Dodgers continue to battle inconsistency
If the Los Angeles Dodgers have one thing going for them it’s Chad Billingsley. The right-hander has been solid for his club, and the lone spark plug in recent weeks while the Dodgers are just dreadful on offence. After posting nine runs on Wednesday, Los Angeles fell back into its old patterns and was blanked 5-0 on Thursday’s game against the San Diego Padres.
"It's disappointing," manager Joe Torre said. "It comes down to; we'll get what we earn."
Streaks can be a good thing or a nightmare depending which side you are on. If you are Billingsley you never want it to end and if you are the Padres then you can’t wait for it to be over and done with. Billingsley was looking to extend the longest active scoreless inning streak in the majors, having not allowed a single run in his last 21 2/3 innings prior to Thursday’s game. As for San Diego, they were to snap a curse that saw them unable to cross home plate in 17 innings.
And Billingsley saw his streak in jeopardy in the bottom of the third, with two outs and a runner on second, but managed to strikeout Jerry Wayne Hairston Jr. to end the inning. Billingsley’s strong play early on not only extended his streak, but prolonged the Padres’ scoreless streak to 20 innings. But all good things must come to an end and the Padres broke the game open by scoring three runs in the fourth inning ending both streaks. Adrian Gonzalez was the first to cross the plate.
The Padres continued to tack on runs and added two in the ninth inning to seal the deal. Billingsley’s night ended in the sixth frame yielding seven hits and three earned runs.
Kevin Correia was relieved for his team to get back to their winnings ways and find some offensive firepower that had been lacking in the past few games.
“So far this year, that was our most important game," Correia said. "When you're playing a four-game series with a team behind you, looking to gain ground, you know you have to win a series or get a split."
Correia held Los Angeles to four hits over 5 2/3 innings to earn the victory. The Padres are two games ahead of the second-place San Francisco Giants in the National League West division.
Injury report
Manager Joe Torres said on Thursday that he expects Russell Martin to miss the remainder of the season due to a hip injury. This will be the first time in Martin’s five-year career that he is on the disabled list.
"I just want to be healthy and play baseball again. They compared it to what Bo Jackson had, but said he didn't take care of it. That's the last thing you want to hear. I'm going to listen to what they tell me and follow it by the letter."
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