Clayton Kershaw's strong outing goes for naught when Brandon League blows a two-run lead in the ninth. Yasiel Puig goes 3 for 4 and is now batting .500 through his first eight games.
By Steve Dilbeck
It seemed like the Dodgers had a nice formula for success: start Clayton Kershaw, scrape together a few runs, catch the ball and hang on.
It worked well enough Monday night, until it got to the hanging on part. Closer Brandon League blew a two-run lead in the ninth as the Diamondbacks rallied to edge the Dodgers, 5-4, before an announced crowd of 38,275 at Dodger Stadium.
Kershaw did his part to get the would-be formula off to a good start. He wasn’t even at his dominating best, more like just really effective. He went seven innings, holding the Diamondbacks to one run on six hits and a pair of walks. He struck out five, which for him almost qualifies as an off night.
The Dodgers staked him to a 1-0 lead in the first inning against struggling Arizona left-hander Wade Miley (1-4, 7.94 ERA in last five starts) after Mark Ellis walked and Yasiel Puig singled with two outs. Jerry Hairston Jr. lined a basehit to center to score Ellis.
But the Diamondbacks evened it back up in the second on a Cody Ross double and Miguel Montero basehit.
The Dodgers regained the lead in the fourth, the same inning Puig got a taste of what it’s like to be the victim of Puig. He led off the inning with a single, but when he tried to advance to third on a Hairston hit to Gerardo Parra in medium right field, Parra fired on a line to third to throw out Puig.
The Dodgers, however, kept the pressure on. Andre Ethier singled off the glove of second baseman Willie Bloomquist and Juan Uribe dropped a broken-bat double into center to score Hairston.
Ellis put the Dodgers up 3-1 in the fifth with a solo home run. Ellis, who came with one hit in his last 20 at-bats, went 3 for 4 with a walk.
The Dodgers kept threatening to extend their lead, but never could cash in. Miley went six innings, surrendering the three runs on nine hits and two walks.
Puig, making his debut in the cleanup spot, had three singles in four at-bats to raise his batting average to an even .500 (16 for 32).
It was still a 3-1 Dodgers lead when it was turned over to League in the ninth. That's when the hanging on part went astray. Like, four runs in the ninth astray.
League's troubles started with one out when Martin Prado singled and Parra doubled him to third. Pinch-hitter Jason Kubel's infield single went off the glove of a diving Ellis at second scored one. After a walk to Didi Gregorius, Bloomquist singled off the glove of shortstop Nick Punto to drive in two.
That ended the night for League (2-3), but unfortunately for the Dodgers, not the Arizona scoring. Peter Moylan gave up a run-scoring single to Paul Goldschmidt, for what held as the game-winning run after Juan Uribe hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth.
Dodgers' Matt Kemp fears being labeled injury-prone
By Dylan Hernandez
Matt Kemp once played 399 consecutive games, which was the longest streak in the major leagues at the time. The streak earned Kemp the reputation one of baseball’s ironmen.
About to spend his 12th game of the season on the disabled list Monday, Kemp was fearing he could develop an entirely different reputation.
“I don’t want to be labeled as that guy who’s always getting hurt, but it’s starting to look like that,” Kemp said. “It’s a weird transition.”
Kemp spent 51 games on the disabled list last season. He was initially expected to return to the Dodgers lineup on Friday in Pittsburgh. But that plan was scrapped after Kemp felt something in his right hamstring Sunday in a workout at Dodger Stadium.
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “I want to play. I don’t want to sit out any games. But I have to be careful with this hamstring. I had these problems last year. I don’t want to have the same problems again.”
Until he returned to Dodger Stadium on Sunday, Kemp spent more than a week rehabilitating his strained hamstring at the Dodgers’ spring training complex in Phoenix. He said he worked on his swing, but wasn’t certain if he was close to fixing the problems that contributed to his .265 average.
“Hitting in the cage and on the field is different,” he said.
As for his plans moving forward, Kemp said, “I don’t know yet. We’re taking it day by day.”
These Dodgers lineups are getting difficult to watch
By Steve Dilbeck
The good news for the Dodgers on Monday was Luis Cruz and his .140 batting average was not batting fifth. And that’s pretty much it for the good news.
As has been the case for weeks, the Dodgers’ daily lineup is a thing of beauty. In a Salvador Dali, turn-the-head-sideways kind of way.
Yasiel Puig was moved into the cleanup spot Monday, which leaves Nick Punto and Mark Ellis as the tablesetters. Ellis, battling a sore groin, has one hit in his last 20 at-bats. Punto is in a two-for-15 skid.
And batting fifth to protect Puig is Jerry Hairston Jr., who has driven in seven runs this season. Or three less than Puig did last week.
Of course, Manager Don Mattingly is piecing lineups together these days with four starters injured and unavailable: Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez, Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis. The Dodgers have used the disabled list 19 times this season.
“A couple and you say, `That’s part of the deal,’ ” Mattingly said. “But this has to be close to record breaking. I can’t imagine being around a team that’s had this many guys. It feels like it’s kind of adding on after awhile.”
So Mattingly piecemeals his starting eight every day, and not the way he planned when the Dodgers left spring training.
“If we can pitch and do everything perfect, we have a chance to win our share,” Mattingly said. “You try to hold on and you try to keep fighting and you hope to get your troops back. Get the cavalry. We have to remain hopeful and keep trying to steal games.”
Yep, it has come to that for this current edition of the Dodgers. If they can do everything perfect, they can steal some games.
The troops should start coming back this week. Ramirez (hamstring) is already off the DL and could be back within four or five days. A.J. Ellis (oblique) could return by Friday. Kemp (hamstring) is also eligible then, but may need a few more days. The return of Crawford (hamstring) is less certain.
Mattingly said he regretted saying Sunday that Kemp had suffered a slight setback.
“Pretty much yesterday was a really good day,” he said. “Then when they started pushing to the red line, he felt a little something. It tells us we’re really close with him. It’s just going to take another few days.”
Meanwhile, Mattingly does what he can. Monday was his 60th different lineup in 63 games. That should be hard to do, but seems to come naturally these days. So on this night, Puig goes from leadoff to cleanup.
“I would prefer him a little bit lower, down at the beginning where he can run and do some things,” Mattingly said. “But with what’s going on, you have to try and put the best lineup out there that gives us the best chance to win and score runs.
“Somebody has to drive in runs.”
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