Two touchdowns sinks the Nationals

Man, the Washington Nationals are really bad. Really, REALLY bad.

The Dodgers had no problems at all in taking care of the Nationals Tuesday night, 14-2. Seven runs in the fourth and six in the seventh were more than enough. It was the 99th loss of the season for the Nats, who have once again gone straight into the toilet.

On the good side, the Giants lost to the Diamondbacks, 10-8. That means the magic number for the Dodgers to clinch a playoff spot is down to two. Any combination of a Dodgers' win and a Giants' loss will do the trick.

The Rockies held off a furious ninth-inning rally by the Padres to hold on, 11-10. The NL West lead for the Dodgers remains at five games.

A Manny Ramirez RBI double got the Dodgers on the board in the third. Following an error by Rafael Furcal in the bottom of the frame, Adam Dunn launched a two-run shot, and it was 2-1.

What was a close game quickly turned into a joke. 11 men came to the plate in the fourth, as Livan Hernandez proved... well, that he's Livan Hernandez, and pretty much should stop trying to be a starting pitcher.

The highlights of the inning were an RBI single by old National Ronnie Belliard (thanks for him, by the way), a two-run single by Furcal, an RBI groundout by Andre Ethier, an RBI single from Matt Kemp, and a two-run double by James Loney. Add it all up, and it was 8-2.

Hiroki Kuroda made sure that stood up. In six innings, he gave up four hits, two runs (none earned), two walks, and six strikeouts. His last three starts have been brilliant, as he given up three earned runs in 20 innings, all resulting in wins. That's a great sign for the playoffs, where he's proved he can excel in.

As for the seventh, it was a combination of good hitting and some atrocious pitching. The Nationals basically sent a bunch of nobodies out to the mound, to which they proved why they're a bunch of nobodies.

Casey Blake started the run with a two-run homer, his 18th of the season. Raffy hit a two-run single, part of his 4-for-5 night. Jason Repko had a sac-fly RBI, and Kemp an RBI fielder's choice.

Everyone but Kemp and Loney were subbed out by the end of the game. So if you were dying to see Juan Castro, Juan Pierre, Repko, Blake DeWitt, and A.J. Ellis in action, last night was your game. It was a good feeling to see those guys get some time, as only Castro and Pierre will get a crack at the postseason roster. Possibly DeWitt as well, but it doesn't seem likely.

Another good sign was the last two innings where Clayton Kershaw got some work in. He was great, as he didn't allow a hit while striking out four. He threw 39 pitches and looked fine, so he must be anxious to get back to starting soon. We're all anxious as well.

While Tuesday night went all their way, the Dodgers still have to keep the ball rolling because the Rockies won't be losing much anytime soon. Chad Billingsley will take the ball tonight, and he really needs to prove he can pitch consistently again. If not, then his playoff roll will continue to be reduced.