6th inning woes cost Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw found himself locked in a battle with Chris Volstad of the Marlins through five innings of Tuesday night's ballgame in Florida.

Then the sixth inning came, and Wild Kershaw made his return.

After looking sharp through the first five innings, including five strikeouts, Kershaw was all over the place in the sixth. Three singles and two walks later, the Marlins broke a 2-2 tie with two runs, and that score would hold up as they won, 4-2. The Dodgers have dropped two straight in this three-game set.

A day after such a disappointing loss, the offense went to work right away in the first. Aaron Miles again hit leadoff and singled, and soon advanced to second on a passed ball. Andre Ethier collected a hit in his 23rd straight game with an RBI double, and it was 1-0.

For Ethier, the hit was historic. He now has the record all to himself for consecutive hits in April. And here's the kicker - he broke a tie with Joe Torre! Talk about strange. Congrats to Andre on the impressive streak.

Down by a run, Gabby Sanchez led off the bottom of the second with a solo homer, his third of the season.

The Dodgers got that run back in the fourth. With one out, Jerry Sands stroked a double. James Loney singled to left, all part of his 4-for-4 night to raise his average from .170 to .204, and Sands went to third. Rod Barajas did his job by producing a fly ball for an RBI, and it was 2-1.

Another lousy play with the gloves, ala the night before, resulted in the Fish tying the game again in the fourth. Hanley Ramirez singled with one out. Sanchez then hit a grounder to third in which Miles recorded the out at first. Ramirez kept running, so Loney tried to throw him out at third, which was a smart play... right up until Miles let the ball sail by to score Ramirez. The error was given to Loney, but from where I was sitting, it sure looked like a catchable ball.

The sixth inning is where it all came apart for Kershaw and the Dodgers. It started with that pesky Chris Coghlan, who just torched the Dodgers the previous night. He singled leading off, and soon went to third an out later on Ramirez's single. Sanchez then took a walk to load the bases. Kershaw couldn't make the big pitches to end the inning, as Matt Stanton's two-run single with two strikes gave the Marlins the lead for good at 4-2.

The final three inning brought exactly one baserunner for the Dodgers - Loney's single in the ninth. The bullpen of Randy Choate, Clay Hensley, and Leo Nunez emphatically shut the door the final three innings of this one. Nunez now has seven saves.

Kershaw finished with 5 1/3 innings for six hits, four runs, two walks, and five strikeouts. He seems to have settled into a pattern of a great start followed by a so-so one. He's certainly not getting shelled, but the next step for him is to put together consecutive quality outings. He'll get there soon.

Mike MacDougal continues to impress out of the 'pen. He has now only given up one earned run in nine innings of relief. Everyone knew he could throw hard, but his command was the issue. Well, he does have five walks, but he's getting the big outs when needed. It's good to see him getting the job done.

Kenley Jansen was also impressive, as he pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Unfortunately for him, he has two horrific outings that have completely ballooned his ERA up to 8.03. But, outings like this are what he needs to get back on track, and he looks like he's doing that.

You can't blame the Dodgers for having a case of tired legs, and that looked to be the case at times tonight. Matt Kemp was 0-for-4, and Ethier was hitless after the first. The Dodgers have played 19 straight days, and the Marlins are quietly one of the best teams in the majors with a 15-7 record. That's why blowing last night's game was so tough - it was a chance to hang a loss on a good team. But it is what it is.

Wednesday's game will be a noon start, as Chad Billingsley takes on Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez is coming off a start in which he was three outs away from a no-hitter. After 20 straight days of baseball, the Dodgers will mercifully get a day off on Thursday before a weekend set against the Padres starting Friday.