GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: LA DODGERS (79-73) at ARIZONA (86-67)

NL: LA DODGERS (79-73) at ARIZONA (86-67)

<h3>Diamondbacks look to strengthen division lead vs. Dodgers</h3>

LA Dodgers (79-74) at Arizona (86-67) 9:40 pm EDT


PHOENIX (Ticker) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks have seen theirlead in the National League West Division shrink to the smallestof margins. They could not have picked a better time to playthe Los Angeles Dodgers.


The Diamondbacks look to strengthen their division cushionFriday when they host the Dodgers in a contest between a pair ofNL West teams heading in opposite directions.


Arizona leads the red-hot San Diego Padres (85-67) by onlyone-half game in the division despite having won 10 of its last14 contests. The Padres, who are riding a seven-game winningstreak, also lead the Philadelphia Phillies (83-70) by 2 1/2games in the wild card race.


In desperate need of a win, the Diamondbacks welcome in aDodgers team mired in a five-game losing streak.


Livan Hernandez (10-10, 4.86 ERA) will try to improve upon hislast start against the Dodgers when he takes the mound for theDiamondbacks on Friday.


Hernandez surrendered five runs and six hits over six innings onSaturday against Los Angeles. The 32-year-old veteranstruggled with his control, walking three batters while throwing60 of 103 pitches for strikes, as Arizona suffered a 6-2setback.


For the season, Hernandez is 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA in three startsagainst the Dodgers.


The Dodgers counter with Esteban Loaiza (1-2, 7.20), who facedthe Diamondbacks in his last start on Saturday. The righthanderworked 4 2/3 innings and allowed just one hit in the outing,but it happened to be a three-run home run by Luis Gonzalez.

Los Angeles owns a 9-6 record against Arizona this season buthas lost four of the last six meetings between the divisionrivals.

 

NL: LA DODGERS (79-73) at ARIZONA (86-67)

<h3>Webb aims to continue dominance of Dodgers</h3>

<div class="pre">LA Dodgers (79-75) at Arizona (87-67) 9:40 pm EDT</div>

<div class="pre">PHOENIX (Ticker) - With little room for error in the race for a</div>division crown, the Arizona Diamondbacks turn to Brandon Webbto do what he has made a habit of doing, defeating the LosAngeles Dodgers, as the teams continue their series on Saturday.

The Diamondbacks won their third straight game on Friday,trouncing Los Angeles 12-3 in the series opener to move 1 1/2games ahead of San Diego (85-68) in the National League West.

Webb (16-10, 3.03 ERA) has won each of his last six startsagainst the Dodgers since the start of 2005. In fact, he hasonly allowed one run in three starts against them this season.

Overall, the sinkerballer is 8-3 with a 2.77 ERA in 13 lifetimestarts against Los Angeles. However, Webb did not receive adecision in Monday's 8-5 loss to the Giants when he permittedthree runs and six hits over six frames.


The Dodgers will counter with David Wells (8-8, 5.40), who isunbeaten in last five turns. He went just five frames but didnot factor into the decision in Tuesday's 9-8 setback againstColorado, surrendering five runs and eight hits.


The lefthander is 4-2 with a 4.93 ERA in 11 career startsagainst the Diamondbacks.

 

NL: LA DODGERS (79-76) at ARIZONA (88-67)

<h3>Young and Diamondbacks aim for sweep of Dodgers</h3>



<div class="pre">LA Dodgers (79-75) at Arizona (87-67) 4:40 pm EDT</div>

PHOENIX (Ticker) - The Arizona Diamondbacks are getting closerto clinching the National League West, while the Los AngelesDodgers are just looking for a win.


Rookie Chris Young and the Diamondbacks aim for a three-gamesweep of the Dodgers in Sunday's series finale.


Young hit a leadoff homer and Brandon Webb threw 6 1/3 effectiveinnings as the Diamondbacks won their fourth straight contest,7-4, on Saturday.


Arizona, which leads the San Diego Padres (85-69) by 2 1/2 gamesin the NL West, reduced its magic number to six.


Edgar Gonzalez (8-2, 4.61 ERA) hopes to lower that number evenmore. Gonzalez has been back-and-forth between the bullpen androtation most of the year. He has been better as a starter,posting a 3.90 ERA as opposed to a 5.58 as a reliever. Therighthander has allowed one run in his last 11 innings as astarter.


The 24-year-old is 1-1 with a 6.46 ERA in three starts againstthe Dodgers this season.


Los Angeles, which has lost a season-high seven straight games,counters with Chad Billingsley (11-5, 3.15). Billingsley hadbeen unbeaten in his last five starts before allowing two runsand four hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 3-1 loss to the ColoradoRockies on Tuesday.

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

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

LA DODGERS ARIZONA
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Juan Pierre CF .290 0 37 Chris Young CF .239 32 67
Tony Abreu 2B .270 1 16 Jeff Salazar RF .266 1 10
Matt Kemp RF .336 10 40 Eric Byrnes LF .291 21 82
James Loney 1B .327 12 58 Tony Clark 1B .249 16 50
Russell Martin C .298 18 85 Mark Reynolds 3B .282 17 61
Andre Ethier LF .289 13 63 Chris Snyder C .262 13 46
Andy Laroche 3B .212 1 7 Stephen Drew SS .230 11 55
Chin-Lung Hu SS .333 1 1 Augie Ojeda 2B .260 1 9
Chad Billingsley RHP .121 0 2 Edgar Gonzalez RHP .150 0 0
(11-5, 3.15) (8-2, 4.61)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">NL AT ARIZONA
WARMUPS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY (11-5, 3.15)
ARI - EDGAR GONZALEZ (8-2, 4.61)

UMPIRES: HP - PAUL EMMEL
1B - DAN IASSOGNA
2B - DALE SCOTT
3B - RON KULPA

WEATHER: INDOORS</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">NL AT ARIZONA
STARTING BATS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY AND RUSSELL MARTIN
ARI - EDGAR GONZALEZ AND CHRIS SNYDER

DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: J PIERRE (.290, 0 HR, 37 RBI)
T ABREU (.270, 1 HR, 16 RBI)
M KEMP (.336, 10 HR, 40 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">NL AT ARIZONA - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY TONY ABREU (2) TO RIGHT CENTER WITH 1 OUT
IN THE 1ST OFF EDGAR GONZALEZ.
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 1, ARIZONA 0

DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: M KEMP (.336, 10 HR, 40 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY
ARI - EDGAR GONZALEZ

DUE UP FOR ARIZONA: C YOUNG (.239, 32 HR, 67 RBI)
J SALAZAR (.266, 1 HR, 10 RBI)
E BYRNES (.291, 21 HR, 82 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

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

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Pierre cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .291
T Abreu 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .274
M Kemp rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .338
J Loney 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .329
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .297
A Ethier lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .288
A LaRoche 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212
C Hu ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
C Billingsley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .121

Totals 6 1 4 1 0 1 4

BATTING: HR - T Abreu (2, 1st inning off Ed Gonzalez 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - T
Abreu (17). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Ethier 1. Team LOB - 2.


BASERUNNING: CS - J Pierre (14, 2nd base by Ed Gonzalez/C Snyder).


ARIZONA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Young cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
J Salazar rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
E Byrnes lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
T Clark 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .249
M Reynolds 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
C Snyder c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
S Drew ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230
A Ojeda 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
Ed Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 1 -- 1
ARIZONA - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Billingsley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.15

ARIZONA ip h r er bb so hr era
Ed Gonzalez 1 4 1 1 0 1 1 4.66

Pitches-strikes: Ed Gonzalez 28-18. Ground balls-fly balls: Ed Gonzalez 1-0.
Batters faced: Ed Gonzalez 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Dale Scott. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">NL AT ARIZONA
CONFIRMED STARTERS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY
ARI - EDGAR GONZALEZ</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">NL AT ARIZONA - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MARK REYNOLDS SCORED CHRIS YOUNG.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M REYNOLDS ON FIRST, J SALAZAR ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 1
ARIZONA 1 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR ARIZONA: C SNYDER (.262, 13 HR, 46 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY
ARI - EDGAR GONZALEZ

DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: A LAROCHE (.212, 1 HR, 7 RBI)
C HU (.333, 1 HR, 1 RBI)
C BILLINGSLEY (.121, 0 HR, 2 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

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

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Pierre cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .291
T Abreu 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .274
M Kemp rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .338
J Loney 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .329
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .297
A Ethier lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .288
A LaRoche 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212
C Hu ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
C Billingsley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .121

Totals 6 1 4 1 0 1 4

BATTING: HR - T Abreu (2, 1st inning off Ed Gonzalez 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - T
Abreu (17). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Ethier 1. Team LOB - 2.


BASERUNNING: CS - J Pierre (14, 2nd base by Ed Gonzalez/C Snyder).


ARIZONA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Young cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .241
J Salazar rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .275
E Byrnes lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .290
T Clark 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .248
M Reynolds 3b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .284
C Snyder c 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .261
S Drew ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230
A Ojeda 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
Ed Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150

Totals 6 1 3 1 0 1 6

BATTING: RBI - M Reynolds (62). 2-out RBI - M Reynolds. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - C Snyder 1. Team LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 1 -- 1
ARIZONA - 1 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Billingsley 1 3 1 1 0 1 0 3.19

ARIZONA ip h r er bb so hr era
Ed Gonzalez 1 4 1 1 0 1 1 4.66

Pitches-strikes: C Billingsley 21-12; Ed Gonzalez 28-18. Ground balls-fly
balls: C Billingsley 1-1; Ed Gonzalez 1-0. Batters faced: C Billingsley 6; Ed
Gonzalez 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Dale Scott. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY
ARI - EDGAR GONZALEZ

DUE UP FOR ARIZONA: S DREW (.230, 11 HR, 55 RBI)
A OJEDA (.260, 1 HR, 9 RBI)
E GONZALEZ (.150, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS (1) VS ARIZONA (1) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Pierre cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .291
T Abreu 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .274
M Kemp rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .338
J Loney 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .329
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .297
A Ethier lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .288
A LaRoche 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .209
C Hu ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
C Billingsley p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .118

Totals 9 1 4 1 0 2 4

BATTING: HR - T Abreu (2, 1st inning off Ed Gonzalez 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - T
Abreu (17). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Ethier 1. Team LOB - 2.


BASERUNNING: CS - J Pierre (14, 2nd base by Ed Gonzalez/C Snyder).


ARIZONA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Young cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .241
J Salazar rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .275
E Byrnes lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .290
T Clark 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .248
M Reynolds 3b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .284
C Snyder c 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .261
S Drew ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230
A Ojeda 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260
Ed Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150

Totals 6 1 3 1 0 1 6

BATTING: RBI - M Reynolds (62). 2-out RBI - M Reynolds. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - C Snyder 1. Team LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 10 -- 1
ARIZONA - 1 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Billingsley 1 3 1 1 0 1 0 3.19

ARIZONA ip h r er bb so hr era
Ed Gonzalez 2 4 1 1 0 2 1 4.61

Pitches-strikes: C Billingsley 21-12; Ed Gonzalez 40-26. Ground balls-fly
balls: C Billingsley 1-1; Ed Gonzalez 2-1. Batters faced: C Billingsley 6; Ed
Gonzalez 9.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Dale Scott. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY
ARI - EDGAR GONZALEZ

DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: J PIERRE (.291, 1-FOR-1)
T ABREU (.274, 1-FOR-1, HR, RBI)
M KEMP (.338, 1-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS (1) VS ARIZONA (1) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Pierre cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .291
T Abreu 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .274
M Kemp rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .338
J Loney 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .329
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .297
A Ethier lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .288
A LaRoche 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .209
C Hu ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
C Billingsley p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .118

Totals 9 1 4 1 0 2 4

BATTING: HR - T Abreu (2, 1st inning off Ed Gonzalez 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - T
Abreu (17). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Ethier 1. Team LOB - 2.


BASERUNNING: CS - J Pierre (14, 2nd base by Ed Gonzalez/C Snyder).


ARIZONA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Young cf 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .240
J Salazar rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .275
E Byrnes lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .290
T Clark 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .248
M Reynolds 3b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .284
C Snyder c 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .261
S Drew ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230
A Ojeda 2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .268
Ed Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150

Totals 9 1 4 1 0 1 7

BATTING: S - Ed Gonzalez. RBI - M Reynolds (62). 2-out RBI - M Reynolds.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Snyder 1, C Young 1. Team LOB - 3.



----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 10 -- 1
ARIZONA - 10 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Billingsley 2 4 1 1 0 1 0 3.17

ARIZONA ip h r er bb so hr era
Ed Gonzalez 2 4 1 1 0 2 1 4.61

Pitches-strikes: C Billingsley 36-21; Ed Gonzalez 40-26. Ground balls-fly
balls: C Billingsley 3-2; Ed Gonzalez 2-1. Batters faced: C Billingsley 10; Ed
Gonzalez 9.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Dale Scott. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY
ARI - EDGAR GONZALEZ

DUE UP FOR ARIZONA: J SALAZAR (.275, 1-FOR-1)
E BYRNES (.290, 0-FOR-1)
T CLARK (.248, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

<div class="pre">LA DODGERS (1) VS ARIZONA (1) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Pierre cf 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 .292
T Abreu 2b 2 1 1 1 0 0 1 .273
M Kemp rf 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .337
J Loney 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .329
R Martin c 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .297
A Ethier lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .288
A LaRoche 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .209
C Hu ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
C Billingsley p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .118

Totals 12 1 5 1 0 2 6

BATTING: HR - T Abreu (2, 1st inning off Ed Gonzalez 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - T
Abreu (17). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Ethier 1. GIDP - M
Kemp. Team LOB - 2.

BASERUNNING: CS - J Pierre (14, 2nd base by Ed Gonzalez/C Snyder).


ARIZONA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Young cf 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .240
J Salazar rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .275
E Byrnes lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .290
T Clark 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .248
M Reynolds 3b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .284
C Snyder c 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .261
S Drew ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .230
A Ojeda 2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .268
Ed Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150

Totals 9 1 4 1 0 1 7

BATTING: S - Ed Gonzalez. RBI - M Reynolds (62). 2-out RBI - M Reynolds.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Snyder 1, C Young 1. Team LOB - 3.


FIELDING: DP: 1 (M Reynolds-A Ojeda-T Clark).


----------------------------------------------------
LA DODGERS - 100 -- 1
ARIZONA - 10 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

LA DODGERS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Billingsley 2 4 1 1 0 1 0 3.17

ARIZONA ip h r er bb so hr era
Ed Gonzalez 3 5 1 1 0 2 1 4.56

Pitches-strikes: C Billingsley 36-21; Ed Gonzalez 47-32. Ground balls-fly
balls: C Billingsley 3-2; Ed Gonzalez 4-2. Batters faced: C Billingsley 10; Ed
Gonzalez 12.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Dale Scott. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: LA DODGERS at ARIZONA

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY
ARI - EDGAR GONZALEZ

DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: J LONEY (.329, 1-FOR-1)
R MARTIN (.297, 0-FOR-1)
A ETHIER (.288, 0-FOR-1)</div>