Dodgers looking for their better half
The Dodgers went into the All-Star break Sunday by ending a four-game losing streak and playing the kind of baseball Manager Grady Little thinks could be played with greater frequency in the second half of the season.
The Dodgers’ 49th win came in the form of a 9-3 thrashing of the Florida Marlins at Dodger Stadium, with the home team posting eight runs in the first two innings and Mark Hendrickson delivering five solid innings on three days’ rest.
The Dodgers’ 49-40 record leaves them a game behind National League West leader San Diego and puts them 3 1/2 games ahead of where they were a season ago, when they went on to claim the NL wild card.
“We’ve had good times during this first half, we’ve had some tough times, but the end result is that we’ve won 49 games,” Little said.
The Dodgers, who collected 16 hits, head into the midseason intermission batting .271, second-best in the National League. Their earned-run average of 3.83 is also second-best in the league.
But Little noted that the Dodgers weren’t scoring runs when they pitched well, and that now that they are scoring, they aren’t pitching well.
“What we need to do,” Little said, “is come out of the break and try to have everything working together.”
They were able to do that several days early.
Russell Martin, who will be the National League’s starting catcher in Tuesday’s All-Star game, hit a two-run home run in the first inning for the Dodgers’ first runs. Martin exited the game in the bottom of the fifth after going two for two with three runs and three runs batted in. He has 11 home runs and his 60 RBIs lead NL catchers.
“It’s definitely a plus to go into the break with a positive,” Martin said. “You don’t want to go into the All-Star game with a five-game losing streak.”
The Dodgers scored three runs in the first but in the process lost right fielder Matt Kemp, who strained his right hamstring while running out an infield hit.
Kemp’s replacement, Andre Ethier, crushed a three-run home run to center field that capped a five-run, five-hit second inning. Ethier, who was two for three, was one of six Dodgers with multiple hits.
Hendrickson (3-4) had no problem taking care of the eight-run lead, as he gave up two runs in five innings for the second consecutive start.
Eric Stults and Chin-hui Tsao emerged from the overworked bullpen to hold Florida to one run over the last four innings.
“Everything worked well,” Little said. “That game was just how we would draw it up if we had our wishes. ... We know we’re capable of games just like that more often than we had them in the first half.”
Jeff Kent, who rested Sunday, said he has been encouraged by how the team dealt with the injuries that compromised its pitching.
“The thing we can grab from the first half is that we’re a pretty resilient ballclub,” Kent said. “So if things come our way in the second half, I think we’ll be strong enough to handle it.”
Marlins starter Scott Olsen (6-7) lasted only one inning, leaving because of a stiff back.
Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins, who jammed his shoulder playing defense Saturday night, was a late scratch. Cabrera has pulled out of the home run hitting contest tonight and his status for the All-Star game is uncertain.
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Good numbers
The Dodgers enter the All-Star break ranked second in the National League in team batting average and earned-run average:
*--* BATTING TEAM AVG Colorado 277 DODGERS 271 Atlanta 269 Chicago 269 Philadelphia 269
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*--* PITCHING TEAM ERA San Diego 3.09 DODGERS 3.83 New York 3.91 San Francisco 3.93 Chicago 3.95
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Source: MLB.com
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