Uh-oh... Cardinals destroy Dodgers again

Ok, I'm officially worried.

It's not so much that the Cardinals have beaten the Dodgers two straight games, it's more that the combined score has been 16-1. This was supposed to be a battle between the top teams in the National League, and the Cards have made it into a joke so far.

Not good.

As for Tuesday night's debacle, the game was delayed 1 hour and 25 minutes for a "rain delay" that never really happened. Once everything got underway, it was scoreless going into the sixth. Oh, the Dodgers had their chances, they just failed miserably with runners on.

In other words, it was Monday night all over again.

Here's a look at how many people were stranded in the first six innings: Manny Ramirez in the first, Russell Martin and Matt Kemp in the second, Rafael Furcal and Andre Ethier in the third, nobody in the fourth (because Martin grounded into a double play), Raffy and Manny in the fifth, and James Loney and Martin in the sixth.

Overall, nine men were left on base, and they grounded into two double plays. With only one true power threat in the lineup, they had to rely on stringing together hits to score runs. They'd get a couple hits, then waste it away, time and time again.

Chad Billingsley was awesome for the first five innings. In fact, he only gave up one hit. In the sixth, he got bombed. A six-run inning made his final line look pretty bad, but the truth is that he was a whole lot better than he has been lately.

In the sixth, Bills walked four (two intentionally), gave up three singles, and uncorked two wild pitches. But in a way, I can't blame him. With the offense doing next to nothing, he pretty much had to be perfect in order to win. He was really good for awhile, then the wheels fell off the bus.

Claudio Vargas did a good job in relief, throwing two innings and giving up a run. Brent Leach was terrible for the second night in a row. With an ERA of 17.18 in July, his overall ERA has ballooned to 5.75. You have to wonder if his arm is tired. That's another reason the Dodgers are looking for bullpen help at the trade deadline.

I guess the only highlight was watching Mark Loretta come on in relief in the eighth and get Ryan Ludwick to fly out. Of course, then Loretta grounded into a DP to end the game. How appropriate.

For the Dodgers, it's their first three-game losing streak of the season, which is pretty amazing if you think about it. It had to happen at some point. I just wish they put up a fighting chance these last two nights.

The Dodgers have faced adversity this season, as any team has. But, they've done an excellent job at responding positively to it. Right now, they need to come out swinging. Getting beat like this is pretty sad.

Hopefully the winning starts again tonight, and it's a great pitching matchup to watch. Clayton Kershaw will take on Joel Pineiro, who are both red hot. Let's hope the Dodgers at least put up a fight tonight and not crumble late like they've done the first two games.