The six-game winning streak for the Dodgers came to a screeching halt on Wednesday, as the Diamondbacks put up eight early runs off of Ted Lilly to claim the win, 11-4. Still, the Dodgers won another series with two of three, and are the only team in baseball with 30 wins at 30-14. So they'll take it.
With a lineup that didn't include Andre Ethier (rest), and coming off a big comeback the night before, you got the feeling the Diamondbacks would either A) Roll over and play dead, or B) Come out aggressive and with something to prove.
If you guessed B, then give yourself a pat on the back.
Elian Herrera doubled leading off, but Joe Saunders then struck out the side. That was not a good sign, as Ryan Roberts hit a solo shot with one out to begin the onslaught. Justin Upton walked, and Peter Goldschmidt also did an out later. Aaron Hill's RBI single made it 2-0.
Things went from bad to worse, as Lilly just never found a groove. In the second, Willie Bloomquist hit an RBI triple to go up 3-0. A sac-fly RBI from Roberts tacked on another run.
An RBI single from Gerardo Parra in the third increased it to 5-0. A.J. Ellis answered in the top of the fourth with his third homer of the season, giving the Dodgers a glimmer of hope at 5-1.
That glimmer would soon be lost, as the DBacks put the game away for good in the fourth. Bloomquist singled and Roberts walked leading off. Upton struck out, but Jason Kubel made up for it with a two-run triple. Another walk to Goldschmidt followed, and another RBI single by Hill followed that, bringing it to 8-1.
Just for good measure, the DBacks ran it up to 11-1 in the fifth. With Jamey Wright on the mound, that darn Roberts got another run in on a groundout. Upton then unloaded on a two-run tater.
The only thing the Dodgers could do from there was get RBIs from Dee Gordon, James Loney, and Herrera in the seventh. But obviously, it was too little, too late. Well, definitely too little.
Lilly has had plenty of great games so far... but this was not one of them. He only lasted 3 1/3 innings for nine hits, eight runs, five walks, and three strikeouts. He just had a miserable time with his location, and when he did get it over, it was hit hard. He's proven an ability to bounce back, so I'm not worried about it. I do think it was just one of those games.
If you looked at the lineup that Don Mattingly had, it resembled more of a Triple-A game than anything else. Even Justin Sellers was a late scratch with a sore leg. Hererra had two doubles leading off, but the 2-4 spots of Jerry Sands, Bobby Abreu, and Scott Van Slyke went 0-for-10 with six K's. I'm guessing you won't win much doing that.
There was one miracle in this game, however. Todd Coffey pitched a scoreless inning. Now his ERA is only 8.53 with a 2.37 WHIP. Talk about improvement!
Thursday will be an off day to travel back home. Clayton Kershaw will get the ball on Friday night to open a three-game set against the Astros. He'll look for his fifth win.
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