Chad Billingsley scattered five Giants’ hits with no walks in his complete game shutout while the Dodgers put up four runs of their own to win the rubber match of the series.
The Dodgers took an early lead in the first to make it 1-0, and that would be the only run needed for the win. Russell Martin chipped in with two RBI-singles while Jeff Kent hit an RBI-double and James Loney a sacfly. Matt Kemp also went 1 for 2 with two runs scored to extend his hit streak to 17 games. Casey Blake also had two hits and is now batting .412 since putting on the Dodger blue.
Billingsley pitched the Dodgers to their tenth shutout of the season, and their fourth in the last five games. This is Billingsley’s first career shutout and just second complete game. He had eight K’s on the night and the complete shutout was complete when Andre Ethier gunned down Jose Castillo at the plate for the last out of the game. Billingsley is now 7-2 in his last nine starts.
The Dodgers now head into their crucial four-game series with the Diamondbacks at home. They are still one game back but they could take the lead and then some after this series. Derek Lowe will face Brandon Webb in tonight’s opener. Lowe is in search of his ninth win after holding the Nationals to one hit in eight innings in his last start. Webb sports a 9-3 record against the Dodgers in his career and held the Dodgers to one run in eight innings in his last start against them.
