Despite hitting Peavy, Dodgers still fall

On a night where Jake Peavy was not his normal, dominant self, the Dodgers could not get a quality start from Brad Penny as they lost 7-5. Peavy gave up 9 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings, but only 3 runs. Why couldn't the Dodgers score? You guessed it... 17 MEN LEFT ON BASE.

Penny was wild yet again: 6 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. He threw 119 pitches, which would normally be more than enough to get into the 8th-9th inning, but not last night. Constantly getting behind on hitters, he had zero command of the strike zone. Even in the 1st start of the season against the Giants, he wasn't sharp. They need their #1 starter to get back on track.

The good news was that there were plenty of hits, lead by Rafael Furcal (3-3, 3 R, 2 BB) and Juan Pierre (3-4, 2 R, SB), both hitting in the first 2 spots. Pierre got another controversial start over Matt Kemp, but he did produce very well. Now this is the Pierre they signed for last year - to hit in the #2 hole behind Furcal and wreak havoc on the base paths. With Chris Young and Greg Maddux, both righties, starting this weekend, he'll probably get at least 1 more start. Like it or not, even I have to admit that he played well last night.

I'll bet you'll never guess who didn't play well, though. That's right... good old Andruw Jones. Now bumped down to the #7 spot behind Russell Martin (who was 2-3 with a walk), he went 0-4 with a K, including a pop-up to start the bottom of the 9th. He looks absolutely, positively lost right now. He can't possibly be that bad, can he? It didn't take long for the fans to boo the hell out of him. Can't blame them, honestly.

James Loney hit a nice shot to left, and came close to hitting another one off of the always nasty Heath Bell in the 8th. He now has hit safely in all 10 games. Jeff Kent had a rough night, topped off with a swinging K from Trevor Hoffman to end the game with the bases loaded. He'll be fine.

Chris Young takes the hill against Derek Lowe today. Just like Peavy-Penny, it's a rematch from last weekend in San Diego, won by Lowe. Esteban Loaiza was originally listed as the starter for Sunday, but Chad Billingsley will instead get the ball. 2 more big games this weekend.