Loney puts the game away

With the Dodgers in the middle of a youth movement during their four-game set against the Pirates, James Loney found himself getting the night off.

That is until he pinch-hit in the sixth and put the game out of reach.

Loney's three-run blast backed up Hiroki Kuroda's solid effort, and the Dodgers beat the Pirates, 7-2. The Giants have run off six straight wins, so it looks like the Dodgers will have to settle for third place in the NL West, as they have a four-game edge over the Rockies.

Kuroda was making the start despite a stiff neck, though an MRI showed no new damage. The Pirates got to him in the second. Garrett Jones led off the inning with a single. An out later, Pedro Alvarez took a walk. Ronny Cedeno then grounded one that should have been a double play, but after getting the out at second, Dee Gordon's throw sailed past first, as Jones scored to make it 1-0.

The Dodgers battled right back in the bottom of the frame. Jerry Sands doubled to start things off. Rod Barajas followed with his own double, and just like that, it was 1-1.

Gordon began to atone for his error with a leadoff single in the third. Sellers walked to set things up for the mighty Matt Kemp, who delivered his 111th RBI on a single. With Sellers at third, Juan Rivera's RBI fielder's choice put the Dodgers up 3-1. Believe it or not, big man Rivera actually stole second but was stranded.

Clinging to a two-run lead, Kuroda had a scare in the sixth. Alex Presley led off the inning with a long solo shot to right, and it was 3-2. Neil Walker and Ryan Doumit then hit consecutive singles to start a threat. Kuroda, however, relaxed, and got two popups and a strikeout to escape with the lead.

The Dodgers put the game on ice in the bottom of the sixth. Russ Mitchell started at first, and he singled with one out. Jamey Carroll also singled, and Aaron Miles did as well pinch-hitting for Kuroda. Gordon then hit a slow roller that forced Miles at second, but easily scored Mitchell to make it 4-2.

Don Mattingly then went for the knockout blow by sending up Loney in Sellers's spot. It worked, as after Gordon stole his 18th base to leave first base open, Loney still got to swing with Kemp lurking on deck. On a fastball, Loney cranked one to right that hit the top of the wall and out for three-run blast, and it was 7-2.

The bullpen took care of things from there. Hong-Chih Kuo looked like his old self (for a change) with two strikeouts and a groundout in the seventh. Scott Elbert worked the eighth with ease. Matt Guerrier worked around a rare error by Kemp on a liner and a passed ball by Barajas to finish the game off.

The win gives Kuroda a career-high of 12. It's hard to believe he's never had more than that despite an ERA that's never been above 3.76 on the season. But, that's a result of some poor run support along the way. With a career 3.49 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, he's more than proven his worth. In this one, he lasted six innings for five hits, two runs (one earned), two walks, and seven strikeouts.

To continue Kemp's MVP watch, he was 2-for-4 with an RBI. He's stuck on 99 runs and 39 stolen bases, so one more of each of those would look a little better. He also has 33 homers, so tacking on a couple more there will only help his cause. With 12 games left, there's no doubt he has a great chance at getting all of the above accomplished.

Loney was absolutely on fire in August, hitting .367 with a 1.066 OPS. He slowed down some this month, but Friday night's blast again showed what he's capable of. I'm not sure what's going on with him, but something clicked in his head. The question now is, Will he be back next year with this resurgence? To his credit, he's making that decision tougher and tougher.

The Dodgers have two more games this weekend before getting their first scheduled day off since August 25, though they did get rained out in Washington on September 7. Ted Lilly will look to get in the double digits by taking the mound on Saturday.