Dodgers Salvage Series in Extras

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 in 10 innings, salvaging a victory from this four-game series. The Dodgers had a 3-2 lead going into the seventh, but Rick Ankiel tied it with one swing of the bat. The game entered extra innings, and with two out Matt Kemp singled to drive in two runs, more than enough for the win. Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless 10th to get his 24th save, and James McDonald's perfect ninth gave him his third career victory. Casey Blake had four hits, including a double, and scored twice, and Rafael Furcal drove in two runs. Kemp finished with three hits and three RBI's, and Brad Ausmus singled twice and had a run scored. Matt Holliday finished with two runs-batted-in, and Albert Pujols scored a run.

Scott Elbert was called up from Triple-A, and Brent Leach was demoted after he struggled this month.

George Sherrill will join the team tomorrow in Atlanta. A move on the roster will need to be made to make room for him.

Billingsley Implodes as Dodgers Drop Third Straight

The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the St. Louis Cardinals 10-0, their third loss in a row and their first three-game losing streak. Chad Billingsley cruised for the first five innings, but he fell apart in the sixth, giving up three hits, four walks, two wild pitches and their first six runs in the inning. The Dodger offense did nothing to help, stranding nine runners while going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position (the "one" being an infield single). Rafael Furcal, James Loney and Russell Martin each had two hits, and Andre Ethier doubled. Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina both drove in two runs, and Matt Holliday had a hit and a run scored.

The Dodgers are rumored to have focused their energy on acquiring George Sherrill from Baltimore, according to various sources. The Dodgers are also reported to have interest in Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Jarrod Washburn, though they are considered long-shots to trade for any of the three.

Mark Loretta pitched to two batters in the eighth inning after Brent Leach surrendered four runs. Loretta hit a batter and produced a fly-out.

Dodgers Can't Handle New Cardinals

The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1, the first meeting between the two teams this season. The game was a pitchers' duel until St. Louis scored four times in the seventh inning to take a commanding lead. Matt Holliday, Julio Lugo and Mark DeRosa, all three being mid-season trade acquisitions, combined for three runs scored and three RBI's for the Cards, with DeRosa homering. Brandon Ryan had four hits and two runs-batted-in, and Rick Ankiel scored twice. Rafael Furcal had three hits and drove in the only Dodger run, and Matt Kemp scored the only run.

Hong-Chih Kuo was activated from the 60-day disabled list, and pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Xavier Paul was transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day to make room on the 40-man roster.

Dodgers Get Enough to Beat A's

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-2, taking the interleague series two games to one. Oakland scored first, but Orlando Hudson drove a home run into center-field to tie the game. The Dodgers scored again in the fifth inning, but the A's came back as Rajai Davis took advantage of a fielding blunder; Rafael Furcal directed Juan Pierre to throw to second-base after a single sent Davis to third. Davis saw the throw go to second, and immediately left for home and scored. However, LA took the lead for good in the seventh. Pierre had an RBI-single, and Mark Loretta knocked in the go-ahead run. Casey Blake had two hits and helped start three double-plays. Russell Martin and James Loney both had a hit and scored a run. Ramon Troncoso recorded two outs in the ninth for his fifth save of the season. Randy Wolf allowed only one run in six innings, but did not receive a decision. Kurt Suzuki had an RBI-double for the A's, and Matt Holliday also doubled but did not come around to score.

Jonathan Broxton was unavailable for the game due to a sore big right toe.

The win gave manager Joe Torre his 2,195th career managerial victory, putting him fifth on the all-time list. He passed Sparky Anderson after tying him on Tuesday.

Dodgers Can't Capitalize in Loss

The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the Oakland Athletics 5-2, snapping a three-game winning streak. The Dodgers were in an early hole after Oakland jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third inning. However, LA tried to come back, and cut the deficit to one in the seventh. The Dodgers' fatal flaw was their poor clutch-hitting, as five men who reached third-base failed to score. Dodger hitters left 10 men on base during the game. Both Juan Pierre and Rafael Furcal had a hit and scored a run, and Orlando Hudson had a hit, run, and RBI. Ethier had a double and drove in two, and Matt Kemp collected a run-batted-it. Rajai Davis and Jack Cust each had a homer for the A's, and Matt Holliday had a hit, run scored, and RBI.

Mitch Jones got his first major-league hit, a single into right-field. Jones was subsequently erased on a double-play.

Dodgers Mirror History with Win

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Oakland Athletics 5-4 in 10 innings, their third victory in a row. The Dodgers took an early 2-0 lead, but Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer that put Oakland up by one. One out later Bobby Crosby hit a solo-shot that gave the A's a 4-2 lead. However, LA came back as they scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game. The contest entered extra-innings, and with Orlando Hudson at third and two outs, Matt Kemp singled to win the game. The matchup with Oakland evoked memories of the two teams' meeting in the 1988 World Series, with many similarities between this game and Game 1 of the series: The Dodgers taking a 2-0 lead, a homer giving the A's the lead, LA fighting back to keep themselves in the game, and a walkoff hit to the right-side with two out. Kemp also doubled, as did Casey Blake, Rafael Furcal, and James Loney. Hudson had two hits and scored twice, and Blake collected two runs and two RBI's. Furcal scored a run. Former Rocky Matt Holliday scored a run for Oakland, and Kurt Suzuki had two hits.

Mitch Jones made his major-league debut, striking out on a full-count. Jones has been a journey-man minor-leaguer his entire professional career, but got his first real opportunity to appear in a game after the Dodgers optioned Jamie Hoffmann to the minors. Because Jones was not on the 40-man roster, Jason Schmidt was transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.