3 blown leads, 3 straight loses

Hey, at least the Dodgers didn't blow Monday's lead.

For the third straight day, the Dodgers had an early advantage over the Cardinals, only to flush it all away.  This time it was Chris Capuano who failed to hold onto a 4-2 lead in the fifth, as the Cardinals scored four and never looked back, winning 7-4.  The Giants were idle, so the Dodgers find themselves down three games in the NL West.

Capuano got through the opening three innings, then ran into trouble in the fourth.  It started with a double by Allen Craig to right.  David Freese put runners in scoring position with a single.  Two straight run-scoring singles came next, as Matt Carpenter and Tony Cruz made it 2-0.  It could have been worse, but Andre Ethier caught a liner in right, then fired home to nail Carpenter for the final out.

The Dodgers woke up in the fifth, scoring four runs on a bunch of small ball.  Ethier singled leading off, fresh off his great play in right.  New Dodger Hanley Ramirez beat out an infield single for two on.  Juan Rivera and Luis Cruz tied the game at two with consecutive RBI singles, respectively.

Matt Treanor then added his own infield single, and Rivera was able to score on Freese's error.  A sac-fly RBI by Capuano made it 4-2.  Capuano then stood on first, apparently dumbfounded by the fact that he was out, before the umps politely reminded him to take a hike.

I guess that brain fart extended into the bottom of the inning, as just like Clayton Kershaw suffered on Tuesday, Capuano was smacked around in the fifth.  Daniel Descalso singled with one out, and Matt Holliday walked.  Craig hit an RBI single to make it 4-3, and Freese a two-run single to go up 5-4.  Another single by Carpenter to put two on chased Caps for good.

Javy Guerra was summoned, and he immediately surrendered an RBI single to Cruz to put the Cards up 6-4.  At least Guerra got the last couple of outs before any further damage happened.

Not that it mattered at that point if there was further damage, because the offense went into full hibernation mode the rest of the game.  Ramirez walked and stole second in the sixth.  James Loney had a pinch-hit single in the seventh.  Matt Kemp and Ethier walked in the eighth, with Kemp stealing second.  Then Jason Motte struck out the side to end the game.

Capuano played with some fire last Saturday against the Mets, but still escaped with a win.  This game, not so much.  He lasted a mere 4 1/3 innings for 11 hits, 6 runs, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout.  He drops to 10-6 on the year, raising his ERA from 2.81 to 3.13 in the process.  Considering he only had one strikeout, it's not unreasonable to wonder if his arm is a bit tired.  Consider again that he's had plenty of arm problems in the past, we just have to hope this was one of those starts, and not the beginning of a downturn.

What's most concerning about these three loses is that the Dodgers had leads in all of them.  Tuesday they had a 2-0 lead with Kershaw on the mound, then got pounded in the face.  Wednesday was a close 2-1 lead, only to lose in 12.  Not that horrible home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg did them any favors, because he was pathetic.  I don't blame Donny Baseball for blowing his top in that one.  Then there's the two-run lead today with Capuano on the hill, and he imploded.

The positive side is that they had the lead at least.  They just have to get better pitching in those middle innings.  Aaron Harang and Chad Billingsley did pitch well in those spots, but Kershaw and Capuano did not.  Maybe it's just one of those things, but three straight loses like this is frustrating, especially since they're the ones looking up at the Giants now.

One good thing about this game was the play of Ramirez, who's had a good start to his Dodgers' career.  He's 2-for-6 over these two games, and has reached base an additional three times with walks.  He's also tripled, stole a base, scored twice, and has an RBI.  It's a small sample size, obviously, but still a good start for someone trying to turn around his career.  Best of all, he looks like he fits in very well in the #5 spot, and I'm sure can hit some cleanup against lefties as well.

Next up is a big three-game set in San Francisco.  Friday's game will be interesting, mostly because the Dodgers have yet to name a starter.  Remember, they had to give up Nathan Eovaldi in the Ramirez deal.  A logical guess would by young Stephen Fife, who threw a great game against the Phillies last week.  The Giants counter with Matt Cain.  Great...