The Giants hold off the Dodgers to take the rubber match of the series and win the last game of the season.
Tim Lincecum got the win, he finishes the season 18-5. Chan Ho Park took the loss, he finishes the season 4-4. Brian Wilson picked up his 44th save of the season.
Hiroki Kuroda started for the Dodgers, and pitched five innings of scoreless ball. He gave up only two hits over that span and struck out three, cementing his place as "Game 3 Starter" in the playoffs. Clayton Kershaw pitched a shaky but scoreless inning out of the bullpen. The bullpen struggled though. Chan Ho Park gave up two runs in only 0.2 innings of work and Cory Wade gave up a run in his 0.1 inning of work.
The Dodgers weren't too impressive at the plate, though that's due to the large amount of players used in the game. 
Also due to the fact that Tim Lincecum gave up only one run over seven innings of work while striking out 13, probably well on his way to picking up a Cy Young award. For the Dodgers, Andre Ethier had the best game at the plate. He started and went 2-2 with a double and an RBI off Lincecum before leaving for a pinch runner. Juan Pierre went 1-4 scoring a run and stealing a base (his team leading 40th of the season). Other than that, there's not much to note.
The Dodgers will now travel home to get ready for the Chicago Cubs, their opponents in the first round of the playoffs. They'll play the first two games of the series in Chicago.
Also: With the loss, the Dodgers finish their season six games over .500 (84-78)
Opinion: Aw shucks, couldn't get that 85th win. Oh well, there's bigger fish to fry now. The Chicago Cubs will be our first round opponents in the playoffs. We were swept by the Cubs in a three game series in Chicago in late May, then split a four game series against the Cubs in Los Angeles in early June (for a 2-5 record against them). The important thing to note is that all seven games were played pre-Manny Ramírez, and the Dodgers lost by no more than two runs in each of those five losses. Well, we got a little bit more offense this go around. This match-up is going to be interesting...
The Dodgers, behind the bat of Blake DeWitt and the pitching of Greg Maddux, take the second game in the three game weekend series.
Greg Maddux got the win, he's 8-13. Matt Cain took the loss, he's 8-14. Takashi Saito picked up his 18th save.
Greg Maddux pitched like the Greg Maddux of old. He needed only 47 pitches (38 of which were strikes) to go six innings. He gave up only one run on two hits over those six innings, while striking out two. Chad Billingsley came in to get a little work before the playoffs. He went two scoreless innings in relief. Takashi Saito pitched a perfect 9th, striking out one to get the save and close out the game.
Offensively, the story today was all Blake DeWitt. He went 3-4 with a walk, a homerun, two RBIs, and a run scored. There were a few other players to note: Rafael Furcal went 2-4, Andre Ethier went 1-2 with a walk, and Casey Blake went 1-3 with a walk and a run scored.
The Dodgers will try to win the rubber match of the series, and the last game of the regular season tomorrow. The game starts at 1:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move back up to seven games over .500 (84-77)... Greg Maddux's win was the 355th in his career, putting him at 8th on the All-Time Wins list.
Opinion: While this game was meaningless, there were a few good things that came from it. Blake DeWitt showed he can contribute, Greg Maddux showed he might still be able to pitch, and Rafael Furcal showed he still remembers how to hit the ball. DeWitt hasn't been nearly as impressive since his hot month of May, but he's been hitting the ball better lately (hitting .297 in the month of September). Greg Maddux is either completely on his game, or totally off. He's had two excellent starts for us and four not-so-good starts. How he'll do in the playoff remains to be seen, though. 
Finally, Furcal collected his major league basehit since May 5th and had his first multi-hit game since May 3rd. A healthy Furcal will be a big plus in the playoffs... Ok, one more game to go, let's try and win tomorrow. 85 wins would be a nice way to end the season on a high note.
The Dodgers fall in extra innings to lose their second game in a row.
Tyler Walker got the win, he's 5-8. Jason Johnson took the loss, he's 1-2.
Derek Lowe started for the Dodgers and went three scoreless innings. The start was short, of course, to not overwork him before the first game of the playoffs. The Dodgers used eight different pitchers throughout the game. James McDonald relieved Derek Lowe and pitched two scoreless innings. He's now pitched six scoreless innings over four games to begin his major league career. Chan Ho Park gave up two runs in 0.2 innings of relief. His ERA has risen almost a full point from 2.48 on August 24th to 3.23 today. Jonathan Broxton blew a save by giving up an unearned run in the 9th, and Jason Johnson got only two outs in the 10th before giving up the winning run.
The Dodgers used 27 players in the game today. 17 different players had at-bats in the game. There isn't too much that stands out offensively in the game. Manny Ramírez went 2-2 in his only two at-bats in the game. 
Jeff Kent went 1-3 with a homerun, two RBIs, and a run scored. James Loney went 1-4 with his only hit coming on a solo homerun in the 9th inning. Russell Martin had a pinch hit two-run homerun to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead in the top of 9th, which they then proceed to give up in the bottom of the 9th.
The Dodgers will play the second game in this weekend series, starting tomorrow at 6:05 L.A. time.
Also: With the loss, the Dodgers fall back to six games over .500 (83-77)... James Loney's homerun gave him his team leading 90th RBI.
Opinion: Russell Martin giveth, Russell Martin taketh away. Thanks to Russell Martin's two-out top of the 9th inning homerun, the Dodgers were able to take a 5-4 lead. The Giants, thanks in part to Russell Martin's throwing error, were able to tie the game at 5-5... Whatever, this weekend is pretty much a throwaway weekend. I mean, it's kinda lame to go into the playoffs a 83-80 team, but I'm not sure anyone really cares... One last thing, so is Jason Johnson Joe Torre's "Abort" button. He's thinking: "Hey, we came into town early this morning, didn't get a lot of sleep, I gotta end this game. Hey, Honeycutt, get Johnson up in the pen. This thing is over by the 10th!" Johnson is 1-2 in the season, both losses were extra-inning away games. His first loss was an 11 inning game in St. Louis on August 5th. "I don't want to carry this game on by throwing a good pitcher out there to keep the game tied. I'm tired. Let's get some rest. Unleash Johnson on them!" Ok, I'm done. I'm tired. I'm pushing the Jason Johnson button on my night. I'll see you all tomorrow.
The Dodgers are out slugged by the Padres and fail to complete the three game sweep.
Jake Peavy got the win, he's 10-11. Eric Stults took the loss, he's 2-3. Trevor Hoffman picked up his 29th save.
The pitching was a bit shaky today. The Dodgers used five different pitchers and each gave up at least one run. Eric Stults started. He went 4.2 innings and gave up three runs. Takashi Saito and Jonathan Broxton pitched an inning each (the 8th and 9th respectively) and each gave up a run.
The Dodgers had a bit of an odd game offensively. 16 different players had at-bats. 
Chin-lung Hu went 2-3 with a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored. Jason Repko went 1-1 and drew two walks. Andre Ethier went 1-2 with a walk and an RBI. Matt Kemp went 1-3 with a walk, a homerun, an RBI, and a run scored. Juan Pierre went 2-3 with an RBI. Finally, Blake DeWitt had an odd game. He went 0-1 and scored two runs without collecting a hit or walk. He came in as a pinch runner and was brought home, then later was hit by a pitch and came around to score again.
The important event today happened before the game. The Arizona Diamondbacks lost so the Dodgers clinched the NL West before today's game even started. The Dodgers will travel now to San Francisco to begin their last series of the season. The three game weekend series begins Friday at 7:35 L.A. time.
Also: With the loss, the Dodgers fall back to seven games over .500 (83-76).
Opinion: There's not much to say about this game, as will probably be the case for the next three games as well. 
The starting lineup was different, but it didn't really matter because the scrubs were all in by the 5th inning. We're just getting everyone out there and getting them some playing time. We are going to see a lot of playing time for Jason Repko and Chin-lung Hu this weekend, and that's fine because we have nothing to gain by winning the next three games, but the possibility of losing a starter to injury before the playoffs is horrifying. That said, it would be nice to go into the playoffs with at least 85 wins, not at the cost of losing someone, but just for some pride and a nice even number. The important thing, though, is that we are in the playoffs, and for now, I'll just celebrate that.
The Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 12-3 earlier today to fall behind 4.5 games with only three games to go. 
This allows the Dodgers to clinch the National League West.
As such, Eric Stults will replace Greg Maddux today. The lineup is also being juggled around so Joe Torre can see who he'll want to put on the playoff roster. Rafael Furcal and Jeff Kent are batting 1st and 2nd respectively.
In any case, congratulations to the Dodgers on their first division win since 2004 and first playoff appearance since 2006.
The Dodgers explode for 12 runs to take the second game in the three game series.
Clayton Kershaw got the win, he's 5-5. Mike Ekstrom took the loss, he's 0-1.
Clayton Kershaw got into a little trouble and wasn't able to get too deep into the game. He went only 5.2 innings giving up three runs on six hits and two walks, though he did strike out seven over that span. Chan Ho Park came in to relieve and got out of the 6th inning, though he ended up giving a run in the following inning. Cory Wade added a scoreless inning in relief and Scott Proctor struck out the side in the 9th to close the door on the Padres.
Offensively, another big game for the Dodgers. Overall, they collected 12 runs on 17 hits, seven walks, and a hit-batter. 11 different players had hits in the game. Several players had excellent games at the plate. Matt Kemp went 3-6 with two RBIs. Russell Martin went 2-3 with a walk and two runs scored. 
Manny Ramírez went 2-4 with a walk, a homerun, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Andre Ethier went 2-4 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. And finally, Nomar Garciaparra went 2-3 with a double, a homerun, two RBIs, and two runs scored.
The Arizona Diamondbacks lost today, so with the win, the Dodgers move up to four games up on them in the NL West race. The Dodgers will go for the sweep (and possibly a chance to clinch the NL West) tomorrow at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move to eight games over .500 (83-75)... With the win and the Diamondbacks' loss, the Dodger Magic Number is now down to 1... James Loney came into the game as a defensive replacement and went 1-2 with a double, two RBIs, and a run scored. Those two RBIs bring his team leading total to 89.
Opinion: Dodgers started out slow. They were scoreless for the first three innings, then exploded for 12 runs over the next six. And everyone was contributing, and that's really good to see. Now we have to look forward to tomorrow. The Cardinals did their part to help set us up for the NL West clincher tomorrow night by beating the Diamondbacks tonight. Thank you, St. Louis. Of course, they could help us even more by beating the Diamondbacks in tomorrow's afternoon game and allowing us to clinch before our game even starts. Then again, they probably did enough to get us within one. Our destiny is really in our own hands now. We could sweep the Padres tomorrow and clinch the NL West at home. That would be a great way to end our last home game of the year. Either way, it looks like we are probably going to the playoffs, and that makes me happy...
The Dodgers score 10 runs to beat the Padres in the first game of the three game series.
Chad Billingsley got the win, he's 16-10. Wade LeBlanc took the loss, he's 1-2.
Chad Billingsley seemed a little shaky. He went six innings and gave up only one run, however, he also gave up nine hits and two walks over that span. James McDonald, Ramon Troncoso, and Scott Elbert added a scoreless inning each.
Offensively, the Dodgers did much better than they did Sunday. Eight of the nine Dodgers in the starting lineup collected a hit, seven scored a run, and four had RBIs, even Chad Billingsley added a hit, a squeeze bunt, and two RBIs. They had a big 1st inning, in which they batted through the lineup and scored six runs in the process. The top three performers in the game were probably Russell Martin, Nomar Garciaparra, and Blake DeWitt. Russell Martin went 2-3 with a double, two walks, and a run scored, Nomar Garciaparra went 1-2 with a walk, a homerun, three RBIs, and a run scored, and 
Blake DeWitt went 2-3 with a walk, a homerun, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
The Arizona Diamondbacks lost today, so with the win, the Dodgers move back to a three game lead in the NL West. The Dodgers will try tomorrow for their second straight win, and a chance to knock another point off the Magic Number. The game starts at 7:10 L.A. time.
Also: With the win, the Dodgers move back up to seven games over .500 (82-75)... With the win and the Diamondbacks' loss, the Dodger Magic Number is now 3... With their 82nd win, the Dodgers guarantee themselves a winning season... Chad Billingsley's win is his 16th, good for first place on the Dodgers.
Opinion: This was a pretty good statement win. After looking a little lackluster in the weekend series, the Dodgers came out firing. I like it... In any case, now that my last prediction (the one about us clinching on Sunday) was obliterated, I'd like to make a new one. We have two more games against the Padres, the Diamondbacks have two more against the Cardinals. Our Magic Number is three. My prediction is simple: we clinch it at home on Thursday. Hopefully, the Cardinals will keep up their end by causing the Diamondbacks trouble in St. Louis. I'm fairly certain that if we keep playing like we did tonight, our end shouldn't be a problem. I guess we'll see. 3 and counting...
Hiroki Kuroda started for the Dodgers, and pitched five innings of scoreless ball. He gave up only two hits over that span and struck out three, cementing his place as "Game 3 Starter" in the playoffs. Clayton Kershaw pitched a shaky but scoreless inning out of the bullpen. The bullpen struggled though. Chan Ho Park gave up two runs in only 0.2 innings of work and Cory Wade gave up a run in his 0.1 inning of work.
Also due to the fact that Tim Lincecum gave up only one run over seven innings of work while striking out 13, probably well on his way to picking up a Cy Young award. For the Dodgers, Andre Ethier had the best game at the plate. He started and went 2-2 with a double and an RBI off Lincecum before leaving for a pinch runner. Juan Pierre went 1-4 scoring a run and stealing a base (his team leading 40th of the season). Other than that, there's not much to note.
