The Los Angeles Dodgers picked up a much needed win on Sunday evening as they took game three in the NLCS by the score of 7-2. The Dodgers jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead after the first inning on three-run triple by Blake DeWitt and rbi singles from Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake.

They weren’t done after the first inning however. Rafael Furcal jumped all over a Jamie Moyer pitch for a solo home run in the second inning which put the Dodgers up 7-1. Hiroki Kuroda gave up a rbi single to the Phillies in the top half of the inning before the Furcal home run.

Nomar Garciaparra added the seventh and final run for the home team in the fifth inning when he singled in Ramirez. Nice to see Nomar getting in on the action during the playoffs.

The main man of the night was Kuroda in my opinion. He pitched six strong innings and kept the Phillies off balance. He only allowed two runs which both came on singles and he struck out three while only giving up five hits. Cory Wade pitched the seventh and eighth innings before he turned things over to Jonathan Broxton for the ninth.

Derek Lowe will now take the mound on Monday night as the Dodgers look to tie the series up at two games each. It won’t be easy however as the Phillies will be sending Joe Blanton to the mound.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched atleast a share of the West division on Wednesday night as they beat the San Diego Padres 12-4. Now all the Dodgers have to do is win one more game or have the Arizona Diamondbacks lose one game and the Dodgers will be the 2008 National League West Champions!

Manny Ramirez hit a two-run home run while Nomar Garciaparra added a solo home run of his own against the Padres. Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Angel Berroa joined Ramirez and Garciaparra with two rbi’s each in the game. Not to be left out, Andre Ethier and Chin-lung Hu both had one rbi in the game as well.

The Dodgers offense kept pressure on the Padres pitchers all night long as they scored runs off of five different Padres hurlers. Great job by the Dodgers bats!

Clayton Kershaw was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers and he tossed 5 2/3 innings but was pulled after giving up six hits and three runs. Kershaw struck out seven and walked two while picking up the win to improve to 5-5 on the year. Chan Ho Park gave up one run in relief but then Joe Beimel, Cory Wade, and Scott Proctor finished off the Padres.

The Dodgers will be looking for the division crown on Thusday night when they take on the Padres once again. Dodgers Blog

The Los Angeles Doders got out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning against the Colorado Rockies but then did not score again and lost the game 4-3. The game was tied 3-3 heading into the ninth inning when the Dodgers bullpen hit a batter, allowed him to steal second, and then score on a rbi single. It was a bad loss for the Dodgers as the Diamondbacks beat the Padres as well.

Jonathan Broxton was the losing pitcher as he gave up the winning run in the ninth inning. Broxton is now 3-5 on the season. Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley gave up five hits and two runs over six innings of action to get a no decision. Chan Ho Park pitched two innings of relief and gave up two hits and one run.

In the first inning when the Dodgers scored all three of their runs, Matt Kemp had a rbi single and then Nomar Garciaparra and Russell Martin both scored on an error by Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

The Dodgers need to beat the Rockies on Thursday to avoid the three game sweep. They also need to win the game as they are now two games back of the league leading Diamondbacks.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers finished off the Philadelphia Phillies with a 3-1 victory on Thursday night. With the win, the Dodgers swept the Phillies in the four game series. The Dodgers are playing very good baseball right now and are keeping pace with the Arizona Diamondbacks. This race is going to end up coming down to the last week of the seawson I’m thinking.

Matt Kemp, Nomar Garciaparra, and Casey Blake all had a rbi each for the Dodgers on Thursday night. Kemp hit a solo home run, Garciaparra a rbi groundout, and Blake a rbi single. It wasn’t much offense but it was enough to get the job done.

Hiroki Kuroda was awesome as he pitched seven innings and only gave up two hits and one run. Kurda picked up the win and is now 7-8 on the year. Hong-Chih Kuo pitched the final two innings of the game and notched his first save of the season. God job by Kuroda and Kuo!

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The Los Angeles Dodgers took a beating from the bats of the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.  The Braves came out swinging and defeated the Dodgers 9-3 to even the three game series at one game each.

Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley gave up six runs on six hits in only 5 1/3 innings of action.  Five of the six runs were earned and charged to Billingsley as he took the loss and dropped to 8-8 on the season.  Billingsley struck out eight batters but also had control issues as he walked four others.

Ramon Troncoso pitched 1 2/3 innings without giving up a run but then Joe Beimel gave up three hits and a run and Cory Wade allowed two more runs to score in the ninth inning.  It just wasn’t a good night to be a Dodgers pitcher.

James Loney had a rbi double in the in the sixth inning that score Andre Ethier for the Dodgers first run of the game.  The Dodgers did not score again until the ninth inning when Delwyn Young scored on a rbi groundout by Nomar Garciaparra.  Loney also scored on that play when Kelly Johnson committed a throwing error.

The Dodgers just didn’t play good and most of the blame has to go on the pitching staff.  Will they get it together and come back and get a victory on Wednesday?

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The Los Angeles Dodgers had no probles getting the win in Cincinnati over the Reds by a score of 9-3.  The Dodgers have been fighting for every win they could get and this one was much needed as they are now 8-12 on the season.

Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra both hit home runs for the Dodgers.  Furcal hit a solo home run in the first inning and Garciaparra hit a two run shot in the sixth inning.  James Loney had three RBIs with Russell Martin and Matt Kemp picking up an RBI each as well.

Brad Penny was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers throwing for six innings giving up six hits and only one run to the Reds.  This win put him at 3-2 for the year.  The closer Chan Ho Park picked up his first save of the season throwing the last three innings. 

The Dodgers will stay in Cincinnati for one more night to take on the Reds tonight to see if they can sweep them in the series.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to have to scramble to find a third basemen as Nomar Garciaparra will be out for a while after break a bone in his right hand.  There is a chance that Garciaparra could be back by opening day, but I don’t think they should rush an injury like this.   Nomar could struggle all season long with a hand injury and I would rather have him just take time off to make sure it is 100% healed before he plays.

In other moves, the Dodgers optioned Eric Stults and Greg Miller to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The Los Angels Dodgers are going to be thin at the third base position when they start the the 2008 season later this month.  Andy LaRoche and Nomar Garciaparra were planned to battle it out for the starting job but now that is all up in the air.

First it was Garciaparra being hit with a pitch on the right wrist in the fourth inning in the game against the St. Louis Cardinals.  X-rays were negative and Garciaparra will be re-evaluated in a few days.

After Garciaparra was taken out of the game, LaRoche came in and on an attempted pickoff move from the catcher, the ball bounced off the runner and hit LaRoche in the thumb.  All that caused a torn ligament in the thumb that will require surgery and sideline LaRoche for eight to ten weeks!

Everyone better hope that Nomar stays healthy!