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...
