For the Dodgers, the formula is simple: the starters pitch their hearts out, the offense doesn't come close to backing them up, and it leads to another loss.
That was the case today as the Giants got the three-game sweep, 2-0. The Dodgers are now in fourth place in the NL West, eight games in back of the Padres.
Like every other game, the starting pitching was absolutely fantastic. Tonight it was Clayton Kershaw, who did everything he possibly could to help get a win. He only made one mistake, and when you have to pitch mistake-free baseball to get a win, that won't cut it. Overall, he went seven innings for six hits, two runs, four walks, and six strikeouts.
Matt Cain was the Giants' starter, and he was a career 0-8 against the Dodgers coming in. Not that you'd know that from watching this game. The offense looked so scared, you would think his record was flipped around.
The lineup was tweaked in an effort to get something going. Scott Podsednik hit leadoff, Ryan Theriot second, and Rafael Furcal third. Andre Ethier is still out for the birth of his child, so James Loney and Matt Kemp hit 4-5.
The result? Four hits, two walks, and no runs. And another lifeless performance that no doubt put 99% of their fans asleep.
With no runs, it's not like it'll take long to go through the "highlights," so here goes anyway. In the second, Loney singled leading off. Shocking, I know. Kemp grounded him into a fielder's choice. You can probably guess what happened next... Kemp was picked off of first.
And so goes the 2010 season for Kemp. He came into this season a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner from '09, and was targeted as one of the next big stars of the league. Instead, he's hitting .259, he's struck out 113 times, and he's been caught stealing 13 times in 28 tries.
Worst of all, he plays the game with such a lack of focus, one has to wonder just how much this all means to him. There's absolutely no excuse to keep getting picked off of first like he continues to do. Yes I know he's young, yes I know he can get better, but I'm evaluating him right now. And right now, he's not even close to the type of player a team can build around.
Back to the game, and the Dodgers got Podsednik over to third with two outs in the fourth. Kemp grounded into a fielder's choice. The rest of the time, they had no more than one runner on base. That's how sad and pathetic they were.
The one mistake that I talked about for Kershaw came in the sixth. With one out, Pat Burrell, who's burned the Dodgers this weekend, doubled to right. Pablo Sandoval struck out, and Aaron Rowand was intentionally walked to get to Edgar Renteria. Joe Torre made a bad move, as Renteria hit a two-run double for the 2-0 lead.
Brian Wilson came on for the save, and the only person to reach was Furcal with a walk. The game ended on Kemp's flyout. An appropriate ending for a guy who went 0-for-4 and had another baserunning blunder.
Part of me wonders if Torre just doesn't get through to his guys anymore. I like him, but I haven't been crazy about his managing lately, especially how he's handled the bullpen. When the offense is this dry and lifeless, and then they show him just sitting there without any expression, it gets tough to take.
Then again, it's the offense that should feel most of the heat. They should be totally embarrassed for how lousy they've been these last couple of weeks. We can talk all we want about managing, but the bottom line is that if the offense continues to sleepwalk, this season will be down the drain in no time.
Fresh off of a 1-5 road trip, the Dodgers come right back home for four against the first-place Padres. Ugh. The Dodgers have to be realistic and hope to at least get a split. They're just not good enough right now to demand more. Hiroki Kuroda will be on the mound.
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