Effective Dodger pitching once again did not receive much run support in a 1-3 Dodgers loss to the first-place Cubs.
Cubs starter Jason Marquis held the Dodgers to just three hits, and they ended up with just four on the night, half by leadoff man Juan Pierre. The Cubs scored in the first and the Dodgers tied it up in the bottom half when Juan Pierre scored on a groundout, though the run was unearned. The team was 0 for 4 with RISP. Angel Berroa also made his debut with the Dodgers at short, going 0 for 3 with 2 K’s.
Brad Penny threw another strong outing, but was still tagged for the loss as the Dodger offense couldn’t match the 3 Cubs runs that Penny allowed. He gave up a solo shot in the first and kept the Cubs scoreless until they rallied for two in the fifth. Penny left after six to make way for Chan Ho Park and Saito, but the damage was done. The Dodger pitchers had an impressive 2.57 ERA in this 7-game homestand, but a lack of offensive support gave them just 3 wins.
