Diamondbacks 3 6 0

WP- Miley (3-1)

LP- Jansen (1-1)

S- Bell (3)

HR- (2) Goldschmidt (8,9)

The Dodgers have yet to win a game this month. The Diamondbacks, led by Dodger killer Paul Goldschmidt, completed a three-game sweep on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium sending the Dodgers deeper into last place. Clayton Kershaw pitched well, and other than a Goldschmidt bomb following a Dee Gordon error, he was effective. Wade Miley also pitched very well other than a two-run inning by the Dodgers in the fourth. For some reason Don Mattingly keeps pitching to Goldschmidt, and the first baseman broke up the tie in the eighth inning with a solo homerun, his second homerun of the game, off Kenley Jansen.

The Dodger bullpen can’t seem to hold a lead, and the offense is virtually incapable of mounting any sort of late inning comeback. The Dodgers continue to struggle with runners in scoring position, and they went 2-for-8 with RISP tonight.

Clayton Kershaw is not involved in the decision after the Dodgers drop their seventh consecutive game. Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Pollack opens the game with a double down the third base line against Clayton Kershaw. Pollack tags up and moves over to third on a deep fly ball from Didi Gregorius. Paul Goldschmidt hits a comebacker at Kershaw which gets away from him, and the rare error from the ace allows Goldy to reach safely. The Dodgers are able to get out of the inning unscathed after Cody Ross hits into a double play! Dee Gordon almost botches the play as the ball bounces away from him, but he recovers nicely to start the DP.

Wade Miley whiffs Dee Gordon to start the home half of the first. Nick Punto is thrown out after attempting to reach on a bunt. Matt Kemp strikes out swinging, and the Dodgers go down quickly in order.

Gerardo Parra hits a two-out double to center field in the top of the second. Josh Wilson grounds out to Juan Uribe at third to end the frame.

The Dodgers go down 1-2-3 in the second.

Kershaw’s first strikeout victim is Wade Miley in the bottom of the second. Gregorius draws a walk, but the Snakes can’t do anything else against Kershaw.

Wade Miley sends the Dodgers down in order in the third, and he has now retired nine in a row.

Cody Ross leads off with a single in the top of the fourth, but Clayton Kershaw uses his signature pickoff move to nab him! Prado grounds out, and Will Nieves strikes out to end the scoreless inning.

The Dodgers finally manage to hit Miley in the bottom half of the fourth. Gordon leads off with a single, and then Shredder Punto doubles to right field which easily allows Gordon to score! Kemp flies out, but Adrian Gonzalez doubles to right field to bring home Punto for the second Dodger run of the inning. A.J. Ellis flies out. Andre Ethier singles, but Uribe flies out to end the rally. The Dodgers take a 2-0 lead.

Gonzalez has to come out of the game after hurting himself while attempting to dive for a foul pop fly in the top of the fourth inning. Uribe now moves over to first base, and Luis Cruz comes in to play third. I’m not sure if Gonzalez aggravated his neck on the play. Wilson reaches safely on an error by Uribe. He can’t handle the chopper to first as the ball bounces away. Miley sacrifices Wilson over to second with a bunt. Pollack strikes out to end the inning.

Dee Gordon collect his second hit of the game with a single to right field with two outs in the fifth, but he promptly gets picked off while attempting to steal second.

Gordon then makes a bumbling error on a Gregorius grounder to start the top of the sixth inning. That’s the third Dodger error of the game. Paul Goldschmidt once again terrorizes the Dodgers as he smashes a two-run homerun over the left field wall to tie up the game 2-2. Ross singles. Nieves grounds out, but the damage is done.

Matt Kemp singles with one out in the bottom of the sixth, but the Dodgers can’t do much else.

Kershaw sends the Snakes down 1-2-3 in the seventh.

Elian Herrera gets his first hit since being called up with a two-out single in the bottom half of the seventh. Kershaw will be done for the night as Tim Federowicz, who was just called up, comes in to pinch-hit for him. FedEx grounds out to end the inning.

Clayton Kershaw pitched 7 innings, while allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits with 4 strikeouts and a walk on 104 pitches.

Wade Miley gets the win after pitching 7 2/3 innings and only allowing 2 runs on 7 hits. Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Kenley Jansen is in for the eighth inning. Kenley strikes out Pollack swinging. Gregorius grounds out. Goldschmidt proceeds to hit his second homerun of the night, a solo shot, and the D-backs take a 3-2 lead. Why are we pitching to him?! Ross strikes out to end the fateful frame.

In the bottom of the eighth, Miley retired Gordon and Punto before being replaced by Brad Ziegler. Ziegler strikes out Matt Kemp to end the inning.

Wade Miley pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits with 4 strikeouts and no walks on 102 pitches.

Ronald Belisario will pitch the top of the ninth for the Dodgers, and he pitches a very nice 1-2-3 inning.

We move on to the bottom of the ninth, and the Dodgers have one last chance to strike and stave off the sweep. Heath Bell is in for the D-backs since J.J. Putz is hurt. Skip Schumaker manages to hit a double down the left field line to lead-off the inning. A.J. grounds out to short, and Skip has to stay at second base. Ethier strikes out on a very low ball. Carl Crawford, who has a sore hamstring, will come up to pinch-hit. Crawford flies out to Ross, and that’s that.

The Dodgers now dip to 13-20 on the season after losing seven games in a row. Adrian Gonzalez, who strained his neck, is said to be day-to-day. The Dodgers are literally hurting. They desperately need a slump buster before they dig such a deep hole for themselves that they won’t be able to get out.

The Dodgers will take a breather on Thursday before the Miami Marlins come into town for a three-game set. Friday night’s game will feature Matt Magill vs. Jose Fernandez. Perhaps the Dodgers can regain some confidence with this upcoming series.

Lineup:

Crawford LF

Gordon SS

Kemp CF

Gonzalez 1B

Ethier RF

Hernandez C

Schumaker 2B

Punto 3B

Beckett P

Last night the Dodgers hit rock bottom. Well, the bottom of their division that is. After yet another frustrating loss, the Boys in Blue are now in last place in the N.L. West just behind San Diego. The mounting injuries, poor defense, struggling pitching, weak offense, atrocious base running, and questionable management decisions have doomed the Dodgers this first part of the season. Jerry Hairston Jr. is expected to land on the disabled list with a groin strain, and the Dodgers will most likely call up utility infielder Elian Herrera or perhaps Scott Van Slyke. Even though Van Slyke has been raking it in Albuquerque, have we all forgotten how awful he was in the Majors? He even was designated for assignment, but ended up back in AAA after nobody claimed him. Alex Castellanos is unfortunately injured right now, so the outfielder will most likely not get the call.

Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier continue to struggle offensively. Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Whether Van Slyke or someone else takes JHair’s roster place, it won’t make a difference really. The entire team is playing poorly. One of the biggest things hurting the Dodgers is the concerning lack of productivity from Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Without those two hitting the Dodgers have little chance to succeed. Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Punto, A.J. Ellis, and Carl Crawford are the Dodgers biggest weapons of offense right now. Until all cylinders are firing, the Dodgers will have an upward climb back out of last place.

Josh Beckett has been ineffective so far this season, and the right-hander has yet to notch a win. His flat fastball has been capitalized on by the league. Beckett still hasn’t found a way to reinvent himself now that his

Brandon McCarthy has yet to win a game as a D-back. Photo: Jennifer Hilderbrand-USA TODAY Sports

velocity has all but disappeared and he has to now rely on his secondary pitches. Beckett has been susceptible to the long ball, and he has allowed 8 homeruns to the opposition so far this season. Josh has also struggled when he has to pitch with runners in scoring position. Last time out against Colorado, Beckett only made it through 4 innings while allowing 4 runs on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts and 3 walks. He is 2-5 with a 3.83 ERA against the D-backs in his career. Last time Beckett faced the D-backs, it was certainly his best start of the season. He pitched 8 1/3 solid innings while striking out 9 Snakes on April 14th in Arizona. Unfortunately the Dodgers offense couldn’t help out poor Beckett, and the annoying Paul Goldschmidt hit an infield walk-off single to win the game for the D-backs 1-0.

Beckett had this to say about his pitching so far this season:

“It’s just frustrating, I’m frustrated. I’ve just got to make better pitches. There is no excuse. I’ve got to make an adjustment.”

We’re all frustrated, Josh.

Brandon McCarthy, who was signed by Arizona in the offseason,  is also still vying for his first victory of the season for the Snakes. He wasn’t involved in the decision last time out against the Giants, and he pitched 6 innings while allowing 4 runs on 8 hits with 6 strikeouts and a walk. He’s made one start against the Dodgers in his career, and he pitched seven scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts in the game.  

The 7:10 p.m. game will air on Prime Ticket. Join us afterwards as we commiserate and attempt to get through this rough patch together. Even through the bad times, we still love our Dodgers!