[PilotMan]

4/21 10-5 L to the Padres
Tanana got out of the first inning today, but he would lose everything in a big 7^th inning for the Padres that would see them score 7 times. Alejandro Pena (0-1) came on to try and lock it down, but he allowed 3 hits and a walk without getting an out before he was lifted. LA drew 9 walks off of Padres pitching today, but left 9 guys on base. It was an Ozzie Guillen triple that cleared the bases and opened the game up. Buck Martinez went 2-4 and hit his first home run of the year in the losing effort.


4/22 3-2 (10) L to the Giants
Eckersley got the start and went 8.1, scattering 9 hits and allowing 1 run. He got into trouble in the 9^th with the winning run in scoring position and no outs. Steve Howe came in and worked us out of the jam and the game went to extras. LA got a leadoff double from Stubbs, who scored on a Randolph single. Niedenfuer (0-1) came on for the save and quickly got Damaso Garcia and Rob Deer out. He had a 1-2 count on Chili Davis before losing him to a walk Then on a 1-1 pitch, Jeffrey Leonard put the ball in the left field bleachers and we walk off, shocked.


4/23 3-1 W over the Giants
John Denny (1-1) pitched a great game, and he needed to, because his defense didn't help much. The Dodgers commited 5, yes 5, errors. Every infielder and Stubbs in center committed errors. We were lucky. Sid Bream went 2-4 and knocked in 2 of the 3 runs. The first put us on the board when we hit a Floyd Bannister pitch over the right field fence for his 2^nd homer. Alejandro Pena pitched a perfect 9^th for his 2^nd save.


4/24 3-0 L to the Giants
Valenzuela v. Hammaker III didn't go as I and II did. The Giants scored in the 2^nd and 3^rd to go up and Hammaker dominated the Dodgers over 8 innings. Valenzuela pitched 1 out shy of another complete game, before tiring and giving way to Steve Howe. LA only got hits from 4 players, and just couldn't get the offense going against the talented lefty. The Giants newly acquired closer Bob Stanley, who we've had some dubious success against, had no problem finishing us off. Stanley was acquired when the Expos placed him on waivers. Don't feel bad for the Expos, their bullpen features a double headed monster called Quisenberry/Reardon.


4/25 3-2 L to the Padres
Another close loss. It's not been a good week. Rick Rhoden (2-2) started and pitched well enough except for the 6^th inning when the Padres took advantage of a Toby Harrah error. Luis Salazar (really? Again? What is it with this guy and us?) hit a 2-run shot that put the Padres up. Roy Smalley and Dwight Evans had a couple hits each, but all in all, this team is putting next to no offense up right now.


4/26 2-1 (14) L to the Padres
Ouch, this one hurts. Frank Tanana pitched his best game of the year and left after 8 shutout innings. He gave way to Niedenfuer who gave up a double to Gwynn and eventually scored, sending it to extras. The Padres starter Tandy Charley pitched 10 full innings and we couldn't do anything. In extras, Alejandro Pena pitched 3 good innings and Steve Howe (0-1) came on, but it would be another error, this time by Andre Thornton at first that opened things up. Former Dodger farmhand, Larry Fobbs, knocked a single that scored Gwynn for the Padres in the 14^th. LA had no answer in the bottom. April can't end soon enough at this rate.


4/27 6-3 L to the Padres
That's three in a row to the Padres, at home. Geez. Eckersley (2-1) got roughed up, allowing 10 hits in 6 innings of work. LA scored twice in the first but in the second it was none other than, yep, Luis Salazar again, who tied it up with his home run. SD took the lead for good in the 6^th inning when first basemen Pat Casey hit his first career home run. Pena got roughed up in relief, and we just couldn't keep up. SD had 15 hits in the game, and still left 11 guys on. This could have been much worse.


4/28 1-0 W over the Padres
We salvage 1 game at least, but the offense is still lost. John Denny (2-1) was really on his game and pitched into the 9^th before being lifted for Niedenfeur. I'd have left him in to get the shutout, he wasn't in trouble and he had 9 K's in the game. Niedenfeur didn't blow this one. Our only run came when pinch hitting Thornton walked, followed by a Toby Harrah walk, and then Roy Smalley hit a single, for our 2^nd hit of the game. We'd only get 3. W is a W, but this is still bad.


4/30 5-1 W over the Cardinals
Valenzuela (3-1) back on track. Eight innings, 8 strikeouts. Yet another game where we fail to hit a home run. A few hits here, a few hits there, and we scored where we could. Pitching set the stage again.