Published: Sept. 18, 2011 at 8:48 PM

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

Read More: Kevin Millwood (P – COL), Troy Tulowitzki (SS – COL), Chad Billingsley (P – LOS), Seth Smith (RF – COL), Carlos Gonzalez (LF – COL), Chris Nelson (SS – COL), Alan Johnson (P – COL), Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers

The curse of Alan Johnson has come to an end for the Colorado Rockies. For the last 17 Sundays, the Rockies have lost the day’s game. Johnson, making a spot start for his major league debut, pitched in that day’s victory. It hasn’t been a good few months for the Rockies on Sunday since then–until this Sunday.

The Rockies picked up the 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on the strength of a Kevin Millwood start and a couple of home runs. Millwood (1-1, 4.50 ERA) threw seven innings, allowing three runs on a solo homer and an RBI double to James Loney and a Matt Kemp RBI double. Millwood also came up with a catch on a line drive up the middle to help preserve the game.

The Rockies surprisingly scored their five runs on just three hits, a first in franchise history. Carlos Gonzalez hit his 21st home run in the bottom of the first for the 2-0 lead; however, Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley (10-10, 4.12 ERA) shut down the Rockies for the next 11 batters before issuing a leadoff walk to Seth Smith in the bottom of the fifth.

Billingsley issued two more walks over the next two innings, but didn’t allow another hit until Seth Smith hit his 14th homer of the season, a two-run shot to put the Rockies back in the lead, 4-3. Troy Tulowitzki added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for cushioning.

Chris Nelson came up with a nice defensive grab at third base in the eighth inning, preventing a game-tying RBI double.

The Rockies (60-68, 32-33 home) stay at Coors Field to start the week, hosting the Houston Astros for three games. Brett Myers and Jhoulys Chacin are the scheduled starters for Monday.

For more on the Rockies, head over to Purple Row. Visit True Blue LA and SB Nation Los Angeles for more on the Dodgers.

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By Bob Grotz
Journal Register News Service

LOS ANGELES — Vance Worley has provided quite a pick-me-up for the Philadelphia Phillies this season. On Wednesday, they returned the favor for their rookie pitcher.

Ryan Howard and Hunter Pence homered as the Phillies overcame an early six-run deficit and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-8 Wednesday for a three-game sweep.

The Phillies won for the 12th time in 13 games and completed a 9-1 road trip. They improved baseball’s best record to 77-40 — Philadelphia is 37 games over .500 for the first time since 1977.

Down 6-0 after three innings, the Phillies rallied and eventually scored four times in the sixth for a 9-7 lead.

Howard’s 25th homer was a tiebreaking, two-run shot with two outs.

“Vance got off to kind of a rough start, but we were able to pick him up today,” Howard said.

“We just believe the game isn’t over until the 27th out is made,” he said. “They got ahead early, but we knew there was a lot of game left. So you just kind of chip away, get a run here and a run there, and the next thing you know you’re back in the game.”

Kyle Kendrick (7-5) pitched one inning of relief for the win.

The Dodgers took a 5-0 lead in the first. Worley walked three batters, including Casey Blake and Andre Ethier with one out, and Matt Kemp singled home a run to end a personal six-game RBI drought.

Juan Rivera then drove Worley’s 3-2 pitch to left-center for his first homer since connecting on the first pitch he saw with his new team on July 15 at Arizona. James Loney walked and came all the way around on a double by Dioner Navarro — who was tagged out in a rundown just before Jamey Carroll tripled. Continued…

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

Aug. 5, 2011 06:40 PM
The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—The Los Angeles Dodgers waved goodbye to shortstop Rafael
Furcal(notes), who appeared to be on his way to St. Louis after five-plus seasons in
Los Angeles. And Furcal’s sudden departure cast an even larger pall in the
clubhouse following their loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Justin Upton(notes) greeted Matt Guerrier(notes) with a go-ahead, three-run double in the
sixth inning and Arizona climbed within three games of the NL West lead with a
6-4 victory over the Dodgers on Saturday night.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and general manager Ned Colletti were
measuring their words carefully before the game when asked about the status of
Furcal’s impending trade to the Cardinals.

The two-time All-Star shortstop was held out of the lineup Saturday. He
participated in batting practice and pregame drills, but he was not in the
dugout in the ninth inning when Mattingly used Eugenio Velez(notes) to hit for reliever
Josh Lindblom(notes).

Furcal cleaned out his locker, but the team made no formal announcement
after the game that he was traded.

“Raffy’s got a lot of friends here, so we’re sad to see him go and we’re
going to miss him,” second baseman Aaron Miles(notes) said. “He’s been a big part of
this team. It’s been tough for him to get on the field this year, but he’s going
to a great team and a great organization. It’s a real good opportunity for him
and I wish him the best.”

Los Angeles starter Chad Billingsley(notes) (9-9) was charged with six runs and
seven hits over 5 2-3 innings. He struck out four and tied a season high with
five walks. One of them was to No. 8 hitter Gerardo Parra(notes) with the bases loaded
and none out in the sixth. Xavier Nady(notes) batted for Micah Owings(notes) (5-0) and hit a
sacrifice fly, reducing the Dodgers’ lead to 4-3.

“Billingsley was pounding the zone earlier, but he just wasn’t locating in
the sixth and we took advantage of it,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said.
“That’s what you have to do. You have to recognize it and just lay off the
pitches that are just marginally off the plate. That’s what we did.”

Another walk to Kelly Johnson(notes) on Billingsley’s 103rd and final pitch loaded
the bases again. Upton then hit a drive to center that skidded on the wet grass
and got past Matt Kemp(notes), clearing the bases. The three RBIs increased Upton’s
team-high total to 65, just four fewer than he had last season in 133 games.

Kemp, who hit a two-run drive in the third for his 26th homer of the season,
came up in the seventh representing the potential tying run. But Bryan Shaw(notes)
struck him out with a runner at third. J.J. Putz(notes), the sixth Arizona pitcher,
pitched a hitless ninth for his 23rd save in 27 attempts.

The Diamondbacks also loaded the bases with none out in the second, but all
they could get out of it was a sacrifice fly from Willie Bloomquist(notes). Right
fielder Andre Ethier(notes) prevented two more runs when he robbed Johnson of extra
bases with a lunging catch while going full speed toward the warning track.

The Dodgers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the third. Casey Blake(notes), in his first game
off the disabled list, hit a sacrifice fly one pitch after a one-out triple by
Tony Gwynn Jr.(notes) Ethier singled with two outs and Kemp deposited Owings’ 2-1 pitch
into the pavilion seats in left-center, raising his NL-leading RBI total to 82.

Jamey Carroll’s(notes) line drive up the middle through a drawn-in infield
increased the margin to 4-1 in the fourth.

NOTES: RHP Hiroki Kuroda(notes) informed Colletti that he decided not to waive the
no-trade clause in his contract. He was the subject of considerable trade
speculation prior to Sunday’s non-waiver trade deadline. “In my heart of
hearts, knowing him like I know him, I’m not surprised that is the way he
felt,” Colletti said. “I would have been more surprised if he had said, ‘OK,
I’ll go somewhere else.’ In a way, it’s refreshing. He made a commitment to sign
here, and he wants to fulfill that commitment. … Blake missed the Dodgers’
previous 21 games because of a cervical strain. The Dodgers placed 3B Juan Uribe(notes)
on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 24, because of a groin strain.

That’s all the news for today.

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It’s been 11 whole days since the San Francisco Giants’ All-Star Ryan Vogelsong has taken the mound in a game, but don’t expect the man to be rusty. Vogey is set to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chad Billingsley in the first game of a three game set at AT&T Park starting Monday night. 

Vogelsong (6-1 2.17 ERA) last pitched on the 8th of July, posting a no decision after seven innings of two run ball, including seven hits a season high five walks and two strikeouts. Vogey hasn’t flat out dominated any opponent he’s faced this year, but his ability to make adjustments and work with what he’s got each time on the mound is something to behold, thus making him in All-Star for the first time in his big league career at any level. 

The Dodgers’ Chad Billingsley (8-7 3.87 ERA) hasn’t pitched since the 8th either but is coming off of eight scoreless innings against the Padres allowing five hits, five walks and four strikeouts for his eighth win of the season. Billingsley isn’t only a bulldog on the mound, he is at the plate as well, sporting a .267 batting average and a .333 on base percentage, making him a dangerous bat at the bottom of the batting order unlike most pitchers in the NL. 

Both teams need to win Monday night, but for opposite reasons. The Giants are looking to pad their lead in the NL West while the Dodgers are almost in baseball purgatory at 12.5 games back, in desperate need of making up ground. Unfortunately for the boys in blue San Francisco is 25-14 thus far this year against NL West opponents, losing only two series against them in 2011.

First pitch is set for 7:15 pm PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

For more on the Giants, head over to McCovey Chronicles.  

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DENVER, June 11 (UPI) — Jhoulys Chacin struck out nine in eight scoreless innings Friday and the Colorado Rockies survived a ninth-inning meltdown to edge the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5.

The Rockies produced 17 hits but had to settle for a 6-0 lead heading into the ninth.

Reliever Matt Belisle began letting that lead melt away when Matt Kemp hit a one-out, solo homer. Tony Gwynn later doubled home a run, Aaron Miles singled in two more and a base hit by Rod Barajas brought in the fifth run of the inning.

Colorado closer Huston Street came in to get the final out with the potential tying run on first base.

It was Street’s 19th save and preserved the win for Chacin (7-4), who held the Dodgers to three hits.

Colorado, which won for the fourth time in five games, got two RBI each from Todd Helton and Seth Smith.

Chad Billingsley (5-5) allowed six runs on 13 hits in 4 2/3 innings to take the loss. Los Angeles has dropped three in a row.

That’s all the news for today.

CINCINNATI, June 5 (UPI) — Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley earned the victory, homered and drove in three runs Sunday, lifting Los Angeles to a 9-6 win over Cincinnati.

Billingsley (5-4) lasted five innings, yielding four runs on eight hits while walking three and fanning three to pick up the win.

But he did more damage at the plate with a solo homer in the second inning, a bases-loaded walk in the third and a run-scoring double in the fifth for the Dodgers, who took the rubber match of a three-game set against the Reds.

Matt Kemp pounded a two-run homer among his two hits and Rod Barajas knocked in two more runs for Los Angeles.

Travis Wood (4-4) was victimized for eight runs on eight hits before getting the hook after 4 2/3 innings for Cincinnati.

Drew Stubbs hit a bases-empty homer while Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto each drove in two runs for the Reds.

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  LOS ANGELES  — James Loney had three hits with a homer and
three RBIs, Andre Ethier also drove in three runs and the Los
Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-1 on Monday
night.

 Chad Billingsley (4-4) allowed one run and a season-high 11 hits
in seven innings, struck out eight and walked two. The right-hander
improved to 2-2 in his sixth home start after his teammates
produced the kind of run support that he had been lacking, getting
just 1.29 runs — third-lowest in the majors — in his previous home
games.

 Ty Wigginton’s homer accounted for Colorado’s run as the Rockies
dropped to 2-10 on the road in May.

 Jason Hammel (3-5) gave up seven runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3
innings, struck out two and walked one in his shortest outing of
the season. The right-hander is winless since April 30 against
Pittsburgh, a span of six starts.

 The Dodgers took a 4-0 lead in the third. They loaded the bases
with no one out on singles by Billingsley and Rafael Furcal and an
infield hit by Jamey Carroll. Ethier drove in Billingsley and
Furcal with a single up the middle, just beyond the reach of diving
second baseman Eric Young Jr. as Hammel took off his glove and
pounded it on the mound in frustration.

 Matt Kemp followed with a sacrifice fly to center, with center
fielder Dexter Fowler and left fielder Carlos Gonzalez converging
on it. The ball touched Gonzalez’s glove first and then they
collided as the ball dropped, allowing Carroll to score. Loney
added an RBI single.

 The Rockies scored in the fourth on Wigginton’s fourth homer of
the season off the first pitch from Billingsley.

 The Dodgers extended their lead to 7-1 in the fifth. Carroll led
off with a triple and Ethier had an RBI single. Loney hit a
two-out, two-run homer off the first pitch from Hammel, who then
walked Rod Barajas before getting yanked.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Read More: Troy Tulowitzki (SS – COL), Jason Hammel (P – COL), Chad Billingsley (P – LOS), Carlos Gonzalez (LF – COL), Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers

The Colorado Rockies’ inability to pick up hits when they need them most continued to haunt them in a 7-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Memorial Day. The Rockies did pick up 14 hits, but a Ty Wigginton home run in the fourth inning was the only damage they could manage. It was a 1-for-12 night hitting with runners in scoring position.

In the first inning, Troy Tulowitzki singled to center field with Carlos Gonzalez at second base (he stole it for his seventh of the year). Gonzalez attempted to score on the play, but Matt Kemp gunned him down at the plate. In the second inning, Todd Helton and Seth Smith hit back-to-back singles to start things, but then they went nowhere after three consecutive swinging strikeouts ended the inning.

Things looked up in the seventh for the Rockies–despite a six-run deficit–when Troy Tulowitzki was at the plate with one out and the bases loaded. Chris Nelson, recently called up, had reached with a single, but was out on an Eric Young Jr. fielder’s choice. Dexter Fowler singled to move Young to second and then Carlos Gonzalez walked to load the bases. Tulowitzki started his at-bat with a strike taken and then fouled a pitch. After drawing two balls, Tulowitzki hit into an inning-ending double play.

Jason Hammel took the hook after he allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings. The bullpen of Matt Daley, Greg Reynolds and Matt Belisle held the Dodgers to one hit and zero runs over the remaining 3.1 innings. Chad Billingsley, on the other hand, allowed two runs on 11 hits and struck out eight Rockies.

The Rockies (25-28, 12-13 road) continue this series Tuesday night at 8:10 p.m. MT.

For more on the Rockies, Purple Row is your destination. For the Dodgers, visit True Blue LA and SB Nation Los Angeles.

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HOUSTON, May 24 (UPI) — Jerry Sands hit a grand slam homer Tuesday and the Los Angeles Dodgers went on to post a 5-4 decision over Houston.

Jamey Carroll walked, James Loney singled and Matt Kemp reached on an error with one out in the third, filling the bases before Sands blasted a 2-0 pitch from J.A. Happ (3-6) deep over the left-center field wall for a grand slam and a 5-0 Dodgers lead.

Jay Gibbons added a solo shot for Los Angeles, which won for the only the third time in 11 games.

Chad Billingsley (3-4) struck out nine over six innings to earn the victory, surrendering four runs on five hits while walking three.

Happ let in five runs (only one earned) in five frames for the Astros.

Carlos Lee notched a two-run single and Hunter Pence added two hits and an RBI for Houston.

That’s all for today.

Read More: Chad Billingsley (P – LOS), Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros

(Sports Network) – The Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t been producing enough runs to support starter Chad Billingsley lately and hope to stem the tide tonight in the middle test of a three-game road series against the Houston Astros.

Billingsley is 0-3 with a decent 2.91 earned run average in his last five starts, with the Dodgers amassing a 1-4 mark in that stretch. The Dodgers have lost Billingsley’s previous four starts and have scored just three runs over his past four trips to the mound.

The right-hander is coming off last Thursday’s 3-1 loss to San Francisco in which he yielded three runs and six hits in six innings to fall to 2-4 in 10 starts and raise his ERA to 3.47. Billingsley is 1-2 in five road starts and will face Houston for the seventh time in his career on Tuesday. He is 3-3 over the first six matchups — all starts — with the Astros.

Clayton Kershaw pitched well enough for the win in Monday’s 4-3 loss at Minute Maid Park, as the left-hander held the hosts to a run and four hits in six innings with seven strikeouts before the bullpen imploded. Reliever Kenley Jansen was saddled with the loss for giving up the go-ahead runs (3) in the bottom of the ninth inning. Michael Bourn stroked a two-run double and Hunter Pence plated the speedy outfielder with an RBI single.

“This was a tough one to lose. When things aren’t going right for your team it’s a tumbling effect,” Kershaw said.

Matt Kemp homered for the 100th time in his career and James Loney extended his hitting streak to nine games. Loney is hitting .324 in that stretch for the Dodgers, who have lost three in a row and eight of 10 games. LA is 1-3 on a six-game road swing and 10-14 as the guest this season.

The Astros are in search of just their second three-game winning streak of the season and turned the trick from April 30-May 3. In last night’s rally past the Dodgers, Bourn and Pence came through in the clutch to lift Houston to its second straight win and third in four tries since a five-game slide.

Humberto Quintero also drove in a run and Bill Hall finished 4-for-4 with a pair of runs scored for Houston, which opened a six-game homestand on a positive note and made a winner out of relief pitcher Jeff Fulchino. Fulchino threw the final 1 2/3 innings and kept Los Angeles off the scoreboard.

“Hunter came through,” Astros manager Brad Mills said of the outfielder’s game-winning single. “He’s going to give you a big at-bat every time up.”

Bud Norris started for the ’Stros and gave up three runs — two earned — on six hits and three walks through seven innings in the no-decision.

Houston, which is slated to host Arizona for three games, will hand the ball to lefty J.A. Happ on Tuesday and he’s trying to get back into the win column. Happ was 2-0 in three starts before losing at St. Louis last Thursday in a 4-2 setback at Busch Stadium.

Happ permitted three runs in six innings, falling to 3-5 in nine starts to go along with a 5.30 ERA. He has no record in two career games (1 start) and a strong 1.59 ERA against the Dodgers.

Los Angeles and Houston are meeting for the first time since the Dodgers won four of six matchups a year ago. LA is 6-3 in the past nine games in this series.

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

Updated Apr 17, 2011 8:23 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (AP)

Chad Billingsley cooled off one of baseball’s hottest offenses through eight innings before Matt Kemp got to Ryan Franklin again. This time, his homer salvaged a victory for the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers.

Kemp hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday that ended the Dodgers’ five-game skid.

”It’s one way to turn the page,” new Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. ”We talked about getting that rock rolling a different direction. It’s got to start somewhere and that’s a pretty good start there.”

Kemp homered to center field on the first pitch he saw from Franklin (0-2), who has four blown saves in five chances. He did the same thing against Franklin in the series opener, but the Dodgers lost 9-5.

”He left one a little bit over the middle of the plate and I just got my kept my hands still,” Kemp said. ”He’s got a really good sinker and a really good curveball and a cutter, so he moves the ball a lot. You’ve got to try to get a pitch in the middle and use your hands, and that’s what I did.”

He went 3 for 4 for his fourth consecutive multi-hit game, and his .474 average leads the majors.

Andre Ethier led off with a double to deep right field off Trever Miller in his final at-bat, extending his major league-leading hitting streak to 14 games.

Jonathan Broxton (1-0) got the win despite giving up a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth by David Freese.

The Dodgers avoided their first four-game sweep at home since Aug. 9-12, 1993, against Colorado.

”It’s been one of these tough breaks now where things haven’t gone our way, but we’re not going to hang our heads,” Ethier said. ”We found a way to bounce back.”

The victory prevented the Cardinals from earning their first four-game sweep in Los Angeles since 1968. Their four-game winning streak also ended after piling up 48 hits and 29 runs in the first three games of the series.

Chris Carpenter and Chad Billingsley dueled in a matchup of two of the National League’s best daytime starters over the last five-plus seasons.

Carpenter allowed five hits over seven innings, struck out six and walked none, and now has a 1.57 ERA in nine career starts against the Dodgers.

”I commanded the ball well. My cutter was good and I had command of my fastball on both sides of the plate and kept the ball down,” he said. ”I was trying to be aggressive in the strike zone and I was ahead in the count for the most part. That’s a pretty good lineup and every guy can hurt you in many different ways.”

Billingsley gave up a season-low two hits over eight innings, struck out a season-high 11, and walked none in his longest outing of the season.

”It was one of the best outings from a starter that I’ve seen in a while,” former Dodger Ryan Theriot said about Billingsley. ”He was cutting it and he was sinking it. He was throwing the cutter in and throwing it away, the sinker in and away. He had a big curve ball and a slider at 91 miles an hour. How many starters throw a slider at 91? He got me on it once.”

Mattingly let Billingsley go deep in part because the Dodgers’ bullpen has been so shoddy lately.

”He was clean all day,” Mattingly said. ”His stuff was good and sharp. That club is on fire, so to stop that momentum was huge.”

It was Kemp’s second career game-winning homer. The other came last June 1 in a 1-0, 10-inning win over Arizona.

The only other time the Dodgers advanced a runner to third came with two outs in the third. Tony Gwynn Jr. was safe at first on a fielding error by shortstop Ryan Theriot. He moved to third on Jamey Carroll’s infield single before Ethier lined out to first to end the inning.

Matt Holliday went 3 for 3 and scored the Cardinals’ only run. He batted .563 with five doubles and five RBIs in the series.

The Cardinals didn’t advance a runner to third until the eighth. Yadier Molina was safe at second when Ethier tried to shade his eyes with his left hand while attempting to make the catch in right field, but the ball dropped behind him for an error.

”I just overplayed it. I was at a tough angle,” he said. ”I looked down and took my eye off the ball.”

Daniel Descalso sacrificed Molina to third, but pinch-hitter John Jay struck out and Theriot flied to right to end the inning.

NOTES: Billingsley struck out 10 or more batters for the seventh time in his career and first since last Sept. 26 at Arizona. … The Cardinals’ streak of scoring six or more runs ended at seven games, something they hadn’t done since July 25-Aug. 3, 2004, when they did so in eight straight. … Kemp came in leading the majors with a .453 batting average and has now hit safely in 14 of the Dodgers’ 16 games. Last year, he led the team in homers with 28.

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