Dodgers fall nine games back as losing streak hits six with 10-5 loss to Padres

Gloom felt omnipresent, on the bases, at the plate and, on this night, even on the mound.

There was no real news to come from the Dodgers on Monday, only more failed repetition. More questions lacking answers, more blank stares.

The Dodgers fell deeper into their hole, the light growing still dimmer after they suffered their sixth consecutive loss, falling 10-5 to the Padres.

The loss dropped the Dodgers to a season-high nine games back of the Padres in the National League West.

Even on a night when the offense showed signs of life, too often Dodgers had trouble getting out of their own way. The defense committed two errors. Matt Kemp had a career-high five hits but another base-running blunder. And the pitching, the one thing that had been solid even during the skid, crumbled.

The Dodgers collected 14 hits, their most in a game since July 3, and they weren't even close to earning their first victory in six games.

The Dodgers managed seven hits in the first three innings alone -- yet failed to score.

In the first, the Dodgers got two-out singles from Kemp and James Loney. Casey Blake followed with a sharp single to center, and Kemp rounded third and headed home for what should have been an easy run.

Only Loney tried to go from first to third on the hit and just was tagged for the third out … before Kemp, running at something much less than full speed, was able to cross the plate.

Earlier this season, the Dodgers lost 2-1 to the Angels in Anaheim when Russell Martin took too wide a turn at second and was tagged out before Reed Johnson touched the plate. Earlier in that inning, Kemp had been picked off second by Brian Fuentes.

The game remained scoreless until the Padres broke through with four runs against Hiroki Kuroda (8-10) in the fourth. Will Venable, hitting .229, broke the scoreless affair by powering a three-run homer.

And that should have been the end of the Padres scoring in the inning, but after a Chris Denoria single, San Diego starter Clayton Richard (9-5) bunted a sacrifice in front of the plate.

Martin fielded it and elected to fire to second, but the throw was off for an error. Miguel Tejada blooped a two-run single to center, and the Padres led 5-0.

The Dodgers got two runs on singles by pinch-hitter Ronnie Belliard and Kemp in the bottom of the inning, but the Padres got both back against suddenly struggling Jeff Weaver.

Chase Headley added a three-run homer against Weaver in the sixth, and it was 10-2 Padres. And the night was looking just a tad too familiar to the Dodgers.

Not the two runs the Dodgers added in the sixth, not Kemp’s 18th home run of the season in the eighth were going to ease the gloom of another loss.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Comments

[Done AsAFanUntilMcCourtCollettiTorreRussellMartinAreGone]

Pathetic franchise. Stupidity, no urgency, idiotic blunders. Enough.

[jimishelter]

Kemp's base running blunder? What about Loney's? "Never make the last out at third base" is taught at the little league level.

[HI Dodger Fan]

i'm sure thousands of major league baseball players, minor leaguers, etc., have done the exact same thing as kemp did. loney had no business getting thrown out at third. but, each and every dodger should be mindful of what happened with martin and johnson against the angels. so while i think kemp is not all to blame for easing up, given the scrutiny of him lately and the incident with the angels, he should have run hard all the way through.

[Hollywood Dodger Mark]

Colletti - go to Kemp. Say to him, you will be suspended if you do not hustle on every single play. That includes backing up at second base on throw downs. End of story.

[Stan]

I blame the blunder at home by Kemp on Bowa. Forget about Loney, Bowa should have been running stride by stride with Kemp all the way to home plate counting a fast-step cadence.

[alanw19]

baserunning blunder?

Really? Are we even surprised anymore?

Between the players' running with effort, base coach Larry Bowa on that side of the field, and the ondeck hitter letting the runner approaching the plate know what to do - this should never happen.

Ah, but as said before, this bunch doesn't care enough. Pains me to say it, but indeed, this is more proof of the gutless, heartless guys wearing uniforms of my favorite team. Please, put the uniforms on someone else.

Que up the 49ers coach, Mike Singletary, from youtube. He'll tell you. Guys like these, can't coach them, can't win with them. Can't do it.

[McCourt blows]

If Garret Anderson and his 180 average and Sherill with his bad ERA are still on this team, it sends a message to everyone else that you don't have to be good, we won't get rid of you, don't worry. Any other team would not put up with this lack of production. It's just another example of ownership and managements incompetency!

[Phineas]

Yes, Kemp's base-running blunder. Loney was running hard, which is what Kemp was supposed to be doing. So Torre blames Loney too? If Kemp runs hard, he scores, and what Loney does is irrelevant. Torre apparently was sick the day they taught base-running in camp. And discipline, too. Kemp's ass should be on the bench for what he did(n't do).

[Zen]

Go, White Sox!

[VaDodger]

I agree jimishelter. Loney should have held up. The Times loves to kick Kemp when he's down. Cut the guy a little slack. He admits he needs to take a different approach at the plate, then the next game goes 5-for-5 with a homer, yet they have to harp on this "baserunning blunder" in a 5-run loss? Get over yourselves. Maybe if Loney could hit the ball out of the yard a little more we wouldn't have to worry about him being thrown out trying to go from 1st to 3rd with 2 outs.

[william zepeda]

trying to find a copy of last nites game. In which I made a one handed catch behind the first base line in either the 5th or sixth inning. Just really want to show the kids, they dont buy it.

[west coast ram]

@ jimishelter, I agree. Everyone wants to jump Kemp for not running hard to home, but all players ease up at the plate if there is not a play at the plate. Based on the fact that Loney has carried a piano on his back since he was 20 years old, why would he even try for third base with the play in front of him as he approached second.

[rudy]

can sum one please tell me why podsednick is still leading off please tell me why........

[These Dodgers Suck!]

Torre had a meeting with the boyz yesterday ...

so I'm sure that everything's going to be fine now. LOL!!

[Since '58]

D-I-V-O-R-C-E ..................
Like the saying goes, "A fish stinks from the head down." Whether anybody wants to admit it, this is the elephant in the room. Nobody is buying the line that it's "business as usual" when nothing was done over the winter to improve this team.
Ned Colletti is accepting his role as the lightening rod in this disaster. He had to trade away our most promising young player just to show that he was DOING SOMETHING. He can take only part of the blame. McCourt tied his hands, no matter how much he protests the opposite. He knows. We all know. Look, even he and Torre can't agree in public whether or not it was necessary to trade DeWitt. Still no explanation for that inconsistency.
Don't think this hasn't affected the players. They won't say it in public, but I'm sure they're well aware of the fact that management didn't raise a finger over the winter. Torre's comment about Padilla being the opening day starter didn't help things.
And speaking of elephants, looks like the loss of the Dumbo Feather in the middle of the lineup, Manny Ramirez, is finally having its effect on Ethier, Loney, Kemp, et. al. These guys aren't being pitched to the same way anymore. They were able to overcome it last year during Manny's suspension, but they couldn't sustain it this year.
Thanks to Frank and Jamie and their selfishness, this team is lost. All the pleading in this forum will not convince them to sell. They don't even read this blog. They don't even care. All we can hope for is to let events take their course and to let the courts decide.
One more time: D-I-V-O-R-C-E.

[Brock Murdoch]

Certainly, you're taught not to make the third out at third, but that's not the point. Loney made a base running mistake. Kemp made the unforgivable mistake of being lazy. He's always been a non-hustler. Kemp, take some notes on how Jamie Carroll runs the bases. Kemp's got all the talent, but no heart.

[John P Bowles]

the most galling part of the Dodgers many mistakes this yearis they repeatedly committ the Same mistakes, baserunning,et all and inconsistent pitching. combine all of the and it falls at the feet of Torre and his coaching staff.it just illustrates what an overrated manager Torre is and just how talented those Yankee teams were that they won in spite of him. the credit should be given to Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman who secured te players that made Torre look so good. Now the search is on for the next manager an core power hittter to anchor the lineupas Manny is just a reminder of wasted opportunitiesthese past few years

[HI Dodger Fan]

i just saw the play on dodgers.com. there was no replay of kemp's baserunning, so saying he wasn't hustling is left to those who actually saw him. what i did see, however, was a soft liner to shallow centerfield with two out and a speedy runner on second. what in the world was loney doing going to third? he saw how shallow the ball was. it was also a looping line drive. couple that with two outs and kemp running and there is no way the CF could have gotten kemp. his only play would have been to get loney and loney obliged. when you look at the replay, the CF fields and immediately turns toward third. he had no thought of coming home with the ball. loney was just plain dreaming to think he could get to third on that hit. i really can't blame kemp at all on this. coming in from second on a two-out hit with no throw to the plate? your natural instinct is to start to pull up. people have got to stop harping on kemp so much and look at the other guys too. loney was guilty of calling mattingly back to the mound because he wasn't listening to the conversation about their defensive positioning. torre said loney did the same thing to him the week before. sunday, against the gints, he double-clutched his toss to kershaw and made kershaw try to catch the ball and step on the bag at the same time. orel immediately stated that loney should have given the ball to kershaw early so that he could look for the bag. to me, loney gets a free ride on all these bonehead plays. kemp gets killed after going 5-5. jeez.

[These Dodgers Suck!]

Manny is much more than just a reminder of wasted opportunity Mr. Bowles, he's a living symbol of arrogance (his own) and a monument to avarice (belonging to the McCourts).

the great thing is that even after he's gone from Los Angeles, the same dodger fans that cheered his every moment on the field will still be contributing to his income -via differed payments- for years to come!

(and thereby robbing more from dodgers fans and their team too)

Manny is the gift that will just keep on giving and giving again.

[skyharbor]

At least we got rid of Pierre...who homered and doubled and drove in two runs and stole a base today in the first game of a doubleheader.

[K]

Since '58, your post hit a lot of nails squarely on all their heads. I'm a fan "since 58" too and I've seen a few disastrous Dodger teams over the years, but no matter how McCourt/Colletti/Torre/anybody says it ain't so, the divorce is killing the team.

That baserunning circus last night is only a symptom of this much worse situation. The best thing that could possibly happen to the Dodgers is for Frank McCourt to be forced to sell, and that might happen if the judge awards Jamie such a large settlement that Frank has to sell to pay her off. Then the new owner would clean house. That means axing Colletti (although not all of this is his fault; he's just financially hamstrung), Torre (overrated), most of his coaches, many if not all of the big contracts on the roster and restocking/reworking the farm system.

My personal dream is for Peter O'Malley to gather a group of investors and buy the team back. I realize that's a ridiculous long shot, but it doesn't cost me anything to dream. I DO NOT want Fox ownership again, as some dufus columnist wrote about in one of my papers yesterday.

Thanks for letting me vent...

[Since '58]

Thanks for the compliment, K. Yes, I remember sitting in the Coliseum back in '58 cheering for the Dodgers and listening to Vinny on my transistor radio. I also agree with most of what you said, except for Peter O'Malley. Peter started this mess by selling the Dodgers to Fox as a tax dodge, if you remember. So I am not that enthusiastic about his return. Besides, I'm sure he's not even interested. He's happy with the unconditional love he gets from forgetful Dodger fans. Bill Shaikin is the Times columnist you referred to. He was only suggesting that Fox buy in as a partial owner, leaving baseball affairs to a new primary owner or owners and new baseball people, if that kind of ownership could be arranged. "Just supply the money, Fox, then shut up," kinda thing. McCourt already is in hock to Fox up to his eyeballs.

[CRZYFAN]

How did the Giants Get Burrel. I always liked that guy. I have not watched one game this year. Waiting for the Lakers to ge their line up set. I did glance a couple of weeks ago and they were only 2 out. Now their season is done. Dam those Giants. They finally caught us. Well it only took them 6 years.

CrzyFan