GAME THREAD: NL: LA DODGERS (60-55) at ST LOUIS (53-60)

NL: LA DODGERS (60-55) at ST LOUIS (53-60)

<h3>Dodgers go for third straight win in spite of stagnant offense</h3>

<div class="pre">LA Dodgers (60-55) at St. Louis (53-60) 3:55 pm EDT</div>

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Dodgers' sputtering offensehas done just enough to win consecutive games for the firsttime in nearly a month. They hope to do a little more onSaturday.


The Dodgers, who have won back-to-back contests for the firsttime since a five-game winning streak on July 16, will look toscore more runs when they continue a three-game series with theSt. Louis Cardinals.


Los Angeles has struggled mightily with its offense, gettingshut out in three straight games earlier this week and justavoided another shut out on Friday. James Loney's two-run homerin the ninth inning snapped a scoreless tie en route to a 2-1win.


Derek Lowe (8-10, 3.58 ERA) is no stranger to the lack ofoffense, which is part of the reason why he has not won sinceJune 22. He has gone 0-4 with a 4.86 ERA in his last eightgames - seven starts.


Over that span, Lowe has received minimal support, as theDodgers have failed to post more than one run in five of hislast seven starts.


Run support was not the only problem for the sinkerballer in hislast turn as he surrendered six runs - four earned - and fourhits in five frames of an 8-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbackslast Saturday.


The Cardinals' Braden Looper (9-9, 5.25) is having struggles ofhis own, alternating wins and losses over his last six starts.In his three wins, he has a 3.06 ERA while has been saddled witha 12.46 ERA in his three losses.


In his last outing - a 10-5 win over the San Diego Padres onMonday - the righthander permitted four runs and six hits withsix strikeouts in a 10-5 victory. It was just his third win inhis last 11 starts for Looper, who has not won back-to-backoutings since May 6-12.


After making 25 relief appearances against Los Angeles, Looperwill be making his first career start against it. He is 2-3with a 5.40 ERA against them.

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS AT ST LOUIS -- LINEUPS

LA DODGERS ST LOUIS
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Rafael Furcal SS .280 5 38 Aaron Miles SS .283 1 20
Russell Martin C .298 12 68 Rick Ankiel RF .250 1 3
James Loney 1B .322 5 25 Albert Pujols 1B .314 24 74
Luis Gonzalez LF .276 11 52 Jim Edmonds CF .240 7 27
Nomar Garciaparra 3B .281 6 57 Chris Duncan LF .281 20 59
Andre Ethier RF .296 9 46 Scott Rolen 3B .261 7 50
Juan Pierre CF .278 0 27 Yadier Molina C .272 1 20
Ramon Martinez 2B .182 0 14 Braden Looper RHP .206 0 5
Derek Lowe RHP .154 0 1 (9-9, 5.25)
(8-10, 3.58) Adam Kennedy 2B .217 3 18</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS
WARMUPS: LOS - DEREK LOWE (8-10, 3.58)
STL - BRADEN LOOPER (9-9, 5.25)

UMPIRES: HP - BRIAN GORMAN
1B - PAUL NAUERT
2B - MIKE EVERITT
3B - GERRY DAVIS

WEATHER: 95 Degrees, sunny
WIND: 1 mph, out to right</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS
STARTING BATS: LOS - DEREK LOWE AND RUSSELL MARTIN
STL - BRADEN LOOPER AND YADIER MOLINA

DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: R FURCAL (.280, 5 HR, 38 RBI)
R MARTIN (.298, 12 HR, 68 RBI)
J LONEY (.322, 5 HR, 25 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA DODGERS 0 0 0 0
ST LOUIS 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - DEREK LOWE
STL - BRADEN LOOPER

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: A MILES (.283, 1 HR, 20 RBI)
R ANKIEL (.250, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
A PUJOLS (.314, 24 HR, 74 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS (0) VS ST LOUIS (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Furcal ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .297
J Loney 1b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .322
L Gonzalez lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
N Garciaparra 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
A Ethier rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
J Pierre cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
R Martinez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
D Lowe p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154

Totals 3 0 0 0 1 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Miles ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .283
R Ankiel rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
A Pujols 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .314
J Edmonds cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240
C Duncan lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
S Rolen 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
Y Molina c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .272
B Looper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .206
A Kennedy 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .217

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 0 -- 0
ST LOUIS - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
D Lowe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.58

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.21

Pitches-strikes: B Looper 17-10. Ground balls-fly balls: B Looper 0-2.
Batters faced: B Looper 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Nauert. 2B--Mike Everitt. 3B--Gerry
Davis.

Weather: 95 degrees, sunny. Wind: 1 mph, out to right.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS
CONFIRMED STARTERS: LOS - DEREK LOWE
STL - BRADEN LOOPER</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY RICK ANKIEL (2) TO RIGHT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 1ST OFF DEREK LOWE SCORED AARON MILES.
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 0, ST LOUIS 2

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: A PUJOLS (.314, 24 HR, 74 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA DODGERS 0 0 0 0
ST LOUIS 2 2 2 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - DEREK LOWE
STL - BRADEN LOOPER

DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: N GARCIAPARRA (.281, 6 HR, 57 RBI)
A ETHIER (.296, 9 HR, 46 RBI)
J PIERRE (.278, 0 HR, 27 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS (0) VS ST LOUIS (2) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Furcal ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .297
J Loney 1b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .322
L Gonzalez lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
N Garciaparra 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
A Ethier rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
J Pierre cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
R Martinez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
D Lowe p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154

Totals 3 0 0 0 1 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Miles ss 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .286
R Ankiel rf 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .333
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .313
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
C Duncan lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
S Rolen 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
Y Molina c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .272
B Looper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .206
A Kennedy 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .217

Totals 5 2 2 2 0 0 0

BATTING: HR - R Ankiel (2, 1st inning off D Lowe 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - R Ankiel 2
(5). Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 0 -- 0
ST LOUIS - 2 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
D Lowe 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 3.67

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.21

Pitches-strikes: D Lowe 13-9; B Looper 17-10. Ground balls-fly balls: D Lowe
3-0; B Looper 0-2. Batters faced: D Lowe 5; B Looper 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Nauert. 2B--Mike Everitt. 3B--Gerry
Davis.

Weather: 95 degrees, sunny. Wind: 1 mph, out to right.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA DODGERS 0 0 0 0 0
ST LOUIS 2 2 2 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - DEREK LOWE
STL - BRADEN LOOPER

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: S ROLEN (.261, 7 HR, 50 RBI)
Y MOLINA (.272, 1 HR, 20 RBI)
B LOOPER (.206, 0 HR, 5 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS (0) VS ST LOUIS (2) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Furcal ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .297
J Loney 1b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .322
L Gonzalez lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
N Garciaparra 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
A Ethier rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
J Pierre cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
R Martinez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
D Lowe p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154

Totals 6 0 0 0 1 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Miles ss 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .286
R Ankiel rf 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .333
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .313
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
C Duncan lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
S Rolen 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
Y Molina c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .272
B Looper p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .206
A Kennedy 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .217

Totals 5 2 2 2 0 0 0

BATTING: HR - R Ankiel (2, 1st inning off D Lowe 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - R Ankiel 2
(5). Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 00 -- 0
ST LOUIS - 2 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
D Lowe 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 3.67

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.17

Pitches-strikes: D Lowe 13-9; B Looper 27-17. Ground balls-fly balls: D Lowe
3-0; B Looper 1-4. Batters faced: D Lowe 5; B Looper 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Nauert. 2B--Mike Everitt. 3B--Gerry
Davis.

Weather: 95 degrees, sunny. Wind: 1 mph, out to right.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA DODGERS 0 0 0 0 0
ST LOUIS 2 0 2 2 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - DEREK LOWE
STL - BRADEN LOOPER

DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: R MARTINEZ (.182, 0 HR, 14 RBI)
D LOWE (.154, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
R FURCAL (.279, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS (0) VS ST LOUIS (2) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Furcal ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .297
J Loney 1b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .322
L Gonzalez lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
N Garciaparra 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
A Ethier rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
J Pierre cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
R Martinez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
D Lowe p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154

Totals 6 0 0 0 1 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Miles ss 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .286
R Ankiel rf 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .333
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .313
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
C Duncan lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
S Rolen 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
Y Molina c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
B Looper p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200
A Kennedy 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .217

Totals 8 2 2 2 0 1 0

BATTING: HR - R Ankiel (2, 1st inning off D Lowe 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - R Ankiel 2
(5). Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 00 -- 0
ST LOUIS - 20 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
D Lowe 2 2 2 2 0 1 1 3.65

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.17

Pitches-strikes: D Lowe 27-18; B Looper 27-17. Ground balls-fly balls: D Lowe
5-0; B Looper 1-4. Batters faced: D Lowe 8; B Looper 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Nauert. 2B--Mike Everitt. 3B--Gerry
Davis.

Weather: 95 degrees, sunny. Wind: 1 mph, out to right.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA DODGERS 0 0 0 0 0 0
ST LOUIS 2 0 2 2 0 (BOT 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - DEREK LOWE
STL - BRADEN LOOPER

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: A KENNEDY (.217, 3 HR, 18 RBI)
A MILES (.286, 1-FOR-1)
R ANKIEL (.333, 1-FOR-1, HR, 2 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS (0) VS ST LOUIS (2) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Furcal ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .297
J Loney 1b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .322
L Gonzalez lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
N Garciaparra 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
A Ethier rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
J Pierre cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
R Martinez 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .180
D Lowe p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150

Totals 9 0 0 0 1 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Miles ss 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .286
R Ankiel rf 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .333
A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .313
J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
C Duncan lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
S Rolen 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
Y Molina c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
B Looper p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200
A Kennedy 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .217

Totals 8 2 2 2 0 1 0

BATTING: HR - R Ankiel (2, 1st inning off D Lowe 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - R Ankiel 2
(5). Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 000 -- 0
ST LOUIS - 20 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
D Lowe 2 2 2 2 0 1 1 3.65

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.13

Pitches-strikes: D Lowe 27-18; B Looper 35-22. Ground balls-fly balls: D Lowe
5-0; B Looper 2-6. Batters faced: D Lowe 8; B Looper 10.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Nauert. 2B--Mike Everitt. 3B--Gerry
Davis.

Weather: 95 degrees, sunny. Wind: 1 mph, out to right.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
FIELDER'S CHOICE BY ALBERT PUJOLS SCORED ADAM KENNEDY.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, A PUJOLS ON FIRST, R ANKIEL ON SECOND, A
MILES ON THIRD, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 0
ST LOUIS 3 BOTTOM, 3RD

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: J EDMONDS (.239, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JIM EDMONDS SCORED AARON MILES AND RICK ANKIEL.

SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, J EDMONDS ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 0
ST LOUIS 5 BOTTOM, 3RD

DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: C DUNCAN (.280, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA DODGERS 0 0 0 0 0 2
ST LOUIS 2 0 3 5 5 0 (TOP 4)

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - DEREK LOWE
STL - BRADEN LOOPER

DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: R MARTIN (.297, 0-FOR-1)
J LONEY (.322, 0-FOR-0, BB)
L GONZALEZ (.275, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ST LOUIS

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS (0) VS ST LOUIS (5) - END 3RD - IN PROGRESS

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Furcal ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .297
J Loney 1b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .322
L Gonzalez lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
N Garciaparra 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
A Ethier rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
J Pierre cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278
R Martinez 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .180
D Lowe p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150

Totals 9 0 0 0 1 1 1

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.

FIELDING: E - R Furcal 2 (17, ground ball 2). Outfield assists - A Ethier (A
Pujols at 3rd base).


ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Miles ss 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 .288
R Ankiel rf 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 .400
A Pujols 1b 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 .312
J Edmonds cf 2 0 1 2 0 0 1 .242
C Duncan lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .279
S Rolen 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .259
Y Molina c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
B Looper p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200
A Kennedy 2b 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .217

Totals 15 5 5 5 0 2 3

BATTING: HR - R Ankiel (2, 1st inning off D Lowe 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - R Ankiel 2
(5), A Pujols (75), J Edmonds 2 (29). Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 000 -- 0
ST LOUIS - 203 -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
D Lowe 3 5 5 3 0 2 1 3.68

ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era
B Looper 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.13

Pitches-strikes: D Lowe 53-38; B Looper 35-22. Ground balls-fly balls: D Lowe
7-0; B Looper 2-6. Batters faced: D Lowe 15; B Looper 10.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Gorman. 1B--Paul Nauert. 2B--Mike Everitt. 3B--Gerry
Davis.

Weather: 95 degrees, sunny. Wind: 1 mph, out to right.</div>