Dodgers put a lot of things together to beat the Mets, 6-0

Clayton Kershaw scattered five hits over eight innings and the Dodgers parlayed extra-base hits by Matt Kemp, Juan Uribe, Aaron Miles and Dioner Navarro into a five-run sixth inning to beat the New York Mets, 6-0, on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium to snap a five-game losing skid.

The loss ended the Mets' four-game winning streak and kept them from sweeping the Dodgers for the first time in four games at Chavez Ravine.
Kershaw (9-4) struck out nine and walked two in his last start before the All-Star break. The left-hander, who will pitch in his first All-Star game next week in Phoenix, came within one strikeout of his fourth straight double-digit game, something that hadn't been done by a Dodgers pitcher since Hideo Nomo in1995.
Kershaw got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth by striking out Ronny Paulino to end the inning after getting a visit from manager Don Mattingly.
The Mets loaded the bases again in the ninth against Kenley Jansen before Hong-Chih Kuo got the final two outs.
Dillon Gee (8-3) gave up five hits and six runs — five earned — struck out two and walked one to lose his second straight.

Dodgers' Kershaw knocked around by Angels

Just six days after Clayton Kershaw outlasted Jered Weaver in a marquee pitcher's duel, the major league strikeout leader was no match for the pitcher with the AL's best ERA in a one-sided rematch.
Weaver got a measure of payback against Kershaw with eight solid innings and Vernon Wells homered, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-1 victory over the Dodgers on Saturday night.
This was the third time Weaver and Kershaw have hooked up in their young careers. Last Sunday at Dodger

Stadium, Kershaw struck out 11 in a complete-game 3-2 victory, while Weaver yielded a run over seven innings in a no-decision. On May 22, 2009, the Angels won 3-1 with each pitcher allowing a run and receiving a no-decision.
"When you don't have your best stuff, you've gotta limit them to three runs over six—not six over six—especially against a guy like Weave," Kershaw said. "It's a guaranteed loss if you give up six."
Kershaw (8-4) was charged with a season-high seven runs, six earned, and nine hits in six innings. He struck out 10 and walked one.
It was the first time in the left-hander's four-year career that he reached double digits in Ks in three consecutive starts, and he increased his season total to 138—seven more than Philadelphia's Roy Halladay.
"I think Kersh likes getting a matchup like Weaver—or (Justin) Verlander if it's Detroit, or (Tim) Lincecum if it's San Francisco, if it's any one of those guys in Philly. I think he likes that challenge," manager Don Mattingly said.
"It's like facing Randy Johnson. I mean, somebody's got to take him on for six innings and give you a chance to scratch a run out. You may not want that matchup, but you've got to be willing to be the guy that says: 'I'm throwing zeros today with you.'"
Kershaw struck out the side on 15 pitches in the fifth, but that was after the Angels had staked Weaver to a 6-1 lead. Kershaw was 6-0 with a 2.64 ERA in 11 starts since his previous loss on April 26 at Florida.
"The guys came out and did a heck of a job tonight and got to one of the best pitchers in the game," Weaver said. "Anytime you get a six-run lead, it takes a lot of pressure off me. It was great to see. We were able to get some two-out hits in key situations. Obviously, Vernon hit a big home run to get it going. And when he goes, we go."
The Angels grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third after No. 9 hitter Jeff Mathis led off with a double. Mathis scored from third when rookie shortstop Dee Gordon tried for the out at the plate on a grounder by Erick Aybar and threw the ball over Dioner Navarro's head.
One out later, Wells drove a 2-0 pitch to left for his 12th homer and seventh in 17 games. He also homered against Kershaw the last time the ace faced the Angels.
The Angels made it 6-0 in the fourth. Aybar had a two-out RBI single and Bobby Abreu singled in a pair of runs.
"Balls found some holes, and some of them were bloops," Kershaw said. "I made some bad pitches. I probable needed to throw one out of the strike zone right there to Abreu with two strikes. And then, obviously, the pitch to Wells was a misfire. Those were two pitches I would like to have back."
Weaver (10-4) won his fourth straight decision over six starts, allowing a run and four hits and striking out eight. Last season's major league strikeout leader reduced his ERA to 1.92, giving up his only run in the fifth on Trent Oeltjen's sacrifice fly.
"I'm focused regardless of who's out there," Weaver said. "I'm not going up against the other pitcher. I'm going up against the other team."
It was the second time in their respective careers that Kershaw and Weaver have been matched up against the same pitcher in consecutive starts during the regular season. Kershaw won both outings against San Diego's Kevin Correia in May 2010. Weaver's final two starts in 2009 were against Oakland's Gio Gonzalez, and he won the rematch with Gonzalez after losing the first one.
"You think that you need to change things up just because you faced them not too long ago," Weaver said. "But I've learned that you've just got to keep pitching to your strengths and try to hit their weaknesses. So you don't want to change too many things. You just want to keep going with what worked last time."
The Dodgers threatened in the fourth, but Weaver retired Matt Kemp on an inning-ending double-play grounder to third. Kemp, who began the day first in the NL in homers, second in batting average and third in RBIs, has grounded into a team-high 11 double plays.
NOTES: The Angels are averaging 38,775 in attendance through their first 40 home dates. The Dodgers are averaging 36,084 through 43 home dates. The Angels have never finished a season with a higher home attendance total than their Southern California rivals. ... A ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Garret Anderson, who helped the Angels win Game 7 of the 2002 World Series with a tiebreaking three-run double against San Francisco. He spent his final big league season with the Dodgers last year. ... Mike Scioscia's 131st interleague victory as a manager tied Joe Torre's record. Sunday's series finale ends the Angels' slate against NL clubs.

Dodgers rally to tie it, then lose to Giants, 8-5

Although there was an increased police presence intended to prevent a repeat of a parking-lot beating that headlined the San Francisco Giants' previous visit, the fan presence was clearly decreased.

The announced attendance for the Dodgers' 8-5 defeat Wednesday night was 30,421, and that was the number of tickets sold, not the number of people who walked through the turnstiles. The 56,000-seat stadium was clearly more than half empty.

The last time the Dodgers sold fewer tickets for a home game against the Giants was June 4, 1997, when they sold 30,357.

The fans who stayed home missed the baseball equivalent of one of those NASCAR races in which a car at or near the front decides to skip a pit stop and runs out of fuel at the end. Only in this case, the Dodgers ran out of pitchers.

The Dodgers erased a three-run deficit in the eighth inning on a two-run double by a Juan Uribe and a run-scoring single by James Loney to tie the score, 5-5.

But from there, they had nowhere to go.

Jonathan Broxton was on the disabled list. Vicente Padilla had a sore forearm. Matt Guerrier and Kenley Jansen were scheduled to take the night off.

So, with the game on the line, the Dodgers turned to Lance Cormier, who started the day with an earned-run average of 9.72.

The result was predictable.

Cody Ross hit a three-run home run that sent the Dodgers to their fourth loss in five days.

For Manager Don Mattingly, the crucial decision turned out to be the one he made in the fifth. With the bases loaded and the Dodgers trailing, 4-1, he sent Juan Castro to pinch-hit for Clayton Kershaw with one out.

"We have to take a shot at scoring a run," Mattingly said.

The Dodgers didn't.

Kershaw said that contrary to what his pitching line might indicate — he was charged with four runs and seven hits in five innings — he felt fine.

"I would have loved to get two more" innings, he said.

But he said he understood.

"In that situation," he said, "you have to score runs."

The Dodgers began the game as the lowest-scoring team in the National League. On the mound for the Giants was Matt Cain.

Kershaw's problems Wednesday started in the third inning, when he gave up his first hit of the game to Cain, of all people.

Hits by Aaron Rowand and Freddy Sanchez followed, with Sanchez's single to right driving in Cain to put the Giants up, 1-0.

The Giants started the fourth inning with four consecutive singles. The fourth, by Miguel Tejada, drove in Pat Burrell. Kershaw walked Mike Fontenot to push in another run. A sacrifice fly by Rowand drove in Aubrey Huff and extended the margin to 4-0.

Matt Kemp broke up Cain's perfect game in the fifth inning with a home run. Rod Barajas doubled to right in the seventh inning to drive in Jay Gibbons from first and close the gap to 4-2.

The Dodgers leveled the score in the eighth on hits by a couple of their slumping hitters.

With the Dodgers trailing, 5-2, and All-Star closer Brian Wilson on the mound, Uribe drove in Jamey Carroll and Kemp with a double to center.

Loney tied the score, 5-5, with a single to right that allowed Uribe to score.