Game 112: Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies 7:2

Welcome back Jeff Kent! Upon returning from the disabled list, Jeff Kent returned with two big hits. He also had a new feature to him -- a first baseman's mitt.

Kent homered, doubled and drove in three runs Monday night, as the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to ten games with a 7-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies. The four-time All-Star second baseman also made ten putouts in his first start at first base since last September.

"I was hoping he'd be rusty. He's not," Rockies manager
Clint Hurdle said. "He was going to come off the DL
sooner or later, and he's got some good history
against us. There's a handful of guys like that.
It's like a rock in your shoe or a burr in your saddle.
We can't seem to shake him."

Brad Penny improved to 12-5 on the year, after pitching eight strong innings for the Dodgers and allowed five hits. The only downside to his performance was the fact that he gave up to solo shots. The All-Star right-hander struck out four, walked none and helped himself with an RBI double.

"I was throwing a lot of changeups and breaking balls
early in the count," Penny said. "They were hitting the ball decent,
but right at people. And that's always huge for me. Fortunately,
I got a lot of early outs tonight and a lot of great defense behind me."

Penny continued his dominance over Colorado. He is 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA in four starts against the Rockies this season, and 9-2 in 14 career starts with a 2.16 ERA. That is the lowest by any pitcher against Colorado.

"Obviously, Penny has more than had his way with us.
He's dominated us," Hurdle said. "The problem tonight was
his first-pitch strikes. He was shaving corners away. Late
in the count, he was shaving corners in with his breaking ball.
He was just on top of his game."

Penny retired his first 11 batters and held a 4-0 lead before giving up a homerun. Another homer in the eighth cut the Dodgers' lead to 5-2, but J.D. Drew responded with a two-run double in the bottom half.

"We're doing everything good right now," manager
Grady Little said. "The pitchers have been consistent,
both the starters and relievers, and we've been getting some
good, timely hitting. We've got a different team right now
than we had a month ago. There's some different faces
out there and they've made a big difference in this ballclub."

The Dodgers' winning streak, which is five games shy of the franchise record set in 1924, began one game after Penny initiated a heated confrontation with center fielder Kenny Lofton.

Not to restart the debate, but maybe Penny's outburst resonated with the team.

"I think all of us had doubts at that time, but we went through it
and we learned from it," Little said. "They learned it's not the end
of the world. You're going to go through a lot of good times
and a lot of bad ones. It was just a matter of everyone doing
their job the best they could and seeing what they could do
to make a difference, and it's paying off.
Now we'll just continue to go forward."

Rockies pitcher, Josh Fogg allowed five runs, eight hits and four walks in four in a third innings. The right-hander was removed by Hurdle after giving up a bases-loaded RBI single by Julio Lugo that made the score 5-1. After crossing the foul line, Fogg crossed the line with plate umpire Sam Holbrook and was ejected after complaining too strongly about his call on a previous pitch.

Lofton, who was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, tripled in the first inning and scored on Kent's two-out double. The Dodgers made it 2-0 in the second when Russell Martin singled and came home on Penny's double into the left-field corner.

Kent, who missed 18 games because of a strained muscle on his left side, drove in two more in the third with his 10th homer.

"He's not the most vocal guy, but he leads by the way he plays,"
Martin said. "He's a tough player and a tough competitor,
and you just kind of feed off that. And with him back in the lineup,
he's going to help us out a whole lot with his bat.
You could just see that he's locked in. Every swing he took
tonight was perfectly balanced and he was taking good hacks."

Three of the first seven Colorado batters were robbed of hits on diving plays by three different infielders. Kent smothered Brett Hawpe's smash up the line in the third and ran to the bag for the out.

"His defense was great," Jason Repko said. "I just think it's great
that he could come out here and just right away be willing to go
there and help the team wherever it's needed."

Some thoughts:

1) Andre Ethier went one for two, raising his average to .350 on the year. Is it too early to seriously be considering a shot at Rookie of the Year of Ethier?

2) Ricky Ledee seems to have finished his time in Los Angeles. He took his last at bat on Monday, as the Dodgers have put him on waivers and the New York Mets have claimed him.