The Dodgers come back late to take the second game in the three game series.
Joe Beimel got the win, he's 5-1. Heath Bell took the loss, he's 6-6.
Hiroki Kuroda had a quality start. He went six innings, giving up two runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four. The Dodger bullpen pitched three scoreless innings in relief, giving up only two walks over that span. Joe Beimel pitched one of those innings to put him in position to get the win. Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless 9th to close out the game, though with a four run lead, he couldn't collect a save.
The Dodgers managed only one run through the seven first innings, coming on a Manny Ramírez solo homerun in the 6th. They then managed to score five runs in the last two innings. 
Andre Ethier went 2-4 with a walk, a double, a triple, four RBIs, and a run scored. Russell Martin went 1-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs scored. Manny went 1-3 with a homerun, a walk, a sac-fly, two RBIs, and a run scored.
The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second game in a row (they fall back to 71-73), so with the win the Dodgers move to 2.5 games ahead of the Diamondbacks in the NL West race. The Dodgers will try to win the rubber match of the series tomorrow at 7:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move back to three game over .500 (74-71)... With the Diamondback loss and the Dodger win, the Dodger Magic Number is now reduced to 16 games... Manny Ramírez's homerun was the 522nd of his career, moving him into 17th place on the All-Time list.
Opinion: What a two man wrecking crew Manny Ramírez and Andre Ethier have become: 18 RBIs combined for them over the last five games (seven for Ramírez, 11 for Ethier). Not that I would want to mess up the chemistry of a team that's gone nine for it's last 10, but I can't help but wonder if Ethier and Ramírez might be better served in the three and four spots, allowing another possible runner to get on before those two. In any case, we got the win, and that's the most important thing. Now let's win tomorrow's rubber match and the series. Colorado won't be easy this weekend, so any momentum we can get going into the series would be very helpful.
The Dodgers win the second game of the series, their seventh in a row to move into first place in the NL West.
Chad Billingsley got the win, he's 14-10. Brandon Webb took the loss, he's 19-7.
Chad Billingsley had a good start. He didn't go too deep into the game, but he did keep the Diamondbacks scoreless. He went 6.1 innings, giving up four hits and a walk, while striking out nine. Cory Wade pitched a perfect 1.2 innings, striking out two. The bullpen struggled in the 9th, allowing two runs before Jonathan Broxton came in and struck out the final batter to end the game.
Manny Ramírez led the Dodgers as they scored seven runs today. He went 2-4 with a homerun, a groundrule double, five RBIs, and a run scored. Matt Kemp went 2-4 with a run scored, and Ángel Berroa went 1-2, with a walk and two runs scored. Andre Ethier and Russell Martin had identical stat lines. They both went 0-2, with a strikeout, three walks, an RBI, and a run scored.
So with the win, the Dodgers move into sole possession of first place in the NL West for the first time since April 4th. They'll go for the sweep of Arizona tomorrow at 1:10 L.A. time.
Also: The win puts the Dodgers two games over .500 (72-70)... Manny Ramírez's homerun was his 521st of his career, putting him in a four-way tie for 17th all-time. His five RBIs gave him 1,706 in his career, good for 20th all-time.
Opinion: This is weird. We are actually in first place? By ourselves? 1st place Dodgers. For the first time in about five months, we aren't chasing another team. Wow. And on top of it all, we've now denied Brandon Webb his 20th win for two straight starts. We've also now beaten Dan Haren and Brandon Webb in consecutive starts twice in the last week. Let's hope for a sweep tomorrow, and leave this weekend 1.5 games in first place. Then, let's never look back. Sounds good to me...
The Dodgers beat the Padres to take the first game of the three game series and extend their winning streak to three games.
Greg Maddux got the win, he's 7-11. Chris Young took the loss, he's 4-5. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 11th save.
Greg Maddux had a good start, though he didn't go too deep into the game. He went 5 and 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits while striking out four. Hong-Chih Kuo pitched two scoreless innings in relief, striking out three. Jonathan Broxton gave up a hit in the 9th, but struck out two batters to close out the game.
The Dodgers didn't score too many runs, but they were able to plate five. Five different Dodgers had an RBI each (four different Dodgers scored a run). Andre Ethier went 1-2 with two walks, a stolen base, and a run scored. Manny Ramírez went 1-2 with a walk, a sac-fly, and an RBI. James Loney went 2-4 with an RBI. Casey Blake also went 2-4, with a homerun, a stolen base, an RBI, and two runs scored.
The Arizona Diamondbacks came back to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, so with the win, the Dodgers keep pace. They'll remain 2.5 games back in the NL West race. The Dodgers will try to carry on their winning streak tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: The win today brings the Dodgers back to two games under .500 (68-70)... Greg Maddux's win today gives him 354 wins for his career. That ties him with Roger Clemens for eighth place on the all-time wins list... James Loney's RBI today brings his team-leading total to 74 on the year... Loney's two hits today extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
Opinion: Good job today in keeping that momentum from the last two games of the Arizona series. So often do I feel like we have momentum going into a series only to have the series blow up in our face (see Colorado series two weeks ago). I don't want to put too much stock into the game. The Padres are an awful team. They don't have much hitting, and beyond Jake Peavy, they don't have much pitching. Still, a win is a win, and we face the Padres eight more times before the end of the year. Things will be a lot easier for us if we can handle them.
Congratulations are in order. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th home run today against none other than former Dodger great Mark Hendrickson. There's no doubt in my mind that had Griffey not spent good portions of several seasons stuck on the DL, 
he'd be approaching the all-time home run record, if he hadn't already taken it.
He probably would have preferred to do it at home in front of a packed house of screaming fans, but unfortunately, he did it in Florida to what I believe was a crowd of 37 people. He's only the sixth person in history to accomplish the achievement, so packed house or not, I'm sure it still feels good.
In other news, happy trails to some non-baseball greats:
Michael Strahan of the New York Giants football team officially retired today after 15 years in the NFL.
...And Dominik Hasek of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team announced his retirement today after 16 seasons in the NHL.
Enjoy Florida guys...
Joe Beimel got the win, he's 5-1. Heath Bell took the loss, he's 6-6.
Andre Ethier went 2-4 with a walk, a double, a triple, four RBIs, and a run scored. Russell Martin went 1-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs scored. Manny went 1-3 with a homerun, a walk, a sac-fly, two RBIs, and a run scored.
Opinion: What a two man wrecking crew Manny Ramírez and Andre Ethier have become: 18 RBIs combined for them over the last five games (seven for Ramírez, 11 for Ethier). Not that I would want to mess up the chemistry of a team that's gone nine for it's last 10, but I can't help but wonder if Ethier and Ramírez might be better served in the three and four spots, allowing another possible runner to get on before those two. In any case, we got the win, and that's the most important thing. Now let's win tomorrow's rubber match and the series. Colorado won't be easy this weekend, so any momentum we can get going into the series would be very helpful.
