But on the minus side, their eleven knocks amounted to little more than bupkis during a 4-1 loss to the Astros.  After James Loney's first inning sacrifice fly sent Andre Ethier home, the Dodgers found themselves unable to make the most of any other time a Blue runner was on the bags.  Whether you're talking a fifth inning fiasco that stranded Blake DeWitt on third with nobody out, Jeff Kent on second a frame later with one out and two ensuing K's or "pick your shined Dodger," the hits created were the equivalent of empty calories.   They'll make you feel good for an instant, but you can rarely make a nourishing meal of them.  Nor anything healthy, whether food, box score or otherwise.

More to come later.

AK

The news on Juan Pierre is a sprained MCL in his left knee, which will put him on the 15-Day disabled list.  It's hard for me to predict how long he'll be out for sure.  In part because I'm not a doctor, but both knees and sprains are tricky.  But also because  Pierre has missed so little time over the course of his career that it's hard to gauge how quick a healer he is.  At any rate, we'll wish Pierre, along with Jason Repko, a familiar face being called up, the best. 

The official announcement from the Dodgers is below.

AK

And who can blame the fella, what with the way he's entered a rut of tossing good ballgames and getting little offense at his back?  Yesterday's 1-0 loss to the Angels presented no hiccup in this trend.  His seven innings on the mound featured five hits, one run, seven strikeouts and likely some time spent reminding himself that he did just about everything he could to get his squad a victory.   His only blemish was Mike Napoli's sixth inning RBI double, which sent Juan Rivera across the plate without a throw from Andre Ethier, who insisted a play wasn't there.  Also not available was any Blue prowess with the sticks.  John Lackey, the Angels' resident hoss, took apart his opponent like one of them ER docs, limiting the Dodgers to just three hits over 8.2 frames.  With an out remaining, Frankie Rodriguez took over and things got a little interesting.  But James Loney's bases load opportunity came up dry, leaving the Dodgers staring at yet another box score low in the scoring department.

Considering how the Angels suffered through a historically rough 1-0 loss last night (and describing it as such is in no way hyperbole), I guess it's only fair that the Angels would pin a frustrating 1-0 outcome of their own on the Dodgers.  John Lackey took the mound for LAAOA and worked his magic "like a surgeon," in Joe Torre's words.  Three hits allowed over one out short of a complete game shutout.  Nine batters K'd.  Just a pair of walks.  Certainly the stuff a 1.44 ERA is made of and certainly the type of performance that'll cultivate the growing frustration felt by a posse of Dodger batters.  Although really, if anyone has the right to feel frustrated by his place in the box score, it's a certain sinker ball specialist getting little to no help on a regular basis.  This afternoon offered no exception, as Derek Lowe put forth another quality start with little to show for it.  Good times. 

The breakdown is below

After all, their bats were mighty cold tonight (doesn't get much more frigid than a knock total of "nada"), yet they still managed to come out on top of the Angels to the tune of 1-0.   Certainly not the most conventional of victories (only the fifth time since 1900 a team has triumphed without a hit), the Dodgers found their only score coming in the fifth inning after a series of happy mishaps involving Matt Kemp.  First, his rinky dink nubber back to Jered Weaver may not have had much pop, but it definitely came equipped with some crazy English.  Enough spin, in fact, that Weaver couldn't keep a handle on the ball while looking to make the play at first.  From there, Jeff Mathis sailed his attempt to catch Kemp's second base swipe attempt, which gave the center fielder an extra bag.  From there, Blake DeWitt's sac fly cleared the path for the diamond's final 90 feet.  No runs for either side followed, meaning Chad Billingsley evened up his record to 7-7 and Weaver got tagged with an "L" despite throwing six innings of "no no."  Some brutal luck, to be sure, and Bills could even muster up some sympathy and a rueful laugh when I asked if he felt a little bad for his fellow pitcher-in-arms.  "I don't ever want to experience that."

Anything but a dominating way to create prosperous box scores, but Chad Billingsley summed up the bottom line in apt fashion.  "Hey, we won.  That's all that matters."  Players were asked if they minded picking up the victory in a somewhat dubious fashion, if they felt more bummed about not managing a hit than pleased over just barely coming out on top.  Everyone within my earshot was all about the happiness, plain and simple.   "It was an interesting game.  You'll see it on SportsCenter," nodded Billingsley.  Joe Torre described the unlikely turn of events as "magical."  As far as Russell Martin was concerned, the dudes in the visitor's clubhouse were the ones in need of a pick me up.  "You could ask them.  They'd rather have won the game than throw a no-hitter."  And Kemp was just plain giddy.   "This is pretty exciting.  I've never been a part of anything like this.  I'm pretty excited right now.  I'm going to Disneyland!"

The breakdown is below.

For some reason, couldn't keep a steady wireless signal.  It's up and running now, but because of the struggles, I don't have time for much of a formal post.  But then again, not like a ton has changed or been newly discussed since I was here last night, so I don't feel like I'm keeping everyone out of the loop via "short but sweet."  But I do think it's worth noting that tonight will include a tribute to Dodger players of the 70s.  So in honor of folks like Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Rick Monday, and the gang, I pay tribute to some of my favorite 70s icons.  In determining my selections, I'm citing people that may have done good stuff in the 60s or 80s, but, in my opinion, either did their best work in the 70s or are most commonly associated with that decade, accurately or not.

If someone had bet you before the season began that Chan-Ho Park would not only make the big league roster, but end up one of the Dodgers' most consistent pitchers on a good staff, you'd have likely taken that action.  And lost, as especially evidenced by last night's 6-0 shutout of the LAAOA.   For six scoreless innings, the second go-around Dodger held the Angels entirely in check, a feat carried onward by those replacing him on the hill.  While Park's past includes a less than kind rep for getting his "kicks" battling the Angels, last night saw him revisit his earlier career, but in an entirely positive way.  As Russell Martin noted, this is like the Chan Ho Park he watched back in the day.  Perhaps the hill display was the stuff inspiration comes from, as Park's backstop, along with Andre Ethier, blasted the ball with authority into the stands.  Ain't often we see a Blue box score so powerfully decorated.  If fans stared extra long at this one, we'd understand. 

Pretty cool, eh? 

I imagine both the Dodgers and their fans could get used to outcomes like tonight's 6-0 blanking of the crosstown Halos.  And not just the win itself (although that's certainly a plus of sorts), but how the win happened.  Friday night featured among the more balanced of Blue outputs of recent memory.  The bats coming alive with two home runs and ten hits, at least one for every starter (save Andy LaRoche). To state the obvious, such production hasn't exactly been the norm of late, a predicament that's often left Joe Torre more than a little puzzled.  "That's been the most curious part of what's happened here in the first half.  How, at times, we haven't been able to manufacture anything. We've been getting great pitching.  Tonight, we worked together."  As he mentioned, quality Blue hurling has actually been a 2008 staple.  But even by the standard set since April, this box score featured arms rendering an opponent seriously shackled.  Big ups are particularly in order for Chan-Ho Park, but the trio of tossers on his coattails (Brian Falkenborg, Jonathon Broxton, Takashi Saito) also added their three cents.  All around efforts like these have been the goal all season, if a particularly elusive one.  "We just have to work at it and become more consistent," assessed Torre.

If an approach blueprint is needed, I'd suggest referencing this contest.

The breakdown is below.
 

I'm gonna report some.   Shall I start with the pitchers?  I believe I shall.

Brad Penny and Hiroki Kuroda both are playing catch today and tossing a BP tomorrow.  The former isn't doing a simulated game because he's "Still feeling a little something in his shoulder," according to Joe Torre.   The latter, assuming his neck can continue an unstiffened path, will toss with a hitter or two in his session.  But for both, the comfort level will be important in determining the exact plan of action.  Jason Schmidt just threw 45 pitches for the Vegas squad during a game in Fresno.  Scott Proctor's MRI revealed tendinitis with no structural damage, which was positive news.  He won't be able to throw for at least ten days. 

Whew...