This Just In: Mannyless Dodgers Can't Hit Good Pitchers.

I was watching the Diamondbacks take BP off Randy Wolf the other day and considered turning the game off in the 2nd inning. The Dodgers comeback in the 8th was nothing short of miraculous. Loney, the RBI machine with his warning track and wall power drives in 3 runs and suddenly dependable Casey Blake drives in the winner to rescue the mediocre Randy Wolf from a loss after one of his more awful starts. Broxton was brilliant. This immediately followed by a 1-0 won over the less than good John Garland, giving Billingsley a much deserved and necessary win. This time, the offense sputtering to cough, Loney, again, being the progenitor of the single run and Blake being the vehicle.

Last night, however, the Phillies' Cole Hamels picked the Dodgers reeling offense apart and once again proved he's just plain better than they are. The Giants picked up a game and with 23 games remaining in Manny's suspension, the Dodgers are only 8 1/2 games ahead of the Giants with no one, save maybe Pierre and Hudson, still hitting the ball with any regularity, and even those two have dropped off. (They were bound to) Having perhaps spoke too soon about Ethier in my last blog. He actually hit his 7th homer, his first on over a month, and he's been hitting a little. We'll see what happens against the aged Jamie Moyer who's only had one good game this year, and that was against the Nationals. Tonight will be the acid test. If Moyer shuts the Dodgers down, look for the Giants to pull within 5 by the middle of next week and the Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox to overtake the Dodgers for the best record in baseball by June 20th if not sooner. If the Dodgers can get their offense going and win tonight, it could provide them with enough momentum to carry them through the remainder of the homestand. Kershaw didn't gett he job done again. Too many pitches again last night. Starting pitching is becoming a bigger issue, so if their offense continues to tank, eventually, so will the team.