[PilotMan]

7/17 5-4 L to the Cardinals
Lasorda just loves to leave his starters in there as long as he can. LA had a 4-1 lead at one point. We scored first with back to back solo home runs in the 2^nd from Stubbs (18) and Bream (8). Andy Van Slyke (9) answered with his own solo shot in the 3^rd. LA put up 2 more in the 6^th, but Denny couldn't keep the Cards from answering in the bottom thanks to Willie McGee (4). The Cards got another in the 7^th and things just didn't feel right when Denny came out in the 8^th. McGee lead off with a big double, and Will Clark followed with a HR to right (19). LA had nothing in the 9^th to drop another 1 run game. Denny went the distance and allowed 10 hits and all 5 runs.


7/18 5-2 L to the Cardinals
Steve Sax lead the way going 3-5 with an RBI. Kelly Downs got the start and he pitched well, but there was a rain delay in the 5^th and he got yanked afterward. Things kind of went downhill from there. Charlie Kerfeld (0-1) got his first ML appearance. On his 2^nd pitch, Curt Ford, who had just replaced an injured RJ Reynolds (recently acquired from the Padres), hit a ball deep to right. It took a funny hop and Ford was able to complete the inside the park home run. Quite the debut for Kerfeld. He was also victimized by a Fred Lynn error that allowed 2 more to score in the inning. He took the loss, and got his first blown save! But it gets better! After 27 pitches, he complained of an injury and had to be replaced! Now that's a full blown, shitty, debut!


Former Dodger backup catcher Buck Martinez has announced that he is retiring. He's still in SoCal with the Angels.


The first blockbuster trade of the season is here. The Cubs and White Sox fashioned a cross town swap that sent Joe Carter to the White Sox (joining Bonds and Baines) in exchange for the #14 prospect in baseball, P Scott Bankhead and reliable veteran reliever Kevin Saucier. Carter his 40 HR's last year. The White Sox have been hit hard with injuries this year, and their pitching staff is now much more maligned without those 2. Only the future will judge this trade.


Kerfeld only has some wrist soreness, and he's not on the DL and is day to day.


7/19 5-3 (14) W over the Cardinals
Would you believe that John Franco blew his 3^rd straight save? Guy has gone from being unhittable to untrustworthy. Would you also believe that Jim Beattie started? Went 8? Allowed only 2 hits? Me either. Tied at 2 heading to the 9^th LA put the go ahead run on the board when Tony Phillips singled home DeCinces. Franco came on and walked Dave Winfield, walked Ozzie Smith, served up a single to Bo Diaz and Winfield came in to score. At least he didn't lose it for us. Top of the 14^th Stubbs lead off with a double and Bream doubled him in. Ken Howell picked up the win to go to 3-4.


7/20 3-2 W over the Cardinals
Rick Rhoden (13-2) pitched very well today. He threw 8 shut out innings allowing only 2 hits. John Franco almost happened again. Sax went 3-5 to lead the charge on offense and we were rolling. Franco's 9^th went down like this: Walk, Single, Out, Walk, Out/Tag/Score, Single, Single/Score, Out. The Cards had bases loaded and Tom Herr and he could've killed it for us. His ERA is up to 3.80 and it's his 16^th save.


7/22 5-3 L to the Pirates
Two errors by Tony Phillips at short cost us the game today as it lead to 3 unearned runs. Valenzuela (7-7) threw 130 pitches in 7.1 innings and again, it was that 7^th inning that cost us. LA had put up 3 in the 3^rd on a double by Lynn and a 2 run single by Stubbs. From there it was Fernando, until the Pirates came up with 2 in the 7^th and forged ahead. Without the Phillips error, we'd have been out of there, but that breathed life into the Pirates and Leon Durham punched them both in on a single. We're going to rue losses like this later on.


7/23 10-4 W over the Pirates
We need to bank some of this O. Eighteen hits, 10 runs, Stubbs went 3-4, with 5 RBI's and his 19^th HR of the year. Sid Bream bashed his 9^th late, and Fred Lynn hit #13. Even John Denny (6-7) got in on the action with a 2-4 game and 2 RBI's. Denny pitched 8 innings to get the win.


7/24 6-1 W over the Pirates
Kelly Downs (5-4) pitched 7 innings, only threw 92 pitches, and got plenty of support today. Mike Scioscia knocked in 2 in the 2^nd that would've been enough, but Downs picked up 2 on his own single later on.


7/25 3-2 L to the Cubs
The Cubs got on the board first, but LA took the lead on a massive Stubbs 2-run HR (20). The Cubbies answered right away when Rhoden (13-5) got tagged by by Tony Armas' 4^th HR of the year. Cubs newly acquired rookie Scott Bankhead (3-1) struck out 9 over 8 innings.


7/26 6-4 W over the Cubs
The big news in this one was the great game and luck that Jim Beattie played today. Beattie (1-0) picked up his first win of the year by spreading out 11 hits and not allowing any runs. He gave way to Niedenfeur in the 9^th, and he couldn't get out of the inning until 4 runs were in and Franco had to come in to get the last out, his 17^th save. The last time LA saw Mark Vaji he put us down, but we got to him early, and rode that 3-0 lead until the 9^th, when we were able to add another 3. If not for those runs, the Cubs might have come back to take this one.


7/27 2-0 (12) W over the Cubs
Valenzuela pitched 10 shut out innings against the Cubs, and LA couldn't get anything going against David Cone and his 7 ERA. Cone again kept us quiet and ultimately it was the failing of the bullpen of the Cubs that we scored. Sax went 3-6 and got the single that plated 2 in the 12^th. Marshall and Stubbs struck out 7 times. Franco picked up the win (2-4) and Howell got his 3^rd save.


7/28 4-2 L to the Giants
Mike Marshall went 2-4 then left the game after pulling up lame while running the bases. Frank Tanana (12-3) made his return from the DL and took his first loss of the season, at home. He allowed 4 in his 7 innings of work today. He could've had the win with some support, but it's one of his worst outings of the year.


7/29 6-4 L to the Giants
Down 4-1 in the bottom of the 8^th LA found a way to tie the game off of Bob Stanley. A 2-run triple by Mike Scioscia and a sac fly by Roy Smalley tied it up. LA brought in John Franco (2-5) for another shockingly bad performance. Franco allowed 2 hits and 2 walks, and 2 runs. LA couldn't get anything going in the 9^th and basically gave this one away.


7/30 5-2 W over the Giants
Bream went 3-4, along with Phillips. Rhoden (14-5) went 8 and won his league leading 14^th game, striking out 8. Coincidentally, we failed to his a HR in another game. Niedenfeur pitched the 9^th for his 3^rd save of the year.