For a change, the offense would not be bailed out by the pitching again.
The Padres scored a pair of runs in each of the sixth, seventh, and eighth as they defeated the Dodgers, 6-1. The loss knocks the Dodgers back down to six back in the NL West.
Once again, the Dodgers' offense was largely nowhere to be found, especially as the game progressed. How bad did it get? The last 19 "hitters" (they should barely be called that for this effort) were retired, and mostly with ease. Give credit to the Padres, but it's the Dodgers that really need to figure things out.
By the end of the game, it was probably hard to remember that the Dodgers actually had a lead at one point. In the third, Blake DeWitt singled with one out. Hiroki Kuroda failed to get a bunt down, so that made two outs. Rafael Furcal walked, and Jamey Carroll singled up the middle for the 1-0 advantage.
I hope you had a good memory of that hit by Carroll, because it would be the last one of the night. They didn't even draw a lousy walk. No disrespect meant to Clayton Richard, who's having a good year, but if the Dodgers do that poorly against him, it's scary to think what might happen against an elite pitcher.
Like the Dodgers have been doing for about a week now, the pitching would make the small lead hold up for most of the game. Kuroda was rolling through five innings, giving up only one hit and one hit batsman. It sure looked like it would be another close victory.
But, I'd say the law of averages caught up to the Dodgers, because it's just way too hard to keep winning by the slimmest of margins like they have been. It all started to unravel for Kuroda in the sixth. Tony Gwynn hit an infield single and soon stole second. Chris Denorfia then walked with one down.
Adrian Gonzalez found some room in center for an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1. Kuroda again walked a batter, this time Chase Headley to load the bases. Nick Hundley lifted a sac-fly RBI to Andre Ethier in right, and the Padres went up 2-1.
Kuroda went back out to start the seventh, which seemed like a mistake when I first saw it considering how much he labored the inning before. Sure enough, Scott Hairston singled, and that was it for Kuroda. George Sherrill actually did a good job in getting the only two batters he faced out.
On the other hand, Jeff Weaver did not do a good job. In fact, he was terrible. Jerry Hairston Jr. hit an RBI double and Denorfia an RBI single to make it 4-1. I'm not one to get into questioning every move by Joe Torre, but I think Weaver shouldn't be put in those situations. He's a long reliever, not a guy who should be getting these types of outs. If Torre wanted a righty, maybe Kenley Jansen should've gotten a shot.
Then again, with Ramon Troncoso in Triple-A and Ronald Belisario still not ready to come back, the options for righties in the bullpen are limited. Still, I didn't like using Weaver there.
With the way the Dodgers were flailing away at the plate, the Padres didn't need more runs, but they got them anyway in the eighth. Travis Schlichting came in and gave up a two-run single to Hairston Jr. with two outs, making it 6-1.
Even with the loss, the Dodgers have still had a good run recently and still have a great record in the division. They just need to find some way to get more runs. Furcal has gone cold, Ethier has stayed cold, and Matt Kemp remains up and down. If those guys aren't hitting, the team will struggle.
For those of you that want Manny Ramirez gone, I'll counter by saying they need him back in the lineup and fast. I know he's not the same hitter, but I still believe he can add some power that they're desperately needing. He can't possibly do any worse. Will it all work out? Who knows with the way he gets hurt, but his bat is really missed.
The Dodgers will look to win the series by sending Vicente Padilla to the mound on Thursday afternoon. He'll go against Mat Latos, who's enjoying a fine season. It should be a good pitching matchup once again.
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