Kershaw steps up

Clayton Kershaw made sure that the horrors of pitching in Coors Field would not resurface, as he led the Dodgers over the Colorado Rockies, 5-1. It was a doubly good night, as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in 10 innings, meaning the NL West lead for LA is now at 4.5 games. And getting larger by the day.

The Dodgers never trailed in this game, but they were tied at 1 after 3 innings. Casey Blake started the 2nd inning by hitting one out to left, his 9th as a Dodger. Clint Barmes responded an inning later with a 2 out single to score Willy Taveras and knot the score at 1.

From there, it was all Dodgers, as they put up a 3 spot in the 4th inning that was more than enough to put this game away. Matt Kemp led off with a single, and Blake DeWitt walked for 2 on. Angel Berroa, who is somehow giving the Dodgers great production in the #8 hole, doubled home Kemp to regain the lead. After Kershaw grounded out, Russell Martin hit an RBI single and Juan Pierre hit a sac-fly RBI for the 4-1 lead.

The real story on this night, however, was Kershaw, who really gave the Dodgers a huge start. His final line was 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Giving up 4 hits is great, but the real key is that he kept the walks to a mere 2. Even with some starts up and down lately, he's largely been able to keep his walks in check, which is a great sign that he's adjusting to pitching in the Majors. He definitely earned his 4th win of the season.

I had said a day before that I hoped Kershaw could give around 5 innings, and he gave a solid 6. Chad Ho Park was terrific in relief, pitching 2 scoreless innings and K'ing 4. Jonathan Broxton pitched the 9th and K'd 2. You can't ask for better pitching in a tough park than that.

Now let's flip over to Arizona, who lost in about the most humiliating way possible (and laughable for that matter). Tied at 1 in the 7th, Adam Dunn was beaned with the bases loaded to take the lead. Leading 2-1 in the 9th, the DBacks did the unthinkable. You guessed it... the bullpen blew the lead. The first 2 men reached on singles, then Corey Patterson flew out to Justin Upton in right. Upton fired it home on a strong throw to force Danny Richar back to 3rd, but catcher Miguel Montero could not handle it, allowing Richar to score and tie the game.

But here's the funny part. The first 2 hitters went down for the Reds in the 10th, but Chris Dickerson walked. Enter Micah Owings, the same guy who was traded from the DBacks to the Reds the day before to complete the Adam Dunn deal. Known for being a great hitting pitcher, he didn't disappoint by doubling home Dickerson to take the lead. Francisco Cordero retired the side in order for the win.

Wow, I'm not sure where the DBacks go from there. Then again, the Dodgers were swept by the Washington Nationals, and have since gone on to win 12 of 13, so it's not over yet. The DBacks just looked fried, though. They have a lot of work to do to catch up.

Today is a big day for Greg Maddux, as he has the chance to pass Roger "It WASN'T Steroids!" Clemens for sole possession of 8th place in the all-time wins list. He'll be opposed by Aaron Cook, who has a nice record of 16-9, but has struggled since August. In Arizona, it's a battle of youngsters of Johnny Cueto against Max Scherzer.