave him an ultimatum: get a 10th hit by your 75th at-bat. He couldn't do it. He's 9-75 (.120), and as such, will suffer the consequence of continuous mocking from a random no-name blogger. I have something more about Sweeney, but I'll save it for the next post, along with some other assorted thoughts about the recent trade. See you then...
The Dodgers struggle with both offense and pitching and fall to the Rockies in the first game of this three game series.
Ubaldo Jiménez got the win, he's 9-11. Hiroki Kuroda took the loss, he's 7-9.
Hiroki Kuroda gave up four runs in the first three inning, before settling down and not allowing another run through the next three. His final line was six innings, four runs on six hits and a walk, and three strikeouts. The bullpen, however, was not as good. Jason Johnson came in and pitched a scoreless 7th, but gave Matt Holliday a hanging breaking ball to start the 8th which Holliday hit out. Hong-Chih Kuo came in, gave up two walks, and then a three-run homerun that, for all intents and purposes, ended the game.
The Dodger offense, despite collecting 11 hits and two walks over the game, were only able to cash in three runs. They even had five doubles on the day. Jeff Kent went 3-5 with one of those doubles and a RBI. 
Matt Kemp went 2-5, both of which were doubles, and added a RBI and a run. Casey Blake went 2-4, and both of his hits were doubles. He also scored a run.
The Diamondbacks won today, so with the loss, the Dodgers find themselves a game back in the NL West... again... Tomorrow's game starts at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: Tanyon Sturtze came in to relieve Kuo in the 8th, making his Dodger debut. Despite giving up a double, he managed to settled down the Rockies and get out of the inning unscathed.
Opinion: I'm a little bit stunned as to how a team can collected eleven hits (five of which were extra base hits) and not be able to score more than three runs. And one of those runs was scored on a passed ball. So really, it took eleven hits to score two runs. I'm going to go ahead and say that today (hopefully) was an anomaly. We'll see... Speaking of issues though, our bullpen struggled again. Jason Johnson is someone I have trouble trusting on the mound in an important situation, so I'm not shocked to see him give up a homerun. Worse though was Hong-Chih Kuo's performance. He has looked pretty good most of the year but recently has started to show some of his mortality. Kuo's ERA has been pretty much below 2.00 since the beginning of June, hovering around 1.75-1.80. After today, his ERA has been raised to 2.26. This could be an issue of overuse, or just an unlucky streak, we'll find out soon enough... 
Finally, Mark Sweeney came in in the 6th inning with the tying run on 2nd base and a chance to be a hero. He grounded out to the second baseman on the first pitch he saw. That's what I call a "professional at-bat." He's now 9-74... but at least he got to meet Chazz Palminteri.
The Dodgers fail to win the rubber match of the series and head home losing two in a row.
Glendon Rusch got the win, he's 4-3. Hiroki Kuroda took the loss, he's 5-7. Brian Fuentes picked up his 17th save.
Kuroda had a better outing than his last, but still managed to give up five runs over six innings on nine hits and a walk. Chan Ho Park pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
The Dodger offense struggled to mount much offense against Rockies starter Rusch. He went five innings, giving up three runs, and the Rockies bullpen shut down the Dodgers the rest of the way. The Dodgers did manage to collect 11 hits, but ultimately left 18 runners on base.
The Dodgers are off on Thursday as they head home to host the Washington Nationals for a three game series starting Friday at 7:40 L.A. time.
Also: Juan Pierre in a rehab start for Triple-A went 2-2 with a walk and two runs scored. He could return by the weekend.
The Dodgers, after having an offensive explosion yesterday, failed to mount any offense against the Rockies and lose the 2nd game in the series.
Ubaldo Jiménez got the win, he's 6-9. Clayton Kershaw took the loss, he's 0-3.
Clayton Kershaw was called back up to start today's game, and there's no better place for a 20-year old rookie making his first start in 20+ days than Coors Field. Kershaw made it only through three innings, giving up five runs on 10 hits and three walks. Jason Johnson came in and provided solid relief, going four innings and giving up just one run. Ramon Troncoso, though, pitched an 8th innings where he gave up four runs on six hits to allow the Rockies a total of 10 runs on the day.
The Dodger offense, meanwhile, was shut down for the most part by Jiménez. Jiménez went the full nine innings, giving up just one run (on a Matt Kemp 9th inning homerun to make the score 10-1) on four hits and two walks. Only two Dodgers reached base twice: Kemp on the homerun and walk, and Andy LaRoche on a single and a walk. The only other offensive output came on a Russell Martin pop-fly single and an 8th inning Nomar Garciaparra double. Overall, Jiménez got 18 Dodgers to groundout out, while striking out another four Dodgers on only 114 pitches. A bad offensive night for the Dodgers after a great one yesterday.
The Arizona Diamondbacks won their game today to move into sole possession of 1st place in the NL West. The Dodgers will try tomorrow at 12:05 L.A. time to win the rubber match of the three game series.
Also: As an update to yesterday's story, Eric Stults was sent back to Triple-A when Kershaw was called up for today's start... Matt Kemp's homerun, which was a monster shot over the wall in dead-set center field, was his 11th on the season, tying him for the team lead with Andre Ethier.
The Dodgers have an offense outburst against the Rockies to get the win in the first game of the three game series and move back within one game of .500.
Brian Falkenborg got the win, he's 2-2. Kip Wells took the loss, he's 1-2.
As far as pitching goes, the Dodgers were not impressive throughout the game. Starter Eric Stults went only 3 and 2/3 innings giving up three runs on six hits and three walks. In total, the Dodgers used five pitchers in the game, and each one gave up at least one run and other than when Stults set the Rockies down 1-2-3 in the 1st inning, the Rockies managed to get at least one baserunner every inning.
They also managed to score at least one run in each of the last seven innings.
The pitching performance would have been much harder to take if not for the Dodger offense. The collected season highs in both runs (16) and hits (18). Every position player in the starting line-up collected a hit. Every player in the starting line-up, including Stults, knocked in at least one run (except Andruw Jones, who failed to collect any RBIs on the day, but including Ángel Berroa, who knocked in two runs after his first 73 at-bats in which he went without an RBI) as well as scored a run. The two best offensive performances would have to go to Jeff Kent (who went 3-3 with a walk, two RBIs, and three runs scored) and James Loney (who raised his batting average back to .300, going 3-6 with five RBIs and two runs scored).
The Arizona Diamondbacks also won today, so the Dodgers will remain tied for 1st place in the NL West
Also: Clayton Kershaw will be called-up for tomorrow's game, which starts at 6:05 L.A. time. No word yet as to who's spot he will take on the roster.
Greg Maddux had his best start as a Dodger this season. He went seven innings and surrendered no runs on only two hits while striking out three. And he did this all on 68 pitches. Cory Wade pitched two perfect, scoreless innings in relief. Hong-Chih Kuo came in and gave up the winning run. He got only one out while giving up a run on four hits.
Opinion: A pretty ugly offensive game for the Dodgers. I think it really shows how important a hot Andre Ethier is to our lineup. The offense looked like they were fighting an uphill battle all day. Stranded runners, rally-killing double plays. We were falling right into Aaron Cook's (starting pitcher for the Rockies) trap. He's a sinkerball pitcher, and go the Dodgers to roll-over into 17 groundball outs through eight innings. In any case, we still won the series, and as long as we keep doing that, we'll glide right into the playoffs.
