Extra! Extra! (6.25)

The Dodgers were a lot like Ringling Brothers on Saturday night in their 7-0 win over the Pirates.  Fun for young and old.  Taking advantage of a rare start against left-handed pitching, Andre Ethier ripped a two-run single to center in the bottom of the second, then got all deja vu in the sixth with a second two-run single. All to prove what he's said all along — he can hit southpaws. Aaron Sele (he's old) scattered five hits in six shutout innings, striking out four and allowing him to put the skids on a four game winless streak. Just as Brett Tomko credited a mechanical adjustment for his success on Friday, Sele said he put on his tinkerin' hat to fix a flaw in his delivery. The box score also shows a bunch of other Dodgers, including Olmedo Saenz, Jeff Kent, and Nomar Garciaparra, all played well enough to get their names in the paper. All good enough to put the Blue back at the top of the NL West.

With Brad Penny pitching this afternoon, the Dodgers will be looking for their fourth consecutive strong start, going back to Derek Lowe's effort against the Mariners on Thursday. Does that mean they won't be looking for a rotation-solidifying arm or two over the next few weeks (despite having some of the NL's better-though-somewhat-misleading-pitching stats)?  Hardly.  But they'll have some company in the trade market and the pickin's are slim.