What a weird series. The Dodgers had been simply on fire and after winning eleven straight, they lost a game and got right back to winning. They won six more in a row, including the first two in their series against the Marlins. Today though, it’s almost like the Dodgers made up for all the winning and lost three times in the same game because they were simply rocked by the Marlins in the finale.
It’s nice having Nomar Garciaparra back. He came through huge on Monday. Nomar homered and drove in three runs and Julio Lugo scored twice. Derek Lowe had a nice start in the 4-2 win. He gave up a single run on four hits and two walks through seven innings of work.
Yesterday was more of the same. Chad Billinglsey was awesome. He struck out nine in seven shutout innings and gave up only three hits. He combined with Jon Broxton and Aaron Sele to shutout the Marlins 4-0. Kenny Lofton had two hits, a run and an RBI in the win.
Then today happened. Mark Hendrickson was done without completing three innings. The pen didn’t fare much better. By the end of the game, the Dodgers arms had given up 15 runs on sixteen hits and five walks. Just Plain Ugly. Jeff Kent doubled twice and drove in three runs and J.D. Drew scored twice.
The Padres and Diamondbacks play tonight but at this point in time, the Dodgers have a nice three game lead. Next up is three at San Francisco before heading to San Diego for a big series next week.
