The second hitter of the game, Miguel Tejada, hit a solo home run to put the Padres up 1-0. With the way the Dodgers have been playing lately, it looked like another long night at Dodger Stadium.
Fortunately for the Dodgers, that would be the last run they would give up.
Russell Martin's two-run double in the second gave the Dodgers at 2-1 lead, and it held up all the way to the end as they snapped a six-game losing streak. They are now eight games in back of the Padres and seven behind the Giants.
The Dodgers once again got practically no offense, so this win was all about the pitching. It was pretty much a flashback to the Mets series when the Dodgers would do barely enough to win. But at this point, considering how lousy things have been lately, they'll take a win any way they can get it.
Down 1-0 in the second, Matt Kemp walked leading off. Casey Blake did the same one out later. Martin lifted a sinking fly ball to center that was just out of the reach of a diving Chris Denorfia. That allowed both runners to score for the 2-1 lead.
It could have been more, though. Martin went to third on a wild pitch. Still with one out, Jamey Carroll lifted a fly ball to center. Martin tagged up to go home, and for reasons only known to him, decided not to slide and was tagged out. Maybe he thought he'd have to plow through catcher Nick Hundley, but it sure looked like he would have been safe with a slide.
Still, the Dodgers had the lead, and they had to do anything possible to make sure it stood up and get the win. Lilly did just that. He got better and better as the game went on. After Adrian Gonzalez singled in the first, Lilly didn't surrender another hit the rest of the time he was in there. Overall, he went seven innings for two hits, one run, no walks, and five strikeouts.
Mat Latos was nearly as good. His only blemish was the hit by Martin, which was inches from being caught. The Padres' bullpen did a good job of holding the Dodgers down the final two innings.
Lilly was only at 87 pitches, but when Carroll singled with two outs in the eighth, Joe Torre went with a pinch-hitter. At first it was Garret Anderson, but after lefty Joe Thatcher relieved, it then became Ronnie Belliard. Belliard struck out to end the inning.
Hong-Chih Kuo pitched the eighth, and he got two pop-ups and a strikeout in an easy inning. He ended up getting his 16th hold while lowering his ERA to an amazing 0.96. It's hard to imagine him possibly having a better year.
With the Dodgers nursing a one-run lead, it then became up to Jonathan Broxton to get the save. Sure enough, a broken-bat single by Jerry Hairston Jr. started the inning. Tejada forced Hairston with a fielder's choice for one out.
Gonzalez was up next, and he was given the intentional walk to set up the double play. Broxton came through, as Ryan Ludwick grounded into a game-ending double play. It was Broxton's 21st save of the season.
Broxton's outing in the ninth once again led to some tense moments. Ludwick is the big bat the Padres just traded for to drive in runs. Considering how pathetic Broxton has looked in recent games, it sure looked like he would blow another one. But he deserves credit here for making a big pitch when he needed to. Pretty or not, he'll take it.
Dodger fans are no doubt happy to see their team win for the first time in a week. I'm sure people would feel much better about it if the offense broke out and finally had a big night, however. But with the NL West and Wild Card slipping away, it was nice to stop the bleeding for one night.
The challenge now is to win these next two games. That would mean three of four from the first-place Padres, which would obviously be big wins. The offense still has to get much better, as they can't expect to keep winning games like this. But who knows, maybe the next two games will be when the bats bust out in a big way.
Of course, that won't be easy considering Rafael Furcal is now day-to-day with a strained back. Martin will need an MRI on his right hip from his non-slide in the second inning. Plus news came that Manny Ramirez's rehab will be pushed back. Now's the time for guys like Andre Ethier, James Loney, and Kemp to lead the way.
Vicente Padilla will get the ball on Wednesday looking for his fifth win. Wade LeBlanc opposes for the Padres.
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