The Dodgers continued their terrific play against NL West foes as they completed the three-game sweep of the Padres, 1-0. The win makes 12 of the last 15 in the victory column, and a 12-3 record against the rest of the division.
It wasn't a textbook way to win. Andre Ethier, Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, and Blake DeWitt all sat this one out. With Garret Anderson, Reed Johnson, Ronnie Belliard, and Nick Green in, the offense managed two total hits. Heck, they only had five baserunners all day, and one of them (Belliard) got caught stealing.
So how did they win? Chad Billingsley was a big reason. We all know how he crashed and burned after the All-Star break last year, and has been searching for his old form ever since. A day like today is a sign that he's definitely back.
Billingsley went 7 1/3 innings for four hits, no runs, one walk, and six strikeouts. Much like Clayton Kershaw before him, Bills is more than finding his groove. After his third start, his ERA stood at 7.07. Thanks to four good starts in his past five, it's now at 4.03.
If you're a Padre fan, the shame of this game was that Wade LeBlanc was every bit as good as Billingsley. In fact, he had a no-hitter going into the sixth. But, he was victimized by his offense that has gone cold. The Padres came into the year with a questionable offense but started off great anyway. During the sweep, they scored four runs. Maybe they're coming back to Earth.
The Padres gave a threat in the second. Yorvit Torrealba singled with one out, and Will Venable followed with a walk. After Kyle Blanks struck out, Tony Gwynn ripped one to first that James Loney made a diving grab on, and beat Gwynn in a race to the bag.
Jamey Carroll started the sixth with a walk. Billingsley sacrificed him over to second. It turned out to be a big play, as Martin's single scored Carroll, giving the Dodgers the 1-0 lead and wiping out the no-no.
Billingsley stayed on in the eighth to get Gwynn on a groundout. With Matt Stairs pinch-hitting, Joe Torre brought in the "Stairs-killer," Jonathan Broxton. OK, that was a joke. Torre actually brought in Hong-Chih Kuo. Out went Stairs, in came Oscar Salazar, and it didn't matter because he popped up. Everth Cabrera grounded out to end the inning.
Broxton eventually did come in for the save opportunity in the ninth, and got the Padres in order for his seventh. That's now 11 batters sat down in a row for him.
The ironic thing about Martin getting the lone RBI of the game is that he wasn't even supposed to start. But with Manny and Blake sitting out, Torre made the right call in keeping him in there. And we all know he would play all 162 if he had the choice.
This was the Dodgers' biggest series of this young season, and they passed with flying colors. They scored nine total runs, but made enough big plays each game to get the victory. Today, they used one big hit, good defense from guys like Loney and Johnson, and more fantastic pitching. It was great to get a win without so many regulars.
The Dodgers will put their seven-game winning streak on the line when they welcome the Astros in for two at home. The Astros are just horrible this year, and have a run differential of -60, by far the worst in the league. Fresh off two good starts, John Ely gets the ball on Monday.
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