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