Loss guarantees a losing season

With zero riding on the final three-game series of the season, the Dodgers could at least finish at .500 if they got the sweep.

A quick 5-0 hole put an end to that thought.

The Diamondbacks built up a five-run lead after three, then held on get the win, 7-5. The loss means the Dodgers will finish the season with a losing record, their first since going a pathetic 71-91 in 2005.

Well, at least this year's Dodgers won't be THAT bad.

But make no mistake about it, this season has been a big disappointment. After two straight appearances in the NLCS, Dodger fans were thinking of bigger things this year. Instead, they regressed big time in the second half of the season, easily becoming one of the league's worst teams. That's why they'll finish in fourth place in the NL West.

As for this game, it didn't take long for the Diamondbacks to tee off of John Ely. Ely, if you recall, had a great start to the season, but his nosedive is symbolic to how this season has gone for the Dodgers. If he was trying to pitch his way into the rotation next year, he'll now need one heck of a Spring Training to get that done.

Stephen Drew doubled leading off the game. Chris Young did the same, and it was already 1-0. Kelly Johnson singled to center, and the lead was now 2-0. Somehow Ely didn't give up a hit the rest of the inning.

But don't worry, he sure gave up some more in the third. He got Drew swinging to open the inning, then walked Young, who stole second on a close play. Johnson took a walk as well for two on. Three straight runs came in on a double by Adam LaRoche, a single by Mark Reynolds, and sac-fly RBI from Brandon Allen, making it 5-0.

The Dodgers finally got on the board in the fifth off of the great Zach Kroenke. Actually, he's not great, as it was his first career start, but maybe he'll be great someday. Matt Kemp hit one out to deep left for his 26th homer of the season.

Good old Ely soon gave it right back and one more. With Drew on base from a walk and steal of second, LaRoche hit a two-run homer for his 100th RBI of the season. The Diamondbacks haven't had a lick to cheer about this season, but LaRoche's play has been a bright spot.

Down 7-1 in the sixth, the Dodgers made a small run. Esmerling Vasquez came on, and Ryan Theriot walked. Casey Blake took one as well, and Andre Ethier singled to load the bases. Kemp was then plunked for the easy RBI, and it was 7-2. Carlos Rosa came in, and James Loney's RBI single made it 7-3. Rod Barajas got a sac-fly RBI to put the score at 7-4.

With Sam Demel now on in the game, Reed Johnson led off and was beaned. Theriot's grounder forced Johnson at second for one down. Blake took a walk, and both men advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch. Ethier grounded out to second, but the run scored to cut the deficit to 7-5. Kemp struck out swinging to end the inning.

Hong-Chih Kuo struck out the side in the eighth, allowing a bloop double to Cole Gillespie with two outs. Ronald Belisario pitched the ninth and allowed a couple runners, but got out of it unscathed.

The Dodgers could do nothing in the final two innings with the bats. Aaron Heilman plowed through then in the eighth. Juan Gutierrez came on for the save, and only Theriot reached on a walk with two outs. Blake struck out to end the game and assure the Dodgers of a losing season.

Since it was the final series of the season and both teams are not in the playoff picture, Joe Torre did his annual tradition of letting a player manage. Like last year, Brad Ausmus got the nod, with Russell Martin as hitting coach (so many jokes come to mind with that move, but I'll let it go), and Jeff Weaver the bullpen coach. Ausmus beat the Rockies last year, but fell to .500 with this loss.

Like I said before, Ely was just awful. He lasted 4 2/3 innings for seven hits, seven runs, three walks, and three strikeouts. He'll mercifully end the season at 4-10 with a 5.49 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. Yikes. And to think, after a strong start against the Diamondbacks on June 1, he was 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA. My how he has fallen.

Actually, it's more like the rest of the league caught up to him. He just never made the adjustment. In fact, he didn't come close to making any adjustments. Check out his monthly ERA totals after June: July - 19.80, September - 7.47, October - 13.50. Granted that only covers six starts, but that's because he went up and down from Triple-A since he kept getting shelled so much.

The bullpen did a good job, probably because the Diamondbacks were very deflated after watching Ely leave, which meant batting practice was over. Ramon Troncoso, George Sherrill, Kuo, and Belisario went 4 1/3 innings for three hits, no runs, no walks, and six strikeouts. At least that went well.

On the second-to-last game of the season, Torre will let Jamey Carroll take the reigns and manage tonight. Chad Billingsley will get the ball looking to improve to 12-11, despite improving very much from last season's bump in the road.