The Dodgers chased Chris Volstad in the fourth inning after scoring five runs. The Marlins then chased him back to Triple-A.
As poor Volstad was optioned to the minors following another lousy start, the Dodgers moved to three games behind the Padres in the NL West with a 7-3 win. The Padres finally lost thanks to a walk-off homer from Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals.
It was a bit of role reversal for both teams on Tuesday, as it was the Marlins who jumped out to the early lead the game before. This time, the Dodgers used a four-run second to propel them the rest of the way.
With one out, Russell Martin walked. He still can't hit at only .246, but has a respectable on-base percentage of .351 thanks to drawing 41 walks. Blake DeWitt singled to left, and Vicente Padilla sacrificed them both over to scoring position.
Rafael Furcal came through with a two-run single up the middle to go up 2-0. Matt Kemp has seen his production go up lately, and it continued with a long two-run homer to let, making it 4-0 after two.
The Dodgers added another run in the third on a line drive solo homer to left from Casey Blake.
With Padilla still putting up blanks, Andre Ethier got in on the act in the fifth with a solo shot to right, and it was 6-0. That was Ethier's 14th of the season, just behind Kemp's 16 for team leader.
Padilla was finally tagged in the seventh. With two outs and a runner on first, rookie Mike Stanton hit a two-run homer to left to go down 6-2. At 112 pitches, George Sherrill came on in relief and immediately gave up a single. But, he got Chris Coghlan grounding out for the third out.
Another run was tacked on in the eighth by the Dodgers. DeWitt walked and stole second with one out. Reed Johnson also drew a walk. Raffy delivered again with an RBI single, and it was 7-2.
Travis Schlichting had been flawless for the Dodgers, but that changed as the Marlins put together a bit of a threat in the ninth. Two straight singles by Dan Uggla and Cody Ross opened the inning. Ronny Paulino fouled out, but Stanton's RBI single made it 7-3.
Jonathan Broxton entered with a four-run lead but with runners on base, so it was a save situation. He got the next two in order for his 18th save.
A day after John Ely was knocked around early, Padilla showed how good he is when healthy with another stellar start. He went 6 2/3 innings for six hits, two runs, no walks, and nine strikeouts for his third win. Since coming back from the DL, he's 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in four starts.
With Manny Ramirez not returning until after the All-Star break, it's important for the big bats to come through, and they did. Raffy had three RBIs and a stolen base. Kemp homered and stole two bases, a welcome sign from getting nailed so many times already this season. Ethier homered. Even DeWitt had a good night at the bottom of the order with two walks, two runs, a hit, and two stolen bases.
It's a good thing the Dodgers won on Tuesday, because it won't be nearly as easy tonight. The Marlins will send All-Star Josh Johnson to the mound, and he's been just filthy with an 8-2 record and 1.82 ERA. Oh ya, he also has 115 strikeouts in 114 innings. He may very well be starting in the All-Star Game next Tuesday.
The Dodgers will counter with Hiroki Kuroda. He was awful against the Diamondbacks last start, and just so-so against the Yankees the one before. But, he's shown in the past a strong ability to bounce back after facing adversity. The Dodgers will need that to happen if they even want to think of beating Johnson.
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