Hangin' Tough

The Dodgers are keeping as much pressure as possible on the St. Louis Cardinals as the Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 3-0 last night. Matt Kemps hit two homeruns is support of a gutsy pitching perfcormance by Joe Blanton. St. Louis lost and the Dodgers are only 2 games behind with 4 to play.

Too Little, Too Late

The Dodgers went ice cold at the most inopportune time in August and September and it looks like their recent mini-hot streak will not be enough to secure the Dodgers the final Wild Card spot in the National League Playoffs. Last nights 8-0 win by Clayton Kershaw over the Colorado Rockies still left the Dodgers 3 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals with 5 games to play in the Wild Card race. Kershaw (13-9) struck out 10 and walked 2 in a very strong performance and he finally got some run support. Shane Victorino homered and Andre Ethier drove in his 87th run to back Kershaw's shutout effort. When the Dodgers made the flurry of trades in late July and August, I believed then that those trades would help them more next season than this season but I had hoped I was wrong. I did not expect the injuries to the pitching staff and the cold streak by the Dodger bats but they have battled until the final game this season. The Dodgers are still mathematically eligible to pull out that final spot but I hate having to depend on another team to lose to make it happen.

Every Game A Playoff Game

The Dodgers pretty much have to treat every game like a playoff game for the rest of the season. The Dodgers got a walk off win in the series final against the Arizona Diamondbacks when Adrian Gonzalez hit a two run double. He is only hitting .211 since the trade and the Dodgers are only 4-5 but the Dodgers have 6 games left against the Giants. Josh Beckett got his first win as a Dodger in yesterdays 2-1 victory going 6 2/3. They need him to be clutch down the stretch.