Dodgers Finish First Half with Sweep of Padres

Heading into the All-Star break, the Dodgers see themselves with a tough road ahead. They did, however, manage to make a statement over the weekend with three pitching performances that prove the boys in blue have the foundation necessary to make a second half surge. It began on Friday with the Dodgers hosting the Padres.

The pitching match-up pit two young, but strong starters in 23-year-old Mat Latos and 26-year-old Chad Billingsley. Latos pitched 7.1 innings of solid five-hit baseball before running into trouble in the eighth inning. A.J. Ellis got on base to lead off the inning, and Rafael Furcal’s single drove in the only run of the game. Javy Guerra made it a very interesting and tense finish for the Dodgers, though. After a Cameron Maybin double, Guerra hit back to back batters to load up the bases -with the second of a controversial variety. With the bases juiced, Guerra pulled a Houdini and escaped from what seemed an impossible jam. He struck out Kyle Phillips swinging, then Will Venable played a little monkey see monkey do for Guerra’s second punch-out of the inning. Guerra got Bartlett to line out and escaped with the save, to give the Dodgers a series opening victory.

Saturday, the Dodgers took the field coming off their second shutout in as many games with Rubby de la Rosa taking the mound against veteran Aaron Harang. While both teams brought their bats to the ballpark(reportedly), they were not very useful as the Dodgers and Padres combined for just three hits in the entire game. Through four innings, not a single hit had been recorded. Harang pitched six innings of no-hit baseball before Josh Spence, Chad Qualls, and Mike Adams took the no hit bid into the ninth. For the Dodgers, De La Rosa pitched six innings of just one-hit ball, and Matt Guerrier combined with Mike MacDougal and Blake Hawksworth for three perfect innings out of the bullpen. The entire game seemed to be played however, in the bottom of the ninth with Luke Gregerson taking the mound with the no-hit bid still alive. After Matt Kemp struck out swinging and Loney grounded out, it seemed like some extra baseball would be on hand. Juan Uribe of all people, had other plans. Like a magician shocking his audience, Uribe saved the Dodgers first hit for the bottom of the ninth with two outs, ripping a double into left field. Dioner Navarro followed that up with a walk-off single to right-center field that scored Juan Uribe. The Dodgers not only walked off but overcame what had been a no hitter through 26 outs. Despite a horrific first half to the season, a third straight shutout going into the last game before the All-Star break surely gave the Dodgers a reason to smile. With the two wins, they had a chance to climb out of the NL West basement with one more victory over their division rivals.

Entering the game with 18 straight innings of shutout baseball, the Dodgers handed the ball to veteran Ted Lilly. The Padre’s Rob Johnson provided their first run in the series, in the form of a solo shot in the third inning to give San Diego it’s first lead. The 1-0 lead wouldn’t last long as in the bottom half of the frame, Kemp singled in the tying run and a Chase Headley error enabled Rafael Furcal to score, giving the Dodgers the lead. All-Star Andre Ethier flexed his muscles in the bottom of the fifth with a deep shot into center field. With a 3-1 lead, the Dodgers handed the ball to Jansen to pitch the sixth. Jansen, Kuo and Guerrier held the game at 3-1 for two innings, and MacDougal pitched a scoreless eighth. In the bottom of the eighth, Andre Ethier drove a pitch over the wall in right center field for home-run number two on the day, and his ninth of the season and the first Dodgers round-tripper since before the McCourt divorce. Guerra came in for the save in the ninth, and once again he made the finish a little exciting. After Orlando Hudson singled, Anthony Rizzo coaxed a walk. With men on first and second with no one out, Guerra settled down. Rob Johnson flew out. Will Venable pinch hit for Chad Qualls. No thanks, he’s just looking. Denorfia popped out and so ended the series in a sweep, with Guerra’s second save in three days.

The Dodgers improved to 41-51 with the sweep. They are 11 games out of first place, but with the wins over San Diego, they jumped to fourth in the NL West. The All-Star break is up next, but after that, the rest of the boys in blue head to Chase Field in Phoenix for a three game set with the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks are just three games out of first place.