Big 2nd carries Diamondbacks to victory

With injuries and ineffectiveness found all throughout the Dodgers' offense, it's no wonder why four runs was more than enough to spell doom.

The Diamondbacks hit two homers en route to a four-run second inning, and Ian Kennedy made sure the lead held up as they downed the Dodgers, 4-1. The Dodgers dropped two of three in this series, and scored only one run this weekend. In other words, the beat goes on.

Ted Lilly came in with a 3-3 record, but was still trying to search for more consistency. Well, today it didn't happen. He only had one bad inning, but he was victimized by the long ball.

The inning started, not too surprisingly, with a walk to Stephen Drew. Xavier Nady then launched his first tater of the year with a two-run shot for the 2-0 lead. Ryan Roberts next stepped up and hit a solo home run to left, and it was 3-0. Miguel Montero then got beaned, but on a breaking ball that looked more like a slow pitch softball pitch. He was soon brought in on a sac-fly RBI from Chris Young, and it was 4-0.

Of course, the Dodgers had an opportunity to score first, but once again didn't come through with runners on. Rewind to the first inning. Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles each singled on 0-2 counts. Andre Ethier struck out, but both guys stole bases to get into scoring position.

Matt Kemp then worked a walk to load the bases with one out. But when it rains, it pours, and the Dodgers didn't do a damn thing with it. James Loney flew out and Dioner Navarro struck out, one of three on the day for him. It was very Dodger-like I must say.

The DBacks loaded the bases themselves in the third, but Lilly got out of it unharmed. In the bottom of the frame, Carroll doubled leading off. Miles hit an RBI single to make it 4-1. The heart of the order consisting of Ethier, Kemp, and Loney all failed to get anything else going, and the score stayed that way.

The only other threat of the day came in the ninth. J.J. Putz was on for the save, but Loney greeted him with a double just in front of a diving Gerardo Parra in left. Navarro then struck out (I can't believe it...). Juan Uribe came on a couple innings before and walked for two on.

Rod Barajas was summoned to try and get that one big hit. With seven homers this season, it was a good choice. He then lifted a high fly ball to dead center that had a chance... and was caught by Young right near the wall. It was symbolic for just how this season has gone: close, but not close enough. Jerry Sands popped up to end the game.

In a way I do feel badly for Don Mattingly, as he has to put together a lineup that features little to no punch. Injuries to Rafael Furcal and Casey Blake have hurt, and even to Marcus Thames, who at least is a power threat. Instead, he has to pencil in guys like Loney, Navarro, and Tony Gwynn, none of whom are hitting over .230. His pinch-hitters are Uribe, Sands, and Jay Gibbons, who are hitting even worse.

In summary, there's not much to work with. And when Ethier and Kemp combine to go 0-for-7 with a walk, the chances of winning are as slim as you can imagine. This team is desperately searching for someone to step up with the stick and get involved, but it's not happening.

Lilly had one of those days in which his stuff looked completely hittable. He ended up going six innings for five hits, four runs, two walks, two hit batsmen, and five strikeouts. With a 4.83 ERA, he certainly hasn't carried the lower end of the rotation like I thought he would. Instead, I'm worried it won't get any better with some of those pitches he threw.

At least the bullpen looked good. After Mike MacDougal pitched a scoreless seventh, both Scott Elbert and Javy Guerra made their season debuts. Elbert struck out the side in the eighth. Guerra, who was making his major league debut, got through the ninth by only giving up a bloop single. With Hong-Chih Kuo and Blake Hawksworth missing time, these guys will be given chances to prove their worth. So far, so good.

The homestand continues with a couple of unusual two-game sets. First up will be the Brewers followed by the Giants. Jon Garland will go on Monday after pitching a rain-shortened two innings in Pittsburgh last Thursday.