The Dodgers get bested by the Phillies offense and pitching and lose the first game of this four game series.
Kyle Kendrick got the win, he's 11-7. Greg Maddux took the loss, he's 6-10.
Greg Maddux got through the first three innings unscathed and relatively effectively. He then proceeded to give up seven runs over the next 2 and 2/3 innings. His final line was 5 and 2/3 innings, seven runs on nine hits and a walk. Tanyon Sturtze came in and finished the inning. Ramon Troncoso pitched the final two innings, giving up just one run.
The Dodgers offense did not fare any better. Andre Ethier accounted for the Dodgers' only run. He went 1-4 with a solo homerun in the 1st inning. James Loney had three of the Dodgers' five hits. He went 3-4 on the day. Manny Ramírez collected two walks on the day, and Mark Sweeney had a pinch hit single in the 7th, and that was the entire Dodger offensive output for the day.
Fortunately for the Dodgers, the Florida Marlins came back from a run down to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks and keep the Dodgers within two games in the NL West. The Dodgers will try again tomorrow at 12:55 L.A. time.
Also: Andre Ethier's homerun was his 16th, which puts in him first place on the team.
Opinion: Just a bad game for the Dodgers. Let's chalk it up to no rest off the long flight. We struggled with hitting. 
We struggled with pitching. We just struggled. I have nothing more to say, I mean it. Seriously. Just forget about this game and move on... I don't mean to take anything away from Mark Sweeney (yes I do), but great job on getting a pinch hit single with two outs in the 7th inning and the Dodgers trailing 7-1. It is a hit though, so I will give him that.
The Dodgers outslugged the Phillies to take the first game in this four game set and move back to .500.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 9-10. Kyle Kendrick took the loss, he's 10-6. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 8th save.
Derek Lowe bounced back from his last start to pitch a solid game today. He went 6 and 1/3 innings giving up three runs on five hits and a walk while collecting 13 groundball outs. The bullpen struggled afterwards. Chan Ho Park came in and gave up a run (as well as a base hit that allowed an inherited runner to score that was credited to Lowe). Jonathan Broxton came in to finish the 8th, then struggled through the 9th. He gave up two runs on a walk and three hits before finally shutting the door on the Phillies and closing the game.
The Dodger offense exploded for seven runs against Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick, including six runs in the 3rd. That inning included a two run double from Manny Ramírez, a two run single from James Loney, and a two run homerun from Casey Blake, his third as a Dodger. Overall on the day, Matt Kemp went 3-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Jeff Kent went 3-3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Manny went 2-3 with two walks, two RBIs, and a runs scored. James Loney went 3-4 with three RBIs. In total, the Dodgers collected 16 hits and seven walks on the day.
The Diamondbacks were inactive today, so with the win the Dodgers pick up a half-game on them. They are now one game back in the NL West. They'll try to take the second game in the series tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: James Loney's three RBIs gave him 67 on the season, good for first place on the Dodgers... Of the seven walks the Dodgers received today, four were intentional walks... On top of the 16 hits and seven walks, Jeff Kent was also hit by a pitch.
Opinion: While the Dodgers had a good offense day, having 24 batters reach base, and scoring eight runs, there was some down side. In total, the Dodgers left 23 players on base. Nomar Garciaparra is due to come of the DL tomorrow, and just in time, as eight of those 23 left on base were from Ángel Berroa. Another issue today was the bullpen. It gave up three runs in 2 and 2/3 innings, while also allowing an inherited runner to score. This is not a good sign considering their struggles the past few days. The question is raised: has the bullpen been overworked or are they just going through a bad streak? We'll have to monitor that over the next several days.
Kyle Kendrick got the win, he's 11-7. Greg Maddux took the loss, he's 6-10.
We struggled with pitching. We just struggled. I have nothing more to say, I mean it. Seriously. Just forget about this game and move on... I don't mean to take anything away from Mark Sweeney (yes I do), but great job on getting a pinch hit single with two outs in the 7th inning and the Dodgers trailing 7-1. It is a hit though, so I will give him that.
