A Diamondbacks loss on Thursday gave the Dodgers the NL West title, and the celebrations began despite a 5-7 loss to the Padres.
The Dodgers were shut out by Jake Peavy until they rallied for three runs in the fifth. They loaded the bases and scored two on a walk and wild pitch before Hu drilled an RBI-single, and Peavy finally got out the inning after throwing 53 pitches. Juan Pierre drove in a run in the sixth before Kemp hit a solo homerun in the eighth. Just about the entire roster was used for this one, with Pierre and Hu each going 2 for 3.
Torre scratched Maddux from the start with word of the division title, and Eric Stults made the start instead. He gave up a two-run homerun in the first and was pulled in the fifth after giving up another run. Elbert, Troncoso, Saito and Broxton then each saw some work, with each giving up a run.
The Dodgers now leave town for their last road series of the year, heading to San Francisco with their division title in hand. Derek Lowe will make his final regular season start, and is 3-0 with a microscopic 0.66 ERA in his last four outings. He will face Brad Hennessey, who hasn’t won a game that he started since August 2006.
