Advantage LA

The Dodgers took advantage of 2 big errors by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 7th inning to score 2 runs, and they held on late to take the game and the sweep, 5-3. With the win, the Dodgers are now up 1.5 games in the NL to go along with 8 wins in a row. The DBacks have now dropped 6 of their last 8.

It was kind of funny how this pitching matchup came to be. It was originally supposed to be a battle of first ballot Hall of Famers with Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson. But, Joe Torre elected to go with Clayton Kershaw and push Maddux back a day, and Johnson rested with a sore shoulder. So, enter 2 young phenoms in Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer. Talk about going from one dynamic to the other.

Both didn't last into the 6th, but it was Scherzer getting the better of the battle with 11 K's in 5 innings. Kershaw went 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. He somehow threw 92 pitches in only 4 innings, but walked 1. Weird. Not one of his better days, but it's not like he got bombed either.

After Arizona left the bases loaded with 1 down in the 1st, the Dodgers then struck. Andre Ethier singled and Manny Ramirez doubled for 2 on. James Loney then hit a 2-run single for the 2-0 lead. More 1st inning scoring for the Dodgers - not too shabby.

The DBacks tied it after 3 with solo homers by Chris Snyder and Adam Dunn. In the 4th, Snyder struck again with a double to score Mark Reynolds and go up 3-2. The Dodgers would knot it up at 3 in the 6th when Ethier walked, Manny singled, and Loney hit a sac-fly RBI.

The bottom of the 7th just killed the DBacks, as they handed the Dodgers chances to score, which they did. Blake DeWitt greeted new pitcher Chad Qualls with a ground rule double. Angel Berroa was looking for a sacrifice bunt, but Adam Dunn bobbled it, allowing runners to get to 1st and 3rd with no outs. Nomar hit a sac-fly to score DeWitt, and Berroa advanced to 2nd on an error by Justin Upton (not his best 2 games defensively this weekend). Berroa went to 3rd on Russell Martin's groundout, and scored on Ethier's infield single to go up 5-3.

Things got quite interesting in the 9th. Jonathan Broxton was on and had no trouble getting the first 2 out. Then Chad Tracy doubled and Adam Dunn walked. Conor Jackson hit an absolute rocket that was snared on a dive by Nomar, who was playing 1st base on a defensive switch. A terrific play to end the game with style.

The bullpen for LA deserves a ton of credit for this win. The combination of Scott Proctor, Chan Ho Park, Hong-Chih Kuo, and Broxton went 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. You really can't do a whole lot better than that. It's good to see Proctor pitch well in his 2 outings since returning from injury.

Here's a couple of stats that are hard to believe. In games where the Dodgers score at least 5 runs, they're 52-6. WOW. The other is that on August 29, the DBacks held a 4.5 games lead over the Dodgers in the NL West. My how times have changed just like that.

So now the Dodgers find themselves in an interesting spot. 13 of their remaining 19 games are on the road, but every single one of them is against teams under .500 (Padres x2, Rockies, Pirates, Giants x2). I'd say that's a pretty favorable schedule. The DBacks really don't have to sweat much either, but they do have 4 in St. Louis right near the end, which is always tough. Like the title says, Advantage LA.

It's right back to work for the Dodgers, as they hit the road for 10, starting with San Diego Monday night for 3. Greg Maddux goes against his old team just like last Monday where he got the win. The Padres are terrible, but they did split 4 games in Milwaukee, including a 10-1 romping today. In recent years, the Dodgers haven't played well in San Diego, so these games cannot be overlooked.