Game 160: Dodgers @ San Francisco Giants 4:3

This is why I love living in the Bay Area. I get to see stunning wins for the Dodgers in Phonebank Park in front of thousands of Giants fans. Them chanting "Beat LA, Beat LA" just to watch their little hearts break in anguish when they realize the Dodgers are the far superior team.

This team sure is about dramitic endings as of late. Friday nights game was no different.

Russell Martin scored the go-ahead run on Mike Stanton's wild pitch in the ninth inning after pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz singled in the tying run, and the Dodgers beat the San Francisco 4-3 Friday night to tie San Diego for the NL West lead.

Last Sunday, it was a game-winning grand slam by Nomar Garciaparra. This time, a gutsy ninth-inning catch over a railing along the left-field line by third baseman Ramon Martinez.

J.D. Drew hit a two-run homer in the seventh for the Dodgers, who overcame a 3-0 deficit to win their fifth straight. Los Angeles and San Diego also share the wild-card lead, two games ahead of Philadelphia, and each team would clinch a playoff berth with one more win or a Phillies loss.

"Tonight definitely was a big win," Drew said. "We could have stayed
right where we were with San Diego and lost a game to the Phillies."

Los Angeles got a scare when Garciaparra came out of the game after re-injuring his left side on a swinging strikeout in the eighth. He could be seen hunched over in the dugout being attended to by the training staff. He was scheduled to be re-evaluated Saturday.

"He was in a lot of pain in the dugout," manager Grady Little said.
"That's about as much grimace as I've seen in his face."

Jonathan Broxton improved to 4-1, getting the final out of the eighth for the win. Takashi Saito pitched a shaky ninth for his 23rd save in 25 chances.

Steve Finley and Randy Winn singled with one out to put runners at the corners, and Omar Vizquel then fouled out to Martinez, who leaned way over the railing to make the catch. Pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney then took a called third strike, sending the Giants to their seventh loss in eight games.

After Jeff Kent's leadoff single, Drew struck out and Martin walked. Saenz was replaced by pinch-runner Delwyn Young and Julio Lugo grounded into a fielder's choice that moved Martin to third. He scored on a wild pitch moments later.

"Every night it's somebody different," Martinez said.
"That's what a championship team is made of."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Little announced before the game that Derek Lowe would start Game 1 of the division series as long as he isn't needed to pitch in Sunday's season finale. Even if the Dodgers were to clinch the wild card in the next two days, Little said he would still hold out Lowe for the playoff opener rather than try to win the NL West.

"I'd go with Derek Lowe," Little said. "We're not going to be comfortable
until we're able to get the job done. When you have your fate
in your own hands, it makes it a lot easier."

Glad to hear it. There is no need to jeapordize our playoff chances trying to get a division crown. It is also nice to see that Little doesn;t seemed worried about the Mets.

Game 159: Dodgers @ Colorado Rockies 19-11

Wow, what a game. This was a tough one to watch at first. So much up and down. But fortunately for the Dodgers, James Loney player with the heart of a champion, never giving up. He tied the franchise's 56-year old record by knocking in nine runs.

How was he thanked?

By being taken out of the game.

Truly remarkable. How can a manger take out a player who has nine ribbies? Did Walter Alston take out Gil Hodges 56 years ago? I seriously doubt it. Especially in a pennant race.

"He had a great day, what can you say?" Los Angeles manager
Grady Little said. "He'll be ready the next time we need him, I'm sure."

What can you say?

What kind of response is that? It's a bullshit response that borders on ignorance and stupidity. It was nice to see Loney be professional about it and take it in strides, though.

Subbing for the injured Nomar Garciaparra, Loney hit two homers, including a grand slam, to lead Los Angeles past Colorado 19-11 in a slugfest at Coors Field.

The Dodgers remained one game behind San Diego in the NL West and moved two games in front of Philadelphia in the wild-card race. The Padres beat Arizona 12-4, while the Phillies lost 3-1 to Washington.

Since being brought up from Triple-A Las Vegas, Loney is batting .286 and the Dodgers are 14-5 when he starts at first base.

"They brought me up and told me to be ready at all times,"
Loney said. "We've had a lot of magic over the last two weeks.
Sitting on the bench watching that, I wanted to be a part of that."

Yet, he swears he won't be bummed by going back to backing up Garciaparra.

"Whenever they need me," he said.

This is a special type of player. He truly is.

They needed him big-time Thursday in a game that featured 30 runs, 33 hits and 16 pitchers, prompting Little to wonder what was all this fuss this summer about the humidor making Coors Field a pitcher's park.

Loney, who entered the game with one career home run and eight RBIs had by far his career game. Getting the start at first base with Garciaparra dealing with sore side and thigh muscles, Loney hit a grand slam in the second, a two-run double in the third, a run-scoring single in the fifth and a two-run homer in the seventh before striking out in the eighth.

That tied the club record for RBIs set by Hodges for Brooklyn on Aug. 31, 1950, against the Boston Braves in a game in which he hit four home runs. It's the first nine-RBI game in the National League since Sammy Sosa's drugged up body and corked bat did it for the Cubs at Coors Field on Aug. 10, 2002, and the most in the majors since Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees drove in 10 against the Angels on April 26, 2005.

The wild win was the Dodgers' 15th in 19 games against the Rockies this season. They blew a five-run lead when Colorado scored seven times in the fourth to take a 10-8 lead, but the Dodgers tied it in the fifth and then put together a seven-run rally in the sixth.

Kenny Lofton hit his third homer of the season, followed by Marlon Anderson's twelth homer of the season. Wilson Betemit added a two-run double off Jose Mesa, who also served up Loney's two-run shot. Lofton came around on an error to make it 17-10.

Left-hander Mark Henderson, the Dodgers' fourth pitcher, picked up the win. He gave up an unearned run and one hit in two innings. It seems as if we finally found a niche for Hendrickson, who never seemed to get out of the early innings as a starter.

Dodgers starter Brad Penny left the game after one inning when he was unable to loosen up his stiff lower back. Little said he might start Monday should the Dodgers find themselves in a one-game playoff.

"It is an issue when someone's not 100 percent, but we'll keep working
and try to make him better," Little said. "We need the guy to pitch."

Penny, who has struggled since the All-Star break, allowed four hits, including a three-run home run to Matt Holliday. Afterward, he said he first experienced pain in his last start at Arizona on Saturday and felt a cramp when he warmed up Thursday. Penny was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the second, right after Loney's grand slam off Byung-Hyun Kim gave Los Angeles a 4-3 lead.

The Dodgers scored four times in the third to make it 8-3. But the Rockies bounced back to take a 10-8 lead by scoring seven runs on eight singles in the fourth. The Dodgers got the runs back in the fifth on RBI-singles by Betemit and Loney tying it at 10 and setting up LA's big sixth-inning outburst that included Loney's two-run shot.

"We ran into a hot hitter," Mesa said. "Loney was a hot hitter,
someone we couldn't get out."

Game 158: Dodgers @ Colorado Rockies 6:4

Even the Dodgers described this game as ugly.

Derek Lowe won his seventh straight decision despite a shaky outing and the Dodgers held onto their lead in the NL wild-card race by overcoming a three-run deficit for a 6-4 victory on Wednesday night.

"Right now it doesn't matter how we win, only that we win,"
center fielder Kenny Lofton said after helping the Dodgers stay
one game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Dodgers also pulled within one game of NL West-leading San Diego, which lost to St. Louis 4-2.

"Still, our No. 1 goal is to win our division," said Lowe
who improved to 16-8on the year.

He got the win despite scuffling through six innings and getting roughed up for four earned runs and 10 hits.

Lowe said he won't look back with any regrets on his performance because at Coors Field, outfielders play deep and fly balls that are outs at other ballparks fall in for hits here, and the runners often take the extra base.

"This is the only place where I try to go into the game and all
I think about trying to stay in the game longer than
the other starting pitcher," he said. "It doesn't matter
what the score is because runs are going to be scored here.

"It was an exceptionally good win because of the time
of the year it came."

Jonathan Broxton pitched two hitless innings of relief and Takashi Saito pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 24 chances.

The Dodgers fell behind 4-1 entering the sixth but J.D. Drew's two-run triple put Los Angeles within striking distance, and the Dodgers scored three times in the seventh to secure their 14th win in 18 games against Colorado this season. Andre Ethier, pinch hitting for Lowe, tied it at 4 with a run-scoring single, and a bad throw allowed Wilson Betemit to score the go-ahead run. Jeff Kent followed with a run-scoring double.

Rafael Furcal and Lofton each hit potential double-play ground balls during the three-run inning but beat the relay.

"Those were the keys to the whole inning," Los Angeles manager
Grady Little said. "I tell you, the hustle that we got out of some
baserunners kept us right in there for a chance at a couple of
big hits, and that was the difference."

Betemit gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead with a 437-foot homer into the second deck in right-center field above the bullpens in the third.

The lead was short lived though, a mile high into the atmosphere, where no lead is safe. The
Rockies erased that deficit in the fourth when Helton singled home a run and Matt Holiday scored when Brad Hawpe grounded into a double play.

The Rockies added two runs in the fifth, thanks in part to a balk by Lowe.

Nomar Garciaparra tied his season high with three hits despite a sore side muscle and a sore quadriceps, which limited him to a single when he hit a ball off the wall in the first inning.

Why Garciaparra got the start over Loney is beyond me. Let the kid contribute. We will need him down the stretch and in the playoffs. More importantly, we will need Nomar at full health once the playoffs begin. Little said he probably won't start Garciaparra against the Rockies on Thursday. Garciaparra said he'll be ready to pinch hit, however. You do gotta love his dedication, regardless. Little also said that because Lowe was limited to 90 pitches, he will pitch on three days' rest Sunday at San Francisco if the Dodgers need to win that day to wrap up a playoff berth.

Game 157: Dodgers @ Colorado Rockies 11:4

The Dodgers routed the lowly Rockies Tuesday night, 11-4. More importantly, it gave them the lead in the National League Wild Card race. And that still wasn't the best part. Because Greg Maddux only needed 76 pitches, he should be able to go on short rest in the Giants series.

Maddux seems confident on pitching on short rest.

"I don't get as sore as I used to," the 322-game winner explained.
"I don't throw hard enough anymore to get sore."

He sure befuddled the Rockies, who had been on a tear at Coors Field this month.

Maddux improved to 14-14 on the year by allowing just three earned runs and seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts in six innings. Maddux said he never felt comfortable at Coors Field, where his six wins is the most by an opposing pitcher.

"Nope. You wake up panicking and hope to get through six
when come here," he said. "Tough place to pitch. Tip your hat.
The boys scored a lot of runs today. Eleven runs makes it a lot easier."

The Dodgers bats sure do seem to be coming alive. Nomar Garciaparra drove in three runs and hit his 20th homer despite straining a muscle in his side trying to avoid a tag at the plate in the first inning. This is the first season Nomar has hit at least 20 home runs since 2003. His big day helped the Dodgers move one game in front of Philadelphia, which lost 4-3 at Washington, in the wild-card race.

"I'll trade an injury for a home run any day," said Garciaparra,
who left the game after homering in the fifth. "I'll do that any time
as long as we keep winning. I'll be back in the lineup tomorrow.
I'll play through this. We were scoring some runs and Grady said,
'Let's take you out.' He said, 'Go take care of it."'

Russell Martin had a bases-loaded triple in the sixth and drove in four runs as the Dodgers were able to empty their bench and play seven reserves. Marlon Anderson singled, doubled and homered for the Dodgers, who are two games behind first-place San Diego in the NL West. Anderson's homer capped a six-run sixth that made it 11-1.

The Dodgers scored three times in a wild first inning in which the Rockies committed an error and had a mental miscue and right-hander Jason Jennings surrendered two bloop singles and Martin's infield run-scoring single.

Rafael Furcal led off with a bloop single to center, stole second and scored on Kenny Lofton's triple down the right-field line. Garciaparra followed with a bloop single to center to score Lofton. Jeff Kent reached on an error by second baseman Kaz Matsui, who booted the ball twice. J.D. Drew walked to load the bases and Martin dribbled a ball in front of the plate. Rookie catcher Chris Iannetta didn't chase down the ball and Jennings had to try to field it and tag out Garciaparra, who got hurt trying to avoid the charging pitcher, who missed the ball anyway.

Garciaparra hit his 20th homer in the fifth, a two-run shot following a walk to Lofton. Kent then drew a walk and came around to score on Anderson's double down the right-field line.

Random thoughts:

1) With Nomar possibly being injured, this is the time we need Loney to step it up and prove he is ready for the big leagues.

2) This was Maddux' twelth victory against the Rockies, the third most wins against the Rockies among all pitchers.

3) The Dodgers are pretty much in charge of their own destiny now. Each game needs to be played with playoff mindset. Each game, it its own right, is a must win.

Games 154-156: Dodgers vs Arizona Diamonbacks 2:0, 3:9, 5:1

You have probably found out on you own that we here are as much out of gas as the Dodgers. Hence series reports rather than game reports. I never realized how hard it's going to be to cover a whole *baseball* season. The whole 162 games.

I've covered Boston Celtics every game for two seasons I believe, have done the same with St. John's and Toronto Maple Leafs in hockey, now getting ready for yet another year in the NHL, this time on the West Coast with the Kings. But I'm learning to appreciate the gruelsome MLB season, when games are played almost every day and they tend to be relatively long. I purposefully skipped the part where I remind you that my time zone does not help out either.

Anyway, the Dodgers hosted the Diamondbacks for the final regular season home series at Chavez Ravine. They were quite lucky to take two out of three. Good starting pitching from Derek Lowe (7 IP, no runs in game one) and Hong-Chih Kuo (same 7IP, no runs, and 8 SOs) obviously helped the cause greatly. The Dodgers lost the middle game big time, due to yet another implosion by Brad Penny.

If I were Grady Little I'd seriously reconsider the following pattern for the final six games: Greg Maddux (already pitched in COL last night), Lowe (scheduled to make a start), Chad Billingsley, Kuo and again Maddux and Lowe on three day rest each.

The truth is, here's the math roadmap of what the Dodgers need to achieve in Colorado and San Fran to get at least the wild-card spot:

Dodgers sweep COL and SF (likelihood: 2%): LA is sure of wild-card, clinches NL West if Padres go 3-3 over the same span (likelihood: 10% on its own)

Dodgers win 5: sure wild-card unless Phillies sweep everything.

Dodgers win 4: minimum for a wild-card one game playoff

Dodgers win 3 or less: nice meeting you.

Sneak preview: the Dodgers already won last night in Colorado (11-4), so they just need four out of five now to make SURE of post-season. Fingers crossed.

Game 151-153 Pittsburgh @ Dodgers Series to Pittsburgh, 2 games to 1.

This was an ugly series. There is no excuse for the Dodgers to not take at LEAST two of three, yet they were fortunate to get one. With supposed post season hopes, the Dodgers floundered. The Dodgers couldn't even handle the team with the second worst record in the National League on their home turf. It seems as if the Dodgers miss their familes and just want to call it quits and go home. They need to get off their arses and do their job. That is entertain those who pay their salaries--us, the fans. I, personally, don't spend large percentages of my pay to travel to dozens of games a year for this kind of play. Not in a pennant race.

I may have tickets to September 29-October 1 games for sale in San Francisco. Fans if you are interested, email me. Dodger players, management and other personnel, if you are interested, start to play, manage and operate better. This is a joke. Now I know what my grandparents meant by dem bums.

Games 149-150 Dodgers vs San Diego Padres 1:2, 11:10

This will be a pretty quick recap. Marcin asked me to fill in and here i am several days later and a few hospital visits later (food poisoning, no not spinach) here I am.

Game 149, was a nail biter. The Dodgers were lucky to even be in that game. With the Padres success against the Dodgers this year and the lack of offensive output, it is a wonder the game was so close.

Derek Lowe pitched a spectacular game. However, it was all for naught as the Dodgers' bats fell silent once again.

The one shred of silver lining is at least it was the Dodgers who ended the Padres' Cla Meredith's consecutive innings scoreless streak at 34 innings.

Game 150, turned into a nail biter. The entire game, it appeared the Padres were going to take this must win game at Chavez Ravine and with it a one and a half game lead and probably the division flag.

But then a miracle happened; the Dodgers bats had a resurgence. Heads were shaking in disbelief on both sides. Nobody could believe what they had just witnessed.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers down 9 to 5, something that hadn't happened since 1964 occurred. No, I am not talking about the fans whom had already left actually coming back into the stadium from the parking lot. Although, I am sure it has been at least as long since that phenomena had happened as well. But no, this rare feat is what actually caused the fans to turn around.

The Dodgers's bats not only came alive in the bottom of the ninth, but they cracked out back-to-back-to-back-to-back homeruns, tying the game at nine a piece.

The Dodgers went into the top of the tenth with what seemed to be all the momentum in the world. But then Aaron Sele decided it just wasn't meant to be. For he, with this huge momentum shift on the side of the Dodgers, decided to let the Padres reclaim the lead.

The Dodgers came up in the bottom half of the tenth, most of the fans who had miraculously returned, had again begun to leave, realizing that their commute home just got prolonged for no good reason.

Well, Sele owes steak dinners to both Kenny Lofton and Nomar Garciaparra. Kenny Lofton drew a walk to lead off the tenth and Nomar, reminiscent of the previous inning, took the ball deep, hitting a walk off home run.

Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

Note:

The four-game series drew 219,124 which is the largest ever for a four-game series at Dodger Stadium. One can definitely feel the playoffs in the air.

Mental maintenance period

Blue Man and myself are quite deep into a mental maintenance after two Dodger losses against the Pirates. Blue Man said he was going to take over with the game reports pretty soon but I must admit I have not checked his pulse for quite some time now.

I'm getting discouraged by the recent Dodgers performance. Are you? If so, what do you do to keep faith and look up? Let us know - we might need every piece of advice...

Games 145-146: Dodgers vs San Diego Padres 3:1, 2:11

I must say that with mid-September stage of up and down play of the Dodgers I do get distracted a lot towards the preseason camp on my LA Kings blog. Therefore here are the recaps for game one of the Padres series, taken from the official mlb.com webpage as well as game two.

I probably need to get Blue Man going on recaps for the remainder of the regular season (and hopefully play-offs, since I'm in a Dodger slump).

Or else - we call it quits unless we hear from you not to. What do you say? The comments section is all yours (not that too many of our readers will use it anyway ;)).

Before the Padres Series

Let's face it: the Dodgers have only a 0.5 game lead over the Padres, with the tough W-L record against them this season (mostly lost, and some of them badly).

Fact 2: Apart from long winning and losing streaks most of this Dodgers season has been like this: won-lost-won-lost-W-L-W-L. Here are my odds for the weekend series:

40% Dodgers win one
30% Dodgers win two
20% Dodgers win three
5% Dodgers sweep
5% Padres sweep

What are yours?

Yes, we're still alive (though tomkoed a bit)

I have made a conscious decision this morning not to pin the Wrigley series onto anyone player, even though I have seen some ugly swings by Wilson Betemit and some poor ball movement by Brett Tomko. And I will not. On days like this the name on the front matters much more to me than the (lack of) one on the back. Baseball is a team effort and the team of the Los Angeles Dodgers have lost two out of three on the road in Chicago to a injury-riddled Cubs during the stretch run.

So, all in all, I will recap the Cubs series a little bit later on. But still today. I want to put all my negative thoughts about the Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde Dodgers behind me before Greg Maddux takes the hill against the Padres this evening...

Game 144-146: Dodgers @ Chicago Cubs 8:9 (11 inngs), 6:0, 5:6

We must have taken two out of three and we failed to do so. Especially given the number of chances that the Dodgers were presented with to even sweep the Cubs. Let's name some:

(1) A 7-0 lead through three innings in Game one with Derek Lowe on the mound;

(2) 6 errors by the Cub fielders in Game one;

(3) A 5-2 lead in the sixth in Game three;

(4) Great starts by Brad Penny and Hong-Chih Kuo, with the latter being blown by the bullpen;

The funny thing is the San Diego Padres did manage to fulfil their goal and took two out of three from the Reds. Which has several implications which I'm going to tackle in the very next post.

To finish on a positive note however - is JD Drew seeing the ball beter lately? Him and Raffy Furcal, even when they made out in Chicago, at least seemed to have that psychological makeup of "getting after the pitchers".

What needs to happen

Ok, we're coming out of the Shea Stadium with the split against the NL-powerhouse Mets (strange, how it sounds, eh? ;)) and heading into the series at the Wrigley Field with the Chicago Cubs, starting on Tuesday.

In the meantime, the Padres (currently 1.5 games back from us) visit the Cincinnati Reds, who are in the thick of the chase for the NL Wild Card (3.5 GB from SD). Here's what needs to happen (and realistically) for the Dodgers to get a little bit of the breathing room during the upcoming weekend series against the Friars at Chavez Ravine:

The Dodgers are sending to the hill Derek Lowe, Brad "15 outs" Penny and Hong-Chih Kuo against the bottomish level of Cubs pitchers, namely Sean Marshall (5-9, ERA 5.29), Angel Guzman (0-5, ERA 7.23) and a pitcher to be announced. Taking two out of three is definitely NOT beyond the capabilities of this team.

Now, the Padres are facing Cincy for a three game set and have the following starting pitchers: Chris Young, Jake Peavey and Clay Hensley. Since Aaron Harang will pitch the finale of the set for the Reds, I'd image, they'be able to take at least one game away from the Padres.

All in all, if both NL West contenders take 2-of-3 in the upcoming series, the Dodgers will remain at 1.5 games ahead of the Padres and would need to split the weeend series to remain so. In the unlikely event that we lose out of three over the weekend, we'd be still only 1.5 GB of the Padres with San Diego having a more difficult schedule in front of them.

This is the remaining schedule for both teams *after* the weekend series at Chavez Ravine:

LA Dodgers: 3 x vs PIT, 3 x vs ARI, 3 x @COL, 3 x @SF
SD Padres: 3 x vs ARI, 3 x vs PIT, 3 x @ STL, 4 x @ ARI.

While the two first series virtually offset, the six away games at Colorado and San Fran are to me more winnable for the Dodgers than the seven away games at St. Louis and Arizona for the Padres.

Key thing for the upcoming series: keep at least the status quo with the Padres by taking at least two out of three from the hapless Cubs!

Game 143: Dodgers @ New York Mets 9:1

Eric Stults looked like a seasoned veteran pitching in a big game. However, it was his first career start for the 26-year-old. He gave the Dodgers a win in this must win game.

Stults limited the Mets to two hits in six innings, and Kenny Lofton gave him an early lead with a three-run triple in the Dodgers' 9-1 victory Sunday. Nomar Garciaparra added a three-run homer and four RBIs for the Dodgers, who began the day with a 1 1/2 -game lead over second-place San Diego in the NL West.

Pitching in place of Mark Hendrickson, who is supposedly working on his mechanics while pitching in relief, Stults gave up a single up the middle to his second batter, and didn't allow another hit until Jose Reyes homered to left-center with two outs in the sixth.

Stults (1-0) struck out three and walked two, throwing 86 pitches and combining with three relievers on a three-hitter. The left-hander was 10-11 with a 4.23 ERA this season at Triple-A Las Vegas, then allowed three runs and five hits over three innings in his major league debut Tuesday at Milwaukee.

The game began with a solemn ceremony marking Monday's fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but by the sixth inning resembled a spring training contest at Vero Beach or Port St. Lucie, with both teams liberally substituting.

Los Angeles loaded the bases on second-inning singles by Wilson Betemit, Russell Martin and Rafael Furcal. Lofton, who had been 0-for-6 with the bases full this year, batted with one out and worked the count to 3-2, then pulled a high pitch down the right-field line. His helmet flipped off as he rounded second and he easily made it to third with a triple, then scored when Garciaparra singled over third baseman David Wright with the infield in.

Furcal singled in a run in the fourth against Brian Bannister, Betemit hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Garciaparra made it 9-0 in the sixth with his 17th homer.

Game 142: Dodgers @ New York Mets 2:3

In a pitcher's rematch of the 1999 World Series, this game lived up to October feel that their last matchup was.

Orlando Hernandez allowed one earned run in seven innings, and David Wright's two-run single after Greg Maddux left tagged the 40-year-old pitcher with a loss Saturday as the New York Mets beat the Dodgers 3-2. Just as El Duque did pitching for the Yankees in the World Series opener seven years ago, he got the best of Maddux again.

"For me it was kind of cool because it brought back good memories,"
said Maddux, who was pitching for Atlanta then.

Maddux was staked to a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth but got the loss because of his intentional walk to Beltran -- his last hitter and the only free pass he issued.

Tough luck, but why would Grady Little keep him in JUST to walk a batter? It makes no sense at all to me.

Maddux fell to 12-13, losing his second straight start and fell to 3-2 in eight outings with the Dodgers. He allowed all three runs and five hits in five and one-third innings, quite an improvement from his previous two starts this season against New York when he gave up 12 earned runs in 13 innings with Chicago.

After Rafael Furcal's leadoff double on the second pitch of the game, El Duque retired 15 straight hitters before running into trouble in the sixth. No. 8 hitter Russell Martin singled and advanced to second when Maddux faked a bunt and swung away. Shortstop Jose Reyes was covering second, and had to range deep in the hole to field the grounder. His throw to first bounced in and out of the glove of first baseman Carlos Delgado, allowing Maddux to reach on the error.

Furcal sacrificed, and Kenny Lofton drove in Martin with a single to center. Maddux advanced to third on the base hit, then was caught in a rundown when Nomar Garciaparra grounded into a fielder's choice. J.D. Drew followed with a broken-bat RBI single to put Los Angeles in front 2-1.

Hernandez got Jeff Kent to ground out with runners on first and second to limit the damage.

He worked around a leadoff walk in the seventh and finished by getting pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson on a broken-bat grounder. Hernandez yielded four hits, one walk and struck out six.

Maddux was lifeted after just 72 pitches, worn out after running the bases.

A quick note:

1. The Dodgers held a closed-door pregame meeting. Little declined to discuss it. Hopefully this is a good sign that they want to truly get out of this funk.

Game 141: Dodgers @ New York Mets 5:0

It was a more than fitting night for Hong-Chih Kuo to get his first major league start. It was Taiwan heritage night at Shea Stadium. It was even more fitting for Kuo to pitch such a stellar game. I was really impressed by Kuo's attitude. When told he was getting the start, it seemed like no big deal. When told later, that he would receive a second start, he replied, "Just got to get ready."

Paul Lo Duca wasn't surprised at Kuo's success. Lo Duca said that Kuo had always been a great pitcher and that he had been through a lot with two Tommy John's or else he would have been up in Los Angeles much sooner.

Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra helped awaken the bats a little, each homering in the Dodgers' 5-0 win.

Kuo improved to 1-4, yielding three hits, striking out seven and walking three in six innings on. He became the third Taiwanese pitcher ever to start a game in the major leagues.

"We knew he was limited with the number of pitches that he had to
work with because of his inexperience starting games this season
but he got us very deep into that game with a good quality
start out there," said Dodgers manager Grady Little,
who announced afterward that Kuo would start against
the Cubs on Thursday. "We're proud for him."

Kenny Lofton had two hits and an RBI for the Dodgers, who won for only the second time in their last six games. The win also ensured another day in first place for the Dodgers, which led the NL West by a half-game over San Diego heading into play Friday.

The Mets, who were blanked for the second in time five days, only managed four hits against Kuo and three relievers -- Brett Tomko, Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito.

Furcal led off the fifth with his 10th homer to put Los Angeles in front 3-0. One batter later, Garciaparra hit an 0-1 pitch into the bleachers in left. The Dodgers almost had a third solo homer in the inning but Carlos Beltran timed his jump perfectly, sticking his glove over the wall to take one away from J.D. Drew.

Kuo held the Mets hitless into the bottom half of the fifth, when the Mets finally got their first hit of the evening.

"He was throwing nasty, pitching great," Furcal said.

Kuo was subbing for injured right-hander Chad Billingsley, who is working his way back from a strained side muscle and is slated to return to the rotation next Saturday against San Diego. The left-hander did well in Billingsley's absence in his first start after 23 relief appearances to start the season. He was converted to a starter last month at Triple-A Las Vegas.

"I feel a little better for the warmup and stuff," Kuo said.
"For me right now, just whatever they put me at I've got to do it.
I've got to go for it, try to finish my job."

The Dodgers pushed across two unearned runs in the first to snap the Mets' scoreless streak at 25 innings. With the bases loaded and two outs, newly-acquired Dodger Marlon Anderson hit a grounder to third that was bobbled for a second before being thrown wide of first.

Furcal and Garciaparra raced around to score to make it 2-0.

Random notes:

1. Eric Stults will start Sunday for Los Angeles. It will be Stults' first major league start and second big league appearance. Glad to see Hendrickson finally OUT of the lineup. Unfortunately, it seems they are going with the inexperienced lefty simply because he is a lefty.

Pretty decent Kuo-tation

I know Matt will bring the full (and joyful) game report from the blanking of the Mets pretty soon, but in the meantime I just wanted to bring you attention to two things I noticed during last night's game:

[1] How composed Hong-Chi Kuo was in between a batter who reached base and the following batter (not that there were too many of the former). He did not flinch, he did not gesture, but went about his business from one batter to another. Minding his own business which was getting outs and preventing the other team from scoring. I like that from a reliever-turned-starter. I like it a lot. With this mindset, he's not wasting energy on things beyond control and showed last night, with the occasional lucky bounce, he'd be able to sweep the runner out with the double-plkay ground ball.

I'm not going to say too much after his first major league start, but he might have found a place in the next year's spring training roster. And - he's a lefty (mode on: cheers for the departure of Mark Hendrickson, mode off).

[2] Is Rafael Furcal unbelievable lately or what? Seemed like he hypnotized the groundballs to go right to the place where he was or moving to. Apart from Wilson Betemit most Dodger infielders did have good nights fielding.

Game 140: Dodgers @ New York Mets 0:7

Missing: The Los Angeles Dodgers' hitting abilities.

Last seen: September 2, 2006 in Los Angeles, California when the Dodgers offense was led by Nomar Garciaparra, J.D. Drew, Andre Ethier, Rafael Furcal and Wilson Betemit. The team at Chavez Ravine compiled a total of fifteen hits and fourteen runs. Since then, they have been outscored 10-35, winning just one of their past five games.

Reward for an arrest leading to a conviction for those responsible for this most recent slump.

Prime suspects: The San Francisco Giants. Hey, they cheated in 1951 as a team. They condoned cheating from their players in the late 1990s to the present. Why wouldn't they be a viable suspect?

Tom Glavine made the Dodgers' playoff hopes look shaky. After a seven-game winning streak, Los Angeles has dropped four of five, its NL West lead cut to a half-game over San Diego. The Dodgers have been shut out twice.

"It's been a team struggle, but we'll get out of this," manager
Grady Little said. "We've been rather streaky. I don't have the answers."

Aren't managers supposed to have the answers? Aren't they supposed to sound a bit more positive and upbeat? Anybody know if Jim Leyland offers himself up for motivational speeches?

Shea Field is Brad Penny's personal house of horror. He fell to 1-8 at Shea and saw his ERA there rise to 6.75 in 10 career starts. Penny dropped to 15-8, giving up seven runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings. He dropped to 3-10 against the Mets.

"That's one of the best lineups in the National League," said Penny,
the NL's only 15-game winner. "There were a couple of times
where they hit good pitches."

Former Dodgers pitcher Guillermo Mota loaded the bases with a walk to Furcal but overpaid-for Julio Lugo couldn't even get the ball into fair territory. He fouled out, ending the inning.

Two scoreless games out of three

Not good. The Dodgers have been blanked out in two out of three games lately. Pretty horrifying when you consider we are in the stretch run and the San Diego Friars have been hitting out of their minds (with a good does of luck) winning 13 of their last 16...

Somebody needs to step up and take charge. Now. *After* the current Mets series it might be too late...

Is Hong-Chih Kuo the answer?

Game 139: Dodgers @ Milwaukee Brewers 2:1

I agree with Dodgers manager, Grady Little. After Wednesday's stellar performance, the only thing worth discussing is Derek Lowe.

"Anything you said about this game outside of talking about
Derek Lowe's performance would be secondary," Little said.

Whenever the Dodgers need to end a slump, he is the sole pitcher on the staff that I would feel 100% confident giving the ball to. Lowe allowed just three hits and an unearned run in eight innings to help the Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 Wednesday night and stop a three-game losing streak.

Lowe improved to 14-8 on the year, by winning his fifth straight decision. He gave up a double in the second, a single in the third and an infield hit in the eighth. Lowe was 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA in August and has allowed only six earned runs in his last six outings.

Lowe said that the Dodgers watched a lot of video of the previous two losses to Milwaukee.

"Being a sinkerball guy, you normally don't get that many
right-handers in the lineup," Lowe said. "So, I think that definitely
helped, having them only with two left-handers.
Right-on-right is normally more effective."

The only real questionable part to the game, other than the eerily quiet bats of the Dodgers, was why in the world was Lowe taken out? He had only pitched 79 pitches in the eight innings.

Takashi Saito is becoming a household name in the homes of Dodger fans. He followed Lowe and worked the ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances. Promising rookie, Matt Kemp scored the tying run and drove in the go-ahead run for the Dodgers, which avoided getting swept in the three-game series. The Dodgers had gone 16 scoreless innings over three games before Kemp scored on Rafael Furcal's sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Kemp tripled in the fifth and came home on Furcal's sacrifice fly, then hit an RBI single in the seventh after Russell Martin's leadoff double.

Now the Dodgers head to the Mets for a four-game series.

"Hopefully, this is the momentum we need to go into New York,
where we all know where they stand in the division," Lowe said.
"They're probably going to win it any day."

We really need Brad Penny to pitch a gem Thursday night. He needs to become the National Leagues first 16-game winner of the year.

Game 138: Dodgers @ Brewers 0:9

The Dodgers seem to have gone from hot to cold in a flash. After winning seven straight games, the Dodgers have been anything but lucky.

The Dodgers lost their third straight Tuesday night, falling to the lowly Milwaukee Brewers in a one-sided, 9-0 shutout. The Dodgers could only muster four hits the entire game.

The Dodgers' anemic offense has been outscored 27-8 in their last three games.

"When you don't score runs, you look flat," Los Angeles manager
Grady Little said. "There is no getting around that. But we will put
this game behind us and come back tomorrow and see
if we will be ready to beat on somebody. Then when we start
hitting the ball, starting having baserunners, we won't look
flat anymore. I guarantee you."

This statement concerns me. Growing up, playing little league, my manager always emphasized the importance of having a winning and positive attitude. He always had us illustrate this by using positive language. One would never hear us or our coaches say "if we when" for example. It was always "when we win."

Now, we have Grady Little wondering if we will be ready to beat someone. Definitely not the type of attitude I want to hear coming from the manager. The Dodgers, which had opened a seven and a half game lead in the NL West on July 26, leads second-place San Diego just just one game now.

"It's hard to get it going if you are not getting any baserunners,
and we didn't get too many tonight," Little said.

Mark Hendrickson continues to show why Hong-Chih Kuo should get a chance to start, dropping to a sad 1-7 since joining the Dodgers. In his latest outing, Hendrickson lasted just four innings for the second straight time, giving up five runs (four earned) and seven hits. He has lost three straight decisions and has just one victory since June 20.

"It's kind of been frustrating for me," Hendrickson said.
"Obviously, I am not executing my pitches as well as I would like,
and I am not really getting away with any mistakes.
It just comes back down to executing pitches a lot better."

I am willing to put money on Kuo being able to execute. Little: Grow some balls and do what is best for the team! Replace Hendrickson with Kuo!

Questionable call up, reliever Eric Stults made his major league debut, allowing three runs and five hits in three innings.

Notes:

1. In some positive news, the Dodgers recalled Oscar Robles and Delwyn Young from Triple-A Las Vegas. It is nice to see Robles back up and will definitely be nice watching what Young can do.

2. Matt Kemp showed his arm strength, throwing a runner out at the plate. Kemp sure does look like the whole package.

Game 137: Dodgers @ Milwaukee Brewers 3:6

Gosh, it sucks to be the team that loses to a the other team, snapping their ten-game losing streak. Coming in, it seemed like a sure fire win. Especially with Greg Maddux on the mound.

However, the stars were not aligned properly for the Dodgers. The Brewers beat the Dodgers 6-3, handing Maddux his first loss as a Dodger. To add insult to injury, San Diego won their game, cutting the Dodgers' lead in the National League West to just two games.

Maddux, who was 3-0 since being traded to the Dodgers by the Chicago Cubs at the July 31 deadline, allowed a run and two hits in his first four innings. But an infield hit glanced off Maddux's glove in the fifth, setting up a three-run inning for Milwaukee. Maddux (12-12) gave up six runs and 10 hits in his first loss since July 19. Maddux is 1-3 against Milwaukee this year.

"Usually you're not as good as you think and sometimes you're not
as bad as you think," Maddux said. "I could have made some
better pitches."

That is definitely the sound of a true professional.

After a leadoff single by Damien Miller and sacrifice bunt by Brewers starter Dave Bush, Maddux attempted to backhand a hard-hit ground ball by Brady Clark. The ball bounced off Maddux's glove and he couldn't pick it up in time to throw out Clark, putting runners on first and third with one out.

"I just couldn't find it," Maddux said. "It's hard to see sometimes, especially
when you're not really catching it and (are) just trying to react to it."

Graffanino's RBI double scored Miller, and Jeff Cirillo followed that up with a sacrifice fly that scored Clark to give Milwaukee a 3-1 lead. After an intentional walk to Prince Fielder, Corey Hart singled home Graffanino to put the Brewers ahead 4-1. Geoff Jenkins, making only his fifth start since being benched on August 11, singled to left, but rookie of the year candidate, Andre Ethier threw another rookie of the year candidate, Prince Fielder out at home to end the inning.

The Dodgers rallied for two runs in the sixth, cutting the Brewers lead to 4-3, but Corey Hart threw out Jeff Kent at the plate to end the inning. Dodgers manager Grady Little lifted Maddux with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth. Graffanino then singled off reliever Giovanni Carrara, scoring Miller and Bush to put the Brewers ahead 6-3.

Kenny Lofton scored on an RBI double by J.D. Drew in the first to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

Fielder decided to cause some problems in the fourth inning, making an aggressive slide into second base for his sixth stolen base of the season then calling time to exchange words with Kent.

I understand that passions are high, and emotions are being worn on sleeves out there. Tempers will flare and words will be exchanged. But to call time out just to talk smack? That is just immature and lame. Maddux should have plunked Fielder his next at bat. That, by far, would have been his "welcome to the majors" moment.

Brewers manger, Ned Yost admitted Fielder might have slid a little late.

"Prince is a kid that plays the game hard, and I think he's been just
a little tired of getting his butt kicked," Yost said.

Some randomness:

1) Unfortunately, Grady Little said the chances of Chad Billingsley pitching in the team's series against the NL-leading Mets beginning Friday in New York are "very slim." Billingsley sustained a mild strain to his left oblique muscle on Sunday.

2) The Dodgers recalled LHPs Eric Stults and Tim Hamulack from Triple-A Las Vegas and purchased the contract of RHP Giovanni Carrara from Single-A Vero Beach before Monday's game.

3) Kent has an 11-game hitting streak.

Brazo(not)banned

Yhency Brazoban is travelling with the team again:

Reliever Yhency Brazoban traveled to Milwaukee, rejoining the club
on the road for the first time since having "Tommy John"
nerve replacement surgery on his right elbow in April.

"He's just now beginning his throwing," Little said.
"He'll do that for the remainder of the season, and hopefully
he'll be ready to go at Spring Training."

Brazoban is throwing short distances, not off a mound yet.

Scottsdale, Arizona, do you copy?

One of our most avid and frequent readers (checking in more often than every other day) is from Scottsdale, Arizona. While I'm grateful you're coming back, I'd like to know a little bit more about you. Care to let us know about yourself?

Game 136: Dodgers vs Colorado Rockies 5:12

Instead of a boring blowout game report (after all tomorrow is another day) I have a question for you. What would be an English rendition of the following sentence in my language:

"W żadnym stopniu nie czuję się na siłach napisać
podsumowania takiego meczu jak ten".

Whoever gets it translated (and correctly) first, gets the Official Ravings title of the Linguistic Wizard and her/his page/blog is linked up to from our links section. Try it :).

Has he ever?

Has Grady Little been ever so popular with the fans? Any fans of any team in any league he coached? Certainly not with the BoSox fans at the end of his tenure...

Let's sticky this ESPN rating page (thanks to the Kamenetzkies for the heads-up on this) and see how the ratings change at the end of the season. Something tells me there's almost nowhere to climb (Grady's currently at 92% approval rate) :).

On the other hand, you could almost feel indifference in the air regarding the Arizona Diamondbacks' skipper. It's not that Bob Melvin's approval ratings are going down (47%) as fast as his team's position in the NL West standings, it's how few people actually cared to vote (76 individuals only, second lowest to the Rockies vote).

No sooner have I said it...

...that Grady confirmed what the DodgerLand had in mind. Look out for Hong-Chih Kuo to start a game some time soon.

It's quite possible that [Hong-Chih Kuo] will [start]," said Little.

"He was very impressive in his outing last night, and he's been

pitching very well since he started starting in [Triple-A Las Vegas].

It wouldn't surprise me if we don't stick him in there

for a time or two by the end of the season."

Since the management is not going to rush Chad Billingsley back from the oblique muscle strain, with less tension on the road, I would really expect the Korean lefty so start either of the two back games (after Greg Maddux's start later today) in Milwaukee.

Games 134-135: Dodgers vs Colorado Rockies 6:3, 14:5

As witnessed by my earlier post reagrding the comeback kids, the success in two first games in the Rockies series clearly lied in how the Dodgers were able to strike right back after their opponents put up a big inning. I believe the April Dodger would have laid on their backs and practically called it quits right there and then when the threes and fives were put on the board by the visitors.

Anyway, have you noticed how well the Dodgers are seeing and hitting the ball lately? While I missed the series finale yesterday (due to heavy storm which made me turn off all power-based devices at home), I did notice that even when they made outs, it was not on weak grounders and/or popouts. At least not to a degree that had been noticeable before this trend. My lithmus (proper word?) test here is how Raffy and Nomar make their outs. On their worst days, it's a grounder to shallow short by Furcal and first-pitch centerfield lazy flyout by Garciaparra. While they are not exactly tearing it up recently (especially Nomar), they make defense work harder for the putout.

As for the two game themselves:

(1) How is this possible that Wilson Betemit is leading this team in HRs? ;) I admit, he has a sweetest longball swing, but with Jeff Kent and JD Drew onboard, it still feels strange.

(2) Since it's September, I guess it's safe to say that Drew DID indeed stay healthy this year. Partly due to the "play four-sit one" procedure advocated by Grady Little. My point though is: which version do you like more for the ca 11 mln, I guess it's what JD makes per year: the high-octane HR/RBI type which is more prone to injury, or the slap-hitter/adequate-fielder RF which we have seen mostly this year?

(3) Congrats to James Loney for his career-first homer run in the Dodger uniform, hit in the middle game (8th innings, nobody on, against a Manny Corpas!

(4) This second game of the series was indeed strange pitching-wise. It featured Mark Hendrickson, deprived (and rightly so) of the regular starting spot in late August and the former LH relief specialist Hong-Chi Kuo, whom I believe you easily challenge for the starter role next season. While both were equally efficient (no runs, no hits in their respective inning of play), Hendrickson is clearly on his way out the closer we get to the playoffs, while Kuo might just be a specialty lefty (to a much larger extent that Joe Beimel and/or Tim Hamulack's stuff will ever allow them to) coming out of the bullpen in the stretch run.

Streaking comeback kids

One of the signs of a mental makeup of a team fighting for a playoff spot is how well this team reacts to a big inning by their opponents. I'm not going to do any spectacular math here, but the last two games, are showing a positive development:

Game 1 of the current Colorado series:
Three runs in the fourth put up by the Rockies are countered with Dodger three in the bottom of the same inning thus reclaiming the lead on the way to the win.

Game 2 of the current Colorado series (still being played as I write this):
Five Rocky runs in the top of the sixth were mitigated by a six run outburst in the bottom of that inning (the Dodgers even countered to a bases clearing double with the same feat on their own by Nomar). All of this happening on the way to yest another win in a row (13-5 through six innings).

Winning teams simply find a way to bounce right back.

The September combos they will throw at you

Since it's time for September roster expansions and some teams have already found themselves out of contention, we have to assume the bottom-dwellers will throw some new faces at the Dodgers. The winner of the day (and believe me, it's only started as a process, since we're on the road to Milwaukee) is the Colorado Rockies combo of 6 through 8 hitters in the lineup. They are:

6 - Ryan Spilborghs,
7 - Chris Iannetta,
8 - Troy Tulowiztki.

I know these guys might (just might) one day turn out to be huge impact players, but for now - who, apart from their die-hard fans, has ever heard their names before? I certainly did not and hence the September Combos Award No1 goes to these three amigos!

Welcome, Marlon Anderson

I must admit, my earliest recollection of Marlon Anderson is *not* as the majors-leading best PH last season. I remember him as an up and coming second baseman with the Phillies in 1999, that at that time the team was pretty high on.

Obviously, something must have gone wrong, and it was not his fielding percentage, that send him on the road to Tampa Bay, St. Louis, NY Mets and Washington. Somewhere on the way he was demoted from a regular infielder to utility infielder-outfielder with pinch-hitting duties. And, from what little I know about it, has gradually become very good at it.

All in all nice September pickup for the Dodgers, especially that we only gave up Jhonny Nunez (rhp) in the process. It makes sense that LA did not keep oft-injured Ricky Ledee in the primary LH PH spot for the stretch run:

Look:

Marlon Anderson: OBP .331 - SLG .423 - BA .274
Ricky Ledee: with Dodgers: OBP - .273, SLG - .396, BA - .245
with Mets (ouch!): OBP - .125, SLG - .067, BA - .067

I'm not a stat-head by any means, but can do the math ;).

Game 133: Dodgers vs Cincinnati Reds 7:3

Unbelievable what a defensively minded and cool-headed pitcher can do for you as a forgotten ninth fielder. And if the same pitcher can successfully lay down a squeeze bunt, driven in two RBIs and go seven innings with no threat from the opposing team past the first inning - your team is crusing. Long live (and pitch!) Greg Maddux!

This is what the doctor ordered for those Cincinatti Reds - a clean sweep in the pushback series. Obviously, since the Reds turn around and face the second-place San Diego Padres, I would gladly accept their sweep of the Friars, even though it's rather unfathomable at this point.

(1) Anyway, another serious effort on the part of the bottom of the Dodger lineup. The trio of Wilson Betemit, Russell Martin and Madux went combined 5-for-10 qith 2 runs scored and 4 RBI. I like it.

(2) Is it possible that the Dodgers will not have a single hitter reach the 90 RBIs plateau for the season. I know September only just started, but the team-leadin JD Drew is only at 77... Nomar's at 69 right now, and that's pretty much it when it comes to a chance to reach 90 for the season. Same thing in the homerun department. Betemit leads the pack with 16 (most of them hit with Atlanta) and it is not out of question that the Dodgers will have no-one in the twenties for the season. Weird, isn't it?

(3) The Colorado Rockies come to town for a three-game Memorial Weekend series. Since we're going with Derek Lowe, Brad Penny and Aaron Sele (in place of the injured Chad Billinglsey) I'm reasonably optimistic about the outcome. While we should not get excited about another sweep, a series win is a must.