The Dodgers completed a sweep of the Padres to hold their place 1 1/2 games behind Arizona in the division. They have an off day Thursday before hosting the first-place Dbacks this weekend at home.
The Dodgers squeezed six runs out of nine hits, with two each by Ethier, Casey Blake, and Berroa. The Dodgers scored one in the third before the Padres came back with three the next inning. The boys then regained the lead with four runs in the bottom half, keyed by back-to-back homeruns, Blake DeWitt’s two-run blast and Berroa’s solo homerun, his first in almost two years. Blake also added an insurance run in the seventh with a solo shot.
Hiroki Kuroda pitched a decent outing, giving up four runs on 10 hits and earning the win, with six of his eight wins now coming at home. He struggled in the fourth, allowing the Padres to rally for three runs, and was lifted with one out in the sixth. Proctor, Elbert, and Wade all combined to hold the Padres scoreless until Broxton came on to close out the ninth in 1-2-3 fashion.
The Dodgers now have a five-game win streak as they head into this weekend’s crucial series with Arizona. The matchup for Friday will be Derek Lowe and Dan Haren. Lowe looks for his 12th win while Haren is 14-7, with his most recent loss last weekend against the Dodgers, giving up five runs through six.
Also, congrats to Manny for picking up the NL Player of the Month award.
