The Dodgers moved their division lead up by a game with a 6-2 win over the Padres in the second game of the set.
The offense was again led by streaking Andre Ethier, who went 2 for 4 with 4 RBI. The Padres took an early lead with one in the first and had a 2-0 lead until the sixth when Manny triggered the offense with a solo homerun. They then took the lead with two runs in the eighth, with Russell Martin doubling and scoring the tying run on Ethier’s triple before Manny drove in go-ahead run Ethier with a sac fly. They added three insurance runs in the ninth when Ethier drove a double for three RBI with the bases loaded. Andruw Jones was also back in the lineup in center, but in typical Jones fashion, went 0 for 4 with 2 K’s in his first game in one month.
Hiroki Kuroda struggled with his commanded, yielding nine hits through six innings, but only allowed two runs to touch home. He didn’t factor into the decision and Chan Ho Park and Joe Beimel came in to relieve the seventh, with Beimel pitching into the eighth and picking up the win. Broxton also tossed the ninth, but there was no save opportunity.
The Dodgers go for the series sweep today, with Derek Lowe taking the mound, who is 3-1 with a 1.02 ERA in his last five starts. He will face lefty Shawn Estes, who is 2-1 but has made just one start, a win, in his return from a three-month stint on the DL for a fractured thumb. If Lowe runs into trouble at all, Brad Penny will be available out of the bullpen, he is expected to be activated today.
