Dem Bums – A Dodgers Blog

The Dodgers’ Magic Number still stands at 1 as they took a 1-3 loss to the Pirates on Friday.

Jon Garland struck out six through six innings, giving up three runs but no earned. Blake DeWitt committing a throwing error in the first that led to the first unearned run, and a fielding error by James Loney in the third led to two more unearned runs. Its unfortunate that Garland got the loss, his first as a Dodger, despite his strong performance.

Not only was Garland tagged for the loss due to errors by the defense, but the offense was also not able to back him up. The only run the Dodgers were able to score off Karstens was an RBI-double in the second inning by Orlando Hudson to plate DeWitt.

The Dodgers hope to clinch their playoff spot on Saturday, with Randy Wolf taking on Paul Maholm. Wolf is still unbeaten in his last eight starts, while Maholm is 8-9 and 0-3 lifetime with a 6.00 ERA against the Dodgers.