Dodgers Snap Back Against Rangers

Regaining their winning form over the weekend, the Dodgers put it all together in taking the last two games of their inter-league road series with Texas, 3-1 and 6-3. Starter Chad Billingsley pitched seven innings in the Sunday contest to notch his ninth win in 12 decisions. He yielded three runs (two earned) on five hits, including former Dodger Andruw Jones’ seventh homer of the season, in seven innings. Jones also homered to account for Texas’ lone tally on Saturday. Billingsley is now tied with the Giants’ Matt Cain (9-1) for the most victories in the National League. Casey Blake was the offensive standout, socking a three-run homer in the third to give the Dodgers a lead they never relinquished. The third baseman also rapped an RBI double during LA’s two-run seventh.

“I just try to do what I can to help the team,” Blake said modestly on the Dodgers’ website. “It’s nice to score some runs for (Chad Billingsley). Our offense has been a little down lately. It was nice to come out and support your pitcher.” Every Dodger in the lineup contributed to the team’s 10-hit attack except Juan Pierre (0-for-3 and two runs scored). Brad Ausmus went two-for-two. Despite the victory, the Dodgers continued to leave a generous number of men on base. They stranded 11, including six in scoring position. Ramon Troncoso and Jonathan Broxton each pitched an inning to close it out, with Broxton earning his 16 th save in 18 opportunities.

A light outage helped the Dodgers capture Saturday’s contest. Shut out for the first five innings. LA scored in the sixth, immediately following a one hour and 41-minute delay, and added two more runs in the seventh on a homer by Matt Kemp. Both Dodger starter Randy Wolf and Scott Feldman of the Rangers pitched five-inning shutouts and did not return after the malfunction. In a battle of the bullpens, Corey Wade (2-3), Ronald Belisario, Troncoso, and Broxton outdueled Eddie Guardado, Jason Grilli (0-2), Darren O’Day, and Guillermo Moscoso.

“It was just one of those things you can’t control” Wolf said on Dodgers.com. “You just have to deal with it. I stayed ready in hopes they would fix it quickly, but after 30-45 minutes, you can’t do that.” Despite a 3.41 ERA, Wolf remains the Dodgers’ hard luck hurler, showing a 3-2 record for his efforts.

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Dodger Chatter:The Dodgers are now 19-13 on the road. Blake has hit in six straight games, during which he has hit .391 (9-for-23) to boost his average to .299. With his 10th home run, one behind team leader Andre Ethier, Blake has now hit a at least 10 dingers in nine straight seasons. Billingsley has pitched 92 2/3 innings to lead all Dodger pitchers. Amazingly, he has lasted six or more innings in 13 of his 14 starts. LA has yet to lose three straight this season. “It shows how good we are,” Kemp said on Dodgers.com. Joe Torre has now won 2.193 games, one behind fifth-place Sparky Anderson. Texas’ starting rotation had thrown 17 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings before the Dodgers scored following the light outage on Saturday. The run came across on a walk, bunt single, sacrifice, and sacrifice fly. Despite an inconsistent offense, the Dodgers are 3-3 in inter-league play and 5-3 in their last eight games.

By: Bob Trostler
Los Angeles Dodgers Correspondent

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