Chad Billingsley (4-5, 3.57) vs. Randy Wolf (4-4, 4.06).
COMMENTS: The Dodgers face a former Dodger starter for the second night in a row, and if we've learned anything after last night's 7-2 victory, it's that even our sorry offense can draw blood against the Padres' relief corps. The bad news for us, though, is that Wolf's record this season shows he is getting stronger as the season has progressed, lasting over six innings in each of his last five starts (2-1 record over that period). With Russell Martin and Matt Kemp each notching three RBI last night, and James Loney reaching base all five times (2-for-2 with 3 BB), could the Dodgers' bats be awakening, in pitcher-friendly Petco Park of all places?
STAT OF THE DAY: Rafael Furcal still leads the team in runs (34), despite the fact that he has only played in half of the team's games (Furcal has missed 32 games of the Dodgers' 64). Furcal is also tied for second on the team in home runs, and is third for doubles and stolen bases. (With regards to a non-cumulative measure, Furcal also leads the team in OPS at 1.045; the closest, Russell Martin, is almost 200 points away at .858.)
137 comments:
Pierre, LF
Young, RF
Kent, 2B
Martin, C
Kemp, CF
LaRoche, 1B
DeWitt, 3B
Berroa, SS
Billingsley, P
Welcome (back), Andy!
And take a seat, FJL? Is that any way to reward a 2-for-2, reaching-base-five-times performance?
I think we've established by now that Torre's method of selecting lineups day-to-day is a little...unique.
Erin, I don't know if anything can be a little unique. I think uniqueness is binary, right?
Ah, I'm just being a pain. I don't get Torre's lineups, either. And neither does Loney, I imagine.
Yeah, I was being loose with the definition there, in my effort to be diplomatic.
Geez. The Mets were up 3-0 over Arizona, but Arizona just tied it up in the top of the ninth with a three-run home run.
they tied with two outs, i'm watching that game...
Yikes, Billy Wagner with the choke job. Unbelievable.
I think we all need a map of Torre's thinking, how on earth is Loney taking a rest today?. They are playing Petco Park and God knows the Dodgers need their best offense available.
And our hopes lie in the hands of Schneider (sans toolbelt)...
And Schneider keeps fouling them off, with men on first and second and Chavez on deck!
Will there be no Endy to this? (ouch, that was painful)
yay, Schneider flies to center. Free baseball in Flushing!
Erin and Karina, I'll have to depend on you two for updates. I am, how do you say, going to the other side?
They're going to extra innings.
And the Red Sox win! Now it's the Dodgers' turn.
I'll at least be listening, since I don't trust MLB.tv to provide me with the video.
I'll do my best Sax, but i have to wait the Mets-Dbacks ends, the Dodgers game will be broadcasted, after said game.
Is MLB.tv that bad? I always thought it was great, and mosaic rocked.
MLB is certainly happy with its performance.
I think it might be the Internet connection in this hotel room. I find that it works better during the day, and then gets choppy at night. Maybe because more people are using the wireless in the hotel? I don't know. It's maddening. I miss my DirecTV Extra Innings package.
Vin says SD has 21 SBs on the year; their opposition has over 4x as many SBs.
At least for the first three innings I can hear Vin. After the third, I'll try the TV again and see if it's a little better. I'd rather keep listening to Vin than sit here with Charlie Steiner.
Am I alone in disliking Randy Wolf? I really want us to kill him tonight. Metaphorically.
Young forces Pierre at second, who got on with a rare base hit. Young at first, and Kent dribbles to first (Young to second). At least Kent worked a full count, Wolf's second this inning.
Hi all. D'backs & Mets still tied in the 11th.
So much for the shutout. At least it was only a solo job. 1-0 Padres.
I hate hearing that Adrian Gonzalez is roughly my age. Dude looks about 40 to me, at least, and makes me wonder what exactly I look like to the rest of the world.
Hell, Adrian is actually two years younger. Even worse.
Bills gives up his sixth HR of the year, and we're down by one. Kemp almost blows a fly ball but we get out of the first down 1-0.
Don't worry, Erin. Adrian Gonzalez has nothing on your youthful looks.
Always an adventure with Matt Kemp in center.
I don't hate Wolf. He gave the Dodgers a discount even though he ended up getting hurt, big surprise.
I'm trying to go with a friend to the day game at Wrigley tomorrow, but getting tickets is proving much more difficult than any of the other times I've gone. It's a bit frustrating. Apparently people are very excited about "throwback" day with the Cubs and Braves.
Karina, you have the flu? You need to rest up!
LaRoche has short hair. Looks weird.
Erin, what are your chances with just walking up to the stadium?
Orel, that's going to be the plan, I guess. We're meeting another friend for lunch in the area, so we're just going to head to a corner where I've heard guys saying, "who needs tickets?" in the past. We'll see if we can get anything decent without paying an arm and a leg.
Kemp Ks, yet again. His 64th K of the year.
Erin, how much is your hotel charging for internet?
Welcome back Andy...another full count (good!), and a walk (better!).
Vin just erred--LaRoche is the Dodgers' THIRD baserunner.
LaRoche walks. Mr. OBP!
Oh Karina, what was it that you said we had in common? You mentioned it after reading that post on my blog about me last night, and I forgot to ask.
Sax, internet is free. I mean, it would be free anyway because we're not paying for this room. But it's free wireless for all guests.
D'backs & Mets move to the 12th....
Whoa! Berroa with a single! 1st & 3rd w/2 out.
Erin, I always thought those people asking "Who needs tickets?" were asking rhetorically. I always want to answer, "I don't know, who?"
Men on first and third with 2 down and Chad up.
Erin, half of the time i work as a production assistant, the other half i do wardrobe (surprise!) and props...
Sax, maybe these days they're actually saying, "Hu needs tickets." At least outside Dodger Stadium. Poor guy gets sent down to the minors and he can't even get in to see the big boys play.
Karina, that's good stuff. My girlfriend actually went down to Argentina to work on a commercial last year. I realize that's not really near Venezuela, but it's my only current connection to South America.
Oh my god. Creepy Khalil Green hit a home run? Come on, Chad. You can't be giving up home runs at Petco.
Khalil Greene.
Erin, Argentina and Venezuela are very close in business terms (due to politics). In the last few years there have been a number of argentinan-venezuelan coproductions, mostly exchange of film personnel and actors.
Don't you guys think Greene looks a lot like Jeff Spicoli on Fast Times at Ridgemont High?
Good to know, Karina. As far as I know, this was an American production that wanted to shoot in Argentina for some reason. It was for a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. It was a quick trip, though. My girlfriend was only down there for about four days. Maybe even three.
Meanwhile, Arizona and New York head to the 13th.
Good point, Karina. He is a lot like Spicoli. Greene just creeps me out for some reason.
And of course Wolf is dealing now with his two-run lead. He's thrown 52 pitches through three innings, though. Maybe we can get him out early.
Maybe they wanted to use the landscape. I bet shooting in Argentina was also cheaper than doing it on America.
There are a lot of foreign commercial and films that have been shot in Venezuela. It seems taxes, native personnel salaries, transportation and catering are cheaper. We have the advantage of landscape, too. This is a small country and you could get from a mountain with snow all year long to the amazonic forest in a 2 hour-flight.
Yeah, I think landscape was the issue, although you can get a pretty varied landscape in southern California. But for a lot of reasons, shooting in California has unfortunately become too expensive for a lot of productions.
I really did not expect Billingsley to have trouble with this "offense" tonight. This is absurd.
Down 3-0 and it looks we're lucky it isn't worse. At least the D'backs and Mets are still beating each other up.
It's expensive because fortunately, the industry treats people much better. Most of the time, we can't even dream of the perks some people working in other countries (i'm not talking about actors and executive producers)
And Martin tags it but right at Spicoli. Dude.
Hey all. Gosh, I've been absent for the last couple of games, and come back to us losing? I have to listen to the Padres announcers, but they did have a spot on look alike with Angel Berrora and Mark MacLemore. Not bad guys.
Nice catch by Spicoli - we could call him "Mr. Hand".
It's also expensive because California gives no real tax breaks to productions who shoot here. So companies go to Louisiana, New York and Canada, where they can get a better deal. It makes me crazy, and it's a shame our governor, an actor himself, doesn't really care enough to do anything about it.
LaRoche with the BOMB! 3-1 Padres!
Yes! LaRoche! Damn it, I wish I had seen that. Way to go!
Woohoo!!! Welcome back Andy - Home Run!
Dudeeeeeeeeeeeeee, LaRoche homered!
AC, are you still in Chicago? If so, is that thunder I keep hearing, or some other loud noise?
You're right, i bet film and tv gotta be the top industries of California and the governor, an experienced actor who should understand the business, he could make things better for all the parties involved.
I found admirable the writer's strike, the way the fought for their rights.
LaRoche homers and DeWitt strikes out...don't get nervous, Blake.
Yes, I was definitely behind the writers, but it was hard because so many people were out of work. I'll be behind the actors, too, because everything I hear says they'll be striking at the end of the month. That one will be much more devastating if it lasts too long, though, so hopefully there will be more incentive to get it resolved.
Hey, Beltran hit a home run to end the game in New York! Game over!
Yup, I am, but only for a few days more. That "thunder" is fireworks down by Navy Pier. Every Wednesday and Saturday night during the spring summer months, they shoot fireworks. Nice they spend so much money on stuff that pollutes the environment, but neglect the homeless situation in the city...but I digress.
I'm loving Carlos Beltran, hit the 2-run walk off homer. Finally, i can get to watch the Dodgers game.
(let's cross fingers i can get to hear Vin tonight)
Fireworks makes sense. I didn't think there were any storms around.
Anyone watching mlb.com tv, they just showed the announcers for the padres before the commercial break - one was taking them to the break, while the other one was typing on his phone. The first announcer says "Say hello for me" and the other guy typing looks up and says "huh?" Hilarious stuff.
We don't exactly have the heart of the order going in this inning.
If they go into a strike, it can't last too long. I'm aware the consequences of the long writers' strike, but actors are different, unless the different actors unions keep fighting.
I'm with Vin tonight.
Yeah, they need the actors a little more than they needed the writers, so it shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully it won't last long if they do strike, and keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't affect me too much.
I'm listening, but I'm about to switch to Gameday because I have to do some work that requires me listening to something other than a baseball game.
Nice stat: In dodgers wins offense produces 7 runs per game, in loses 1.9 runs - ie we need some more runs.
I'll be crossing fingers if they do strike, it won't affect you.
Young is making a big impression, the same he did in the minors, he really can hit.
I had to edit, i had a freudian slip when i thought Kent was up.
I have an idea for Torre, let Kent rest tomorrow and LaRoche gets the start at second base.
Kemp looks lost tonight.
Three strikeouts for Kemp tonight.
Hey AC, I just started GTAIV. It's fun right now but I'm sure it's going to get a lot harder.
Andy LaRoche looks like he's 13 years old with that haircut.
Adrian Gonzalez is only 26?!
Orel: there are some great GTAIV you tube videos - I think by Machima.com. hilarious stuff as they voice over the characters. I just played Guitar Hero for the Wii this weekend. Pretty damn fun. Can't wait to try Rockband.
I've avoided GH and Rock Band because I would get totally obsessed.
Wolf has 8 K's tonight.
Whoops, 9.
DeWitt has 2 K's alone
Kemp has 3 K's.They really need King James tonight.
DeWitt just got outwitted by that ball down the line.
I hope they can pull off the late inning comeback. They seem to need King James tonight.
Spicoli again...
the ball made a strange bounce
I've been playing Guitar Hero on PS2 for a long time now (I have GH I, II, and III). It is indeed quite addictive.
If you believe Gameday, Bililngsley is getting robbed on these calls in the Tony Clark at-bat.
GH is a great party game too. Man, you can get pretty drunk.
Chad's tiring. Pull him.
Bills looks to be throwing the hook, but pitching around him to put on the double play.
Saw that coming. Gerut RBI, 4-1 Padres. PULL CHAD
I can't see the game, but it sure as hell seems weird from here to leave Chad in with two runners on in a two-run game.
And then he goes and gives up another run, and he's still in?
This sucks.
I hate Jody Gerut. He ruins my birthday and tonight, while sick, he singles on a 0-2 count.
That DP came one batter too late. That fourth run was big.
Where was that dp one batter earlier?
Well Chad got out of it. But now we're down three...is another comeback in the cards?
Karina: Today your birthday??? THEN HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! WOOHOOO!!!!
Poor Chad Billingsley. He gets no run support and is going to lose yet another game thanks to the pathetic "bats" behind him. LaRoche notwithstanding.
Chad at 101 pitches.
And Wolf lasted seven...just as we told you he would
Andre swings on an awful pitch. One out in the eighth.
We put up quite a fight there in the eighth, huh?
Should we be hoping to see Hoffman in the ninth?
Three Lefty batters against a righty pitcher and 3 ground outs. Our offense is TURRABLE (a la Charles Barkley).
4-1, almost at the ninth inning. So guess who's up for SD?
Once again, we won't be able to make up any ground on the Snakes, despite the fact that they lose an earlier game.
Yay.
Yikes, Soriano breaks hand, is out six weeks. Eek.
At least San Francisco lost, 1-0 to the Rocks.
erin, I'm just reading your comment on "Hu needs tickets".
nice.
Here we go - down three runs against hoffman. I say 3 homeruns in a row, then win it in extra innings. Yeah, right, like THAT has ever happened.
Jeff Kent to start out the ninth. Old guy vs. Old guy!
Alex, tonight's not my birthday. He played winter baseball last year, ruining my birthday on a doubleheader
And the Old Guy wins! Hoffman gets Kent to pop up a mile high but with no depth. One away.
Oh, well, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!! WOOHOO!!!
Martin shows some life with a ROPED double down the line! Come on, Blue!
Isn't my son Martin adorable?
Thanks, Alex!
Hey, it's triple K...this time with a fly out to center.
Thanks for a great performance tonight, Matt!
Torre, Loney needed to start tonight...
Hey Kemp avoided the 4 K night, but weakly pops out. Here comes FJL!
One shot to maintain the hitting streak...
Good night, everyone...i'll be at the other side
In a word? Pathetic.
Matt Kemp's 66 strikeouts give him the clear lead on the Dodgers, even ahead of Whiff-boy Andruw Jones (45). Loney has 37.
Loney also weakly grounds to third to end the game and strand Martin.
Off to the day game tomorrow, boys! Way to be mediocre against a sub-par team!
Good night, everybody!
I'm not salty!
Ugh, I need a drink.
That was disgusting. Eck. Dodgers need Furcal back.
Okay, that has to have been the fastest game of the year. Two hours seven minutes?
AC, it's not like we're not trying to send Raffy get well cards.
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