10-0 at home

The heading speaks for itself.

The Dodgers rested Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, Russell Martin, and Rafael Furcal on Sunday afternoon, and still easily defeated the Padres, 7-3. The pitching of Chad Billingsley along with a 3-run 1st lead the way.

To put the streak in perspective, it eclipses the 9-0 mark set by the 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers for best in team history. The last National League team to start 10-0 was the 1983 Atlanta Braves, managed by... Joe Torre. This English teacher really likes the irony in that. Since last year's All Star break, they are 33-9 at home. Holy crap!

After Bills set the Padres down in order to start the game, the Dodgers went to work. Leadoff hitter Juan Pierre, getting more starts lately, singled up the middle. Orlando Hudson immediately cashed him in with a long double. That was followed by a double from Andre Ethier, who scored on a James Loney single. Just like that, it was 3-0.

That's really all Bills would need, as he finished with 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K. He even added an RBI single and run scored in the 6th. He's been simply fantastic in every sense of the word at 5-0 this season. I'd say the playoffs from last year have had zero negative impact.

The score was 3-1 until the bottom of the 6th when the Dodgers put it away for good. With 2 outs, replacements Brad Ausmus and Juan Castro singled. Bills then hit the RBI single to score Ausmus. Pierre added an RBI single, and O-Dog doubled again to score 2 for the 7-1 lead.

About the only blemish was that Will Ohman gave up 2 hits and a run in the 8th without getting an out. No biggie, as the newly unhittable Ramon Troncoso came on for 2 scoreless frames. Where in the world did he come from? It wasn't long ago I was talking about him possibly being demoted, and now he's pitched his last 13.2 innings scoreless. Good for him.

It's always good to get a win over a division opponent, but to do it with 4 regulars resting for the sweep, it's extra special. There's no rest for them, however, as they welcome the Diamondbacks for 2 (not a typo). Eric Stults will look to rebound from a rough start against Doug Davis.