It's all sun and games in Atlanta

The Dodgers ended their road trip in style on Sunday, and they can give a big assist to Mother Nature for that.

Jayson Heyward lost two fly balls in the sun, Mark Ellis hit a huge three-run double in the ninth, and Chad Billingsley was awesome again as the Dodgers beat the Braves, 5-0.  And with that, the 10-game roadie has concluded at 7-3 with series wins against the Marlins, Pirates, and Braves.

The bonus on the day was that the Giants lost to the Padres, so the flip-flopping in the NL West continues as the Dodgers are now back in front.

The Dodgers blew a bases loaded, nobody out situation in the third when Shane Victorino flew out and Ellis grounded into a double play.  Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez, and Andre Ethier went down in order in the fourth, all part of their 0-for-13 day at the plate.

No need to worry, as the bottom of the order led the way.  It started on a solo shot by Luis Cruz in the fifth, his fourth of the season.  A.J. Ellis and Billingsley both singled after that, but Victorino and Ellis again couldn't score them.

The eighth is when the nightmare began for Heyward in right, as not even a good fielder like him could overcome the vicious gleam of the sun.  Juan Uribe pinch-hit for Billingsley and walked, which was probably not the smartest thing to do considering he's hitting .094 on the road.  Victorino then singled on a hit-and-run.

Ellis was having a tough time at the plate up to this point, and it looked like that would continue when he lifted a lazy fly to right.  But, Heyward simply could not see it, allowing it to drop for an RBI single and 2-0 edge.  Once again the Dodgers blew a chance with the bases full, although the pinch-hitting James Loney did hit a hard liner that was gloved by Freddie Freeman at first.

Ronald Belisario looked like his old self (for one game anyway) by blowing through the Braves in the eighth.  It was his 21st hold of the season, which is really good, and hopefully he can continue to improve upon his 2.08 ERA this month.  Seeing that his ERA was 6.60 in July, I suppose he can only get better.

After failing way too many times with runners on up until this point, the Dodgers finally broke it open in the ninth.  And once again, they can thank their good friend the sun for the help.

A.J. Ellis started things with a one-out double to right... which happened only because Heyward lost the ball in the sky again.  Adam Kennedy hit for Belisario and blooped a single into left.  Victorino walked to load the bases.  Ellis hit a hard grounder by the diving Juan Francisco at third, and as the ball was slowly rolling to the corner, all three runs scored to make it 5-0.

Scott Elbert was just activated off the DL, and he got the Braves in order to put a stamp on this one.

As frustrating as the sun was for Heyward, the Dodgers have to be thrilled at the recent developments of Billingsley.  He's now won six straight starts, the first time a Dodger pitcher has done so since Kevin Brown won seven in 2003.  Wow, that seems like forever ago.  He pitched seven innings for three hits, no runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. 

The best part about Billingsley right now is the command of his fastball.  As John Smoltz was accurately pointing out on the TBS broadcast, he no longer looks afraid to use it to attack hitters.  Finally!  The ball is definitely popping out of his hand right now, and he is really making hitters look uncomfortable.  Let's hope it lasts, because if it does, the Dodgers look a lot more lethal.

The other encouraging thing about this game was the play of "the others," as in guys not named Kemp, Ethier, and Ramirez.  Cruz had two hits and a homer, A.J. Ellis had three hits, and the other Ellis had four RBIs thanks to his big hit in the ninth.  As I stated in a previous post, it's great to know the Dodgers aren't a one-man show right now.  They're getting contributions all over, which is why they're suddenly in first place again.

With a successful road trip in the books, the Dodgers come right back home on Monday for their biggest series of the year, a three-game set against the Giants.  It's always a big deal when these two teams played, and with the season winding down, it's even more so now.  It's a great matchup of stud lefties in the first game, as Clayton Kershaw takes on Madison Bumgarner.