The Dodgers complete the three game sweep of the Diamondbacks for their eighth win in a row.
Hong-Chih Kuo got the win, he's 5-2. Jon Rauch took the loss, he's 4-6. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 13th save.
Clayton Kershaw didn't have a good start. He made it only four innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out four. He gave up two solo homeruns in the game. The bullpen then combined to pitch the next five innings. Though they were shaky (four hits and three walks), they managed to keep the Diamondbacks from scoring any extra runs. Jonathan Broxton struck out three in the final 1.2 innings to close the door and get the save (due in part to help from Nomar Garciaparra, who made a great diving catch to end the game).
Offensively, the Dodgers had a pretty good game. James Loney went 1-3 with a sac-fly and three RBIs on the day. Manny Ramírez went 2-3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored. Andre Ethier went 2-3 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. Nomar Garciaparra came in in a double switch late in the game and had a tie-breaking sac-fly in the 7th inning.
With the win, the Dodgers increase their lead in the NL West to 1.5 games. The Dodgers will now travel to San Diego to begin a three game series there, tomorrow at 7:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move to three games over .500 (73-70)... James Loney's three RBIs give him a team leading 79 on the year.
Opinion: It's good to not rest on your laurels. We could have come out today and given the Diamondbacks back a game, leaving the weekend in 2nd place again. And at one point, it looked like it was going to happen (six consectutive Dodgers struck out in the 4th and 5th innings while the Diamondbacks held on to a 3-2 lead). But the Dodgers came back, and firmly established themselves as the first place team in the NL West. Now, we have to keep it up. This was a great week, and now we're going into San Diego now, which always seems to be a tough place for us to win. We won't face Jake Peavy or Chris Young, however, and we've got some momentum. We've got a 1.5 game lead now in the NL West. We are in first place. I say we keep going and never look back. This is the final push to the playoffs... Let's do it.
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 shut down the Diamondbacks to take the first game in this three game weekend series and win their sixth game in a row.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 12-11. Dan Haren took the loss, he's 14-8.
Derek Lowe pitched an excellent game. He went eight scoreless innings giving up just two hits and two walks over that span. He struck out four and collected 13 groundball outs. He was efficient, too. He did that all on 101 pitches. Chan Ho Park followed, pitching a perfect 9th inning, striking out two.
The Dodgers offense, led by Andre Ethier, tallied seven runs on the night. Ethier went 5-5. He had two doubles and a homerun, he scored a run, and drove in five RBIs. Russell Martin also had a major contibution. He went 1-3, with two walks, a stolen base, an RBI, and three runs scored. Combined, the Dodgers collected 10 hits, eight walks, and a hit-batter in the game.
With the win, the Dodgers move back to within .5 games of the Diamondbacks in the NL West race. They'll try to go for their seventh win in a row (as well as the division lead) tomorrow at 12:55 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move to one game over .500 (71-70)... Andre Ethier's homerun gives him a team leading 20 on the season. Ethier's big night tonight followed a two hit game and a three hit game for him. Ethier is now 10 for his last 13, with two homeruns, a triple, three doubles, a walk, six runs scored, and five RBIs.
Opinion: Andre Ethier is really feeling it, huh? Good job by the Dodgers tonight, coming out and making a statement by taking down Dan Haren. The next two pitchers: Brandon Webb and Randy Johnson, will only be tougher, so tonight was an especially important win. We got some excellent pitching tonight. We got some excellent hitting tonight. We were excellent tonight... Let's keep this up, huh?
The Dodgers complete the three game sweep of the Padres and have now won five in a row.
Hiroki Kuroda got the win, he's 8-10. Wade LeBlanc took the loss, he's 0-1. Jonathan Broxton picked up his 12th save.
Hiroki Kuroda had a shaky start. He went 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on 10 hits and a walk, while striking out four. The Dodger bullpen did considerably better. They went a combined 3.2 scoreless innings. That included Cory Wade, who pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, and Jonathan Broxton, who retired the side in order in the 9th for the save.
The Dodgers had a pretty good day offensively. Russell Martin went 1-3, with a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI. Andre Ethier went 2-4, with a double and a run scored. Casey Blake went 2-4, with a homerun, two RBIs, and a run scored. Blake DeWitt went 1-4, with two RBIs and a run scored (coming on a two-run homerun in the 4th inning).
Finally, Ángel Berroa went 2-4, with a double, a homerun, an RBI, and two runs scored.
The Arizona Diamondbacks also won today, so they will remain 1.5 games in front of the Dodgers in the NL West. Both teams have the day off tomorrow before beginning a three games series against each other Friday. The first game starts at 7:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, their 70th on the season, the Dodgers move back to .500 (70-70)... The Dodgers have hit six homeruns in the last two games (three in each)... Ángel Berroa's homerun was his first since September 25th, 2006... James Loney went 0-4 to snap his hitting streak at 13 games.
Opinion: We are really a roller coaster of a team. How can it be the same team that goes six for seven against two very good out of division teams, then go one for our next 11, then follow that up with a five game winning streak? I mean, seriously. That's bi-polar... That's good execution. We needed to come out and win this series and we did just that. We had hitting and we had pitching for the most part. Hopefully, this sweep will give us a little momentum going into the weekend...
The Dodgers continue their recent streak of good playing, winning their fourth game in a row and second series in a row.
Clayton Kershaw got the win, he's 3-5. Cha Seung Baek took the loss, he's 4-9.
Clayton Kershaw pitched a better game than his final line shows. He went seven innings, giving up three runs, on three hits and three walks, while striking out six. He actually had only given up one run going into the 8th inning, but walked two batters to start the 8th before being pulled. Ramon Troncoso gave up two hits and three runs, two of which were attributed to Kershaw, one to Troncoso. Joe Beimel came in and pitched two scoreless innings to close out the game.
The Dodgers had a good game offensively, led by Andre Ethier. He went 3-4, falling a double short of the cycle. He singled in the 1st, tripled in the 3rd, and homered in the 6th. He also drew a walk, collected an RBI, and scored four runs in the game. Manny Ramírez went 1-3, with a homerun, a sac-fly, three RBIs, and a run scored. James Loney went 2-4 with two RBIs. Blake DeWitt went 2-2, with two walks, and an RBI and a run scored (coming on a solo homerun).
The Diamondbacks lost to the Cardinals, so with the win, the Dodgers move to within 1.5 games of the NL West lead. They Dodgers will try to sweep the Padres in game three tomorrow, starting at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move back to within one game of .500 (69-70)... James Loney's two hits extended his hitting streak to 13 games. He has also gotten multiple hits in his last four straight games... Loney's two RBIs in the game gives him a team leading 76 on the season... Andre Ethier's homerun was his team leading 19th for the year.
Opinion: Another good win to keep the win streak going. Not too much to say about the game. I'm a little worried about Ramon Troncoso. He has streaks where he pitches excellent. In fact, from July 28th to August 27th, Troncoso made 10 appearances, going a combined 12 and 1/3 innings and giving up only one run. Since then, he's made two appearances and given up four runs (and two to Clayton Kershaw). Luckily, we probably won't have to rely on him in important situations. I'm just saying, I'm not sure whether or not he should be in any long term plans in the bullpen. Speaking of long team plans, how about Andre Ethier? He's really coming into his own. I really hope to see him in our long term plans in either left or right field. Anyway, that's all, let's get that sweep tomorrow and head into the Arizona series with some serious momentum.
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.
The Dodgers take the rubber match of the weekend series to win the series and extend their winning streak to two games.
Derek Lowe got the win, he's 11-11. Brandon Webb took the loss, he's 19-6.
Derek Lowe pitched six scoreless innings, giving up just four hits and a walk while striking out two. Scott Elbert gave up a solo homerun in an inning of work, but struck out the side. Cory Wade struck out one while pitching a scoreless 8th inning. Jonathan Broxton struck out the side in the 9th.
Offensively, the Dodgers plated eight runs on 12 hits and seven walks. James Loney went 3-5. Andre Ethier went 2-5, with a double, a homerun, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Casey Blake went 1-4, with a homerun, three RBIs, and a run scored. Overall, three different Dodgers knocked in runs, and five players scored at least one run.
With the win, the Dodgers move to 2.5 games back of the Diamondbacks in the NL West race. The Dodgers start a three game series at home versus the San Diego Padres tomorrow at 5:10 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers get back to three games under .500 (67-70)... With James Loney's three hits in the game, he extended his hitting streak to 11 games... 
Andre Ethier's homerun was his 18th, good for first place on the Dodgers.
Opinion: Really good to see the Dodgers pick up two victories against the Diamondbacks' two best pitchers. The hitting might be starting to come around. The Dodgers scored 14 runs in the last two games (both wins). During their eight game losing streak, they scored a total of 15 runs. This is good, but we have to keep it up. The matchup for this week's series against the Padres looks good. We won't face Jake Peavy, so that's always a plus. We should be able to win at least two of the three games. That said, we sometimes have issues winning games we should win. Let's hope for the best.
Clayton Kershaw didn't have a good start. He made it only four innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out four. He gave up two solo homeruns in the game. The bullpen then combined to pitch the next five innings. Though they were shaky (four hits and three walks), they managed to keep the Diamondbacks from scoring any extra runs. Jonathan Broxton struck out three in the final 1.2 innings to close the door and get the save (due in part to help from Nomar Garciaparra, who made a great diving catch to end the game).
With the win, the Dodgers increase their lead in the NL West to 1.5 games. The Dodgers will now travel to San Diego to begin a three game series there, tomorrow at 7:05 L.A. time.
