Weary Dodgers swept in Oakland

Clayton Kershaw did all he could, giving up one run in eight innings.  But with the offense AWOL once again, it still wasn't enough.

Yoenis Cespedes hit a three-run, walk-off homer just down the left field line in the ninth to give the A's a win over the Dodgers, 4-1.  After taking two of three from the White Sox over the weekend, the Dodgers have now dropped three straight.

The A's got on the board in the second.  Jonny Gomes doubled leading off and went to third on a wild pitch.  Brandon Inge followed that up with a sac-fly RBI, and the A's found themselves with the early 1-0 advantage.

In the fourth, the Dodgers found a way to muster a little offense.  Elian Herrera hit a one-out double, but was left there when Andre Ethier grounded out for two down.  Juan Rivera found just enough room by lining an RBI single over the first base bag to tie the game at one.

From there, both Kershaw and Travis Blackley gave the hitters fits, as the score remained tight through eight.  Rivera's double in the seventh was the only baserunner the Dodgers had in that time.

A's closer Ryan Cook came on to pitch the ninth, and Matt Treanor led off with a walk.  Dee Gordon laid down what looked to be a good bunt, but Treanor was still thrown out at second for one down.  Gordon was then caught stealing, and Herrera struck out to turn what looked like a threat into a thud.

Kershaw lasted 111 pitches, so he was yanked for Josh Lindblom, who came into this game with a 2.12 ERA and probably the most consistent reliever the Dodgers have.  But, on this day, it got ugly and fast.

Coco Crisp walked leading off, then took second on a wild pitch.  Jemile Weeks bunted, and Lindblom turned to throw to third, yet Juan Uribe wasn't there since he was charging on the play.  Cespedes ended it with his three-run jack.  And with that, Lindblom now has a 2.91 ERA.  So goes the life of a reliever.

It's a good thing the Dodgers had those couple of comeback wins against the White Sox, because if those were losses, they'd be in the midst of a bad stretch.  Even when I watched them on Tuesday night, I couldn't shake the feeling that they were a tired ball club.  Scoring two runs in three games kind of backs my thoughts up.

This is also a good spot for us all to remember that Matt Kemp hasn't played a lick since May 30 with a bad hamstring.  You can even back that up to May 13 since he last played full-time, as he only got in a little over a game when he tried to come back.  Don Mattingly has done an excellent job of piecing together lineups in the meantime.  But the bottom line remains the same - for the Dodgers to go anywhere, they need a healthy Kemp.

At least Kershaw put together a great start, going eight innings for three hits, one run, two walks, and seven strikeouts.  Even with a few bumps along the way (for him, anyway), he still has a 2.73 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.  Pretty amazing when you can look at those numbers and know that he's capable of doing even better.  And look out, because starts like this will only catapult him to bigger things over the summer, just like last season.

Another Freeway Series is up next, as the Dodgers will now play three in Anaheim.  Thankfully they avoid Jared Weaver, but then again, the Angels avoid Kershaw, so I suppose it's a wash.  Chad Billingsley goes up against Dan Haren on Friday.