A Sweep and Interleague

Well, that was a nice ending to the Mets series. Dodgers complete a three-game sweep and improved their record to 29-13 (17-3 at home). But then last night happened.

During the Mets series, the Dodger offense started showing signs of living dangerously, and last night it caught up with them. It seems the Dodgers are starting to find it a wee-bit difficult to hit with runners in scoring position, and last night it proved to be costly as the Angels won the first game of their interleague matchup this weekendm handing the Dodgers a rare loss at home.

Clayton Kershaw didn't pitch very well either, but got lucky because the Angel bats had just as much trouble with runners in scoring position as the Dodgers did. The difference? While the Dodgers couldn't do anything against Angels starter Jered Weaver or the Angels pen, the Angels got that big hit when they needed it, and it turned out to be the game winner when Chone Figgins singled in two runs with the bases loaded in the 8th inning off losing pitcher Cory Wade.

The defense was pretty good in this game, as well. Most notably, Angel centerfielder Torii Hunter made two spectacular catches in the game, one of which probably saved an extra base hit off the bat of Casey Blake, and perhaps a run.

And, by the way, what has happened to Andre Ethier? His bat has gone comletely cold, and quiet, since Manny's suspension. I know the kid is a very good hitter, and a solid player, but it's become quite apparent that his offense has suffered immensely without Manny hitting in front of him. It is nice to see, however, Juan Pierre still tearing the cover off the ball in Manny's absence. Obviously Pierre doesn't possess the same power as Manny, but he's certainly proving his worth to this team by getting on base and being the table-setter for the offense. The Dodgers lead the Majors with 44 first inning runs.

Here is tonight's lineup, as the Dodgers send Randy Wolf to face off against Angels ace John Lackey, making just his third start of the season.

Dodgers Get No-Hit... And Win

No, that's not a typo. It really did happen! The Dodgers were no-hit through eight innings by two Angels pitchers, but came away with a 1-0 win thanks to an unearned run in the fifth inning. Unfortunately, by Major League Baseball rules, because the Dodgers were the home team and didn't bat in the ninth inning, the game does not count as an official no-hitter. Regardless, the Dodgers pulled off a rare feat.

Matt Kemp led off the fifth inning reaching base on a little roller down the first base line that was misplayed by Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver. The play was originally ruled a hit, and then changed to an error. Kemp then stole second base and took third base when Jeff Mathis' throw sailed over second base into center field. Blake DeWitt then hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Kemp, and the Dodgers made it hold up.

And we'll all take it. A win is a win, right? And it was a big win because Arizona won earlier tonight. So with the wins, Arizona (41-40) maintains a 2.5 game lead in the standings over the Dodgers, who improve to 38-42 with their second straight win. And, more importantly, the Dodgers trail by only two games in the loss column.

I dunno about anyone else, but this division, for the moment, reminds me of the division in 2006, when the Padres won the division with 82 wins. But with half a season still left to play, I think the Dodgers are in pretty good shape to start doing some good things here.

They are expected to get Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra back sometime next weekend, and Andruw Jones is about two weeks away from returning from the disabled list, as well. Hiroki Kuroda and Brad Penny threw in the pen today to test their shoulders, and felt no discomfort. The telling tale will be how they feel in the morning. And Jason Schmidt will be resuming his rehab this week, and he, too, could make his first appearance in over a year after the All-Star Break. So all-in-all, lots of good news for the Dodgers (although personally, I'd prefer if Schmidt never steps foot on a mound again as a Dodger).

In the meantime, they're getting some much needed help from the guys stepping up and filling in for Kuroda and Penny, as Chan Ho Park and Eric Stults have been solid in their absences. The same can't be said for Furcal's replacements. His replacements are hitting below .200 combined, and that's basically Chin-Ling Hu (.159), back in AAA Las Vegas, and Angel Berroa (.185 before tonight's game). Luis Maza (.236) has seen some play at short, but he's hitting a tad better than Hu and Berroa.

So, back to tonight's game. When was the last time a team lost a game after not allowing a hit? How about 1992. Long time ago. That was also the last unofficial no-hitter in Major League Baseball history.

Anyway, Dodgers take the series against the Angels, with one more tomorrow, and can sweep the series, and win the season series with the Angels with a win. John Lackey opposes Derek Lowe at the Ravine.