Two aces up, two aces down

The Good

• Billingsley: On a day where he had to provide big innings for the Blue, that's exactly what Billingsley did, matching and exceeding Webb even in the early going when neither team was able to get on the board.  He was aggressive all day, getting ahead of Arizona hitters before making big pitches to end at bats.  "I felt really good, and able to control my delivery," Billingsley said.  "I didn't try to do anything different than I've done from start to start.  Having confidence makes a big difference."  So does the ability to locate his pitches.  Russell Martin said part of Billingsley's effectiveness came from throwing breaking pitches for strikes, but Billingsley said the fastball was the difference.  "I was throwing it where I wanted to," he said. "I just stayed aggressive with the fastball mostly today.  My arm felt good and I was able to pound the zone with the fastball."

Joe Torre said after the game it's no stretch to call him an ace quality, big game pitcher.  "He likes anonymity, but he also likes being in the middle of the diamond in an important time," Torre said.  "He reminds me a lot of (Andy) Pettitte, who enjoyed the fact that writers would always talk to somebody else, but when the game was in the balance, he wanted to be the guy who was going to pitch.  That's what I see in Chad Billingsley." 

• Manny Ramirez: In the third, Manny came to the plate with the bases loaded, two outs, and Webb quickly dispatched him on a three pitch strikeout.  In the fifth, he came up with men on first and second and two out... and drilled Webb's first pitch over the wall in right to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.  Webb, who had walked Andre Ethier one batter before tried to sneak a first pitch fastball past Ramirez.  Bad idea.  With that, the crowd was energized, and the Dodgers staked Billinsgley to a lead on a day where it was clear the Diamondbacks would struggle to score.  And just to show that Manny's been livin' clean, he earned two more RBIs an inning later when with the bases loaded Justin Upton lost his high fly ball in the sun, resulting in a ground rule double.   

Five RBIs on the night gave Ramirez 1,706 and vaulted him to 20th all time, passing Reggie Jackson and Frank Thomas.  His homer put him in a tie for 17th with 521, equal to Thomas, Willie McCovey, and Ted Williams.  Not a bad day.

• Patience: The Dodgers drew nine walks, including two that forced in runs.  Martin and Ethier were particularly patient.  Six walks between them, including some big ones.  Both walked to set up Manny's AB in the third, then Ethier walked again in the fifth before the homer.  Martin forced in LA's fourth run in the sixth, Ethier forced in the fifth, and both kept the inning alive for Manny's sun-aided double.  Those ABs were huge, and indicative of a confidence and patience the Dodgers haven't always displayed this season.  "What Russell and Ethier did in that inning we scored four runs was very impressive," Torre said.  "I don't think it would have happened nine days ago in the middle of what we were doing (on the road during the losing streak)," Torre said. 

The Bad

• Relievers Not Named Cory Wade: It would have been nice to see the Dodgers finish this one off without needing to use Jonathan Broxton.  Not a huge deal since he only threw to one batter and hadn't thrown in a couple days, but still, when it's 7-0 heading into the ninth, the hope is to finish things off without an appearance from the closer.  Unfortunately, a slightly over-geeked Scott Elbert, making his Dodger Stadium debut, and Jason Johnson couldn't quite get it done. 

Audio

• Joe Torre (lest there be any confusion, the question he's answering is if there's any reason Bills can't be considered an ace-type guy.  No, he says.): Download joe_torre_9.6.mp3

Notes

• For those who missed it, Randy Johnson was scratched from Sunday's game for Arizona with shoulder issues.  Max Scherzer will get the ball instead.
• Remember, Live Blog tomorrow, with AK at the helm.

BK