Dodgers, Rafael Furcal make a little noise

The malaise that is this Dodgers season reached its 100th game Saturday night and appeared set to take further hold after only a half inning.

Dodgers starter Ted Lilly had given up two singles, two doubles and three runs to the Washington Nationals

before many fans had found their seats at Dodger Stadium.

But on this night, the Dodgers and Lilly -- who slugged a two-run double and had three runs batted in overall to help his cause -- declined to go quietly and made a game of it.

Shortstop Rafael Furcal, who has struggled at the plate since returning from the disabled list July 3, hit a walk-off double against Washington reliever Ryan Mattheus to score Trent Oeltjen in the bottom of the ninth inning and give the Dodgers a 7-6 win.

That was "was a huge hit for him," Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said. "He's been down" about his slump "so it's good to see that."

Mattingly also praised his bullpen for keeping the Dodgers (44-56) in the game in the final four innings, adding that "It was a nice win from the standpoint that the guys came back."

Dodgers closer Javy Guerra (2-0), who pitched a scoreless ninth inning, earned the victory.

The Dodgers' seven runs and 14 hits were their most since they exploded for 15 runs and 25 hits against the Twins in Minnesota on June 27.

The Dodgers tied Saturday's game, 6-6, in the seventh inning when pinch-runner Eugenio Velez scored from third base on a wild pitch by Nationals reliever Henry Rodriguez.

Velez had replaced catcher Dioner Navarro, who walked, and then he stole second base and moved to third base when Jamey Carroll grounded out.

Though the Dodgers' sparse run production has been their main concern this season, Lilly's uneven performance over the last two months also raises questions.

In five of his last seven starts, the left-hander has allowed four or more earned runs, and his earned-run average climbed to 5.08 in Saturday's outing.

After Lilly spotted Washington the three runs in the first inning, the Dodgers came back with a run in the first inning when Furcal scored on Matt Kemp's sacrifice fly.

The Dodgers scored again in the second inning when Lilly bunted and a sliding James Loney scored from third base as catcher Wilson Ramos bobbled the throw at home plate.

The Nationals then scored three more times against Lilly in the third inning on a two-run double by Rick Ankiel and a run-scoring infield single by Ian Desmond.

But in the Dodgers' half of the third inning, Kemp doubled, Juan Rivera singled and Kemp tagged and scored on Loney's sacrifice fly.

After Juan Uribe singled, Washington intentionally walked Dioner Navarro to load the bases and get to Lilly. But the pitcher lined his double to right-center field, cutting the Nationals' lead to 6-5. It was only his third hit of the season.

"Fortunately, I was able to help" with the bat because "I put us in a big hole," Lilly said. "We were able to come back, in large part due to the work the bullpen did. Then obviously we got some clutch hits as the game went on."

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.

Kuroda, Gwynn trigger Dodgers' sweep of the Padres

Gwynn gets winning hit in 4-2 victory that completes a game suspended because of rain Friday. Then Kuroda throws 8 2/3 innings and Gwynn scores twice in 4-0 win.

On his way out of the Dodgers' clubhouse on Saturday night, closer Jonathan Broxton looked toward the locker of starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

"The game he threw, it was very exciting to watch," Broxton said.

So exciting, Broxton said, that when he was asked to save his second game of the day, he didn't feel any lingering effects from his earlier appearance.

"It felt better than the first time," Broxton said. "I was amped up."

Broxton walked Chris Denorfia to load the bases, but forced Cameron Maybin to hit a slow roller to third base that resulted in a base-path collision between third baseman Casey Blake and Chase Headley. The interference call sealed the Dodgers' 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres, which followed a 4-2 win from earlier in the day, when the teams completed a game suspended from the Friday night.

Broxton became the first Dodgers pitcher to save two games in a day since Jeff Shaw, who did it Aug. 25, 2000, at Wrigley Field.

"It was weird," Broxton said.

Broxton's first save of the day completed an 11-inning game that was suspended the previous night because of

four weather-related delays that totaled 3 hours and 36 minutes.

When the game was stopped at 1:13 a.m. on Saturday, Matt Kemp was on first base with no outs. Heath Bell was on the mound. The cleaning crew was picking up trash in the upper deck.

The game was officially suspended at 1:38 a.m.

Umpire crew chief Ed Rapuano said he considered allowing the game to continue.

"The No. 1 priority is to get the game in," Rapuano said. "The fans who bought tickets deserve every chance to get the game in. There is no curfew. But the forecasts said it was going to continue to rain on and off."

The contest resumed at 5:35 p.m. Saturday

The Dodgers had trouble scoring on Friday night and one day didn't change that. Kemp didn't score. Neither did James Loney and Xavier Paul, who also had hits in the ninth inning.The stalemate was broken in the 11th inning by Tony Gwynn Jr., who played for the Padres the two previous seasons. Gwynn grew up a Padre, having spent a significant part of his childhood in the San Diego clubhouse with his Hall of Fame father.

With two on and two outs, Gwynn lined a single to right field, driving in Juan Uribe and advancing Aaron Miles to third base. Miles scored when pitcher Pat Neshek threw a wild pitch to Jamey Carroll.

Asked if he used to dream of doing something like this in his hometown ballpark, Gwynn laughed.

"I've envisioned it but it definitely wasn't under the circumstances that we're in now," Gwynn said.

Ethier added to the advantage in the fifth inning, clearing the right-field wall for his first home run of the season. The Dodgers increased their lead to 3-0 later that inning when Padres left fielder Denorfia dropped a high fly ball by Uribe at the warning track, which allowed Kemp to score.

Gwynn scored again in the eighth inning. He singled to right, stole second base for the second time in the game, reached third on a wild pitch and ran home on a single by Blake.

The Dodgers were up, 4-0.

Kuroda did the rest, holding the Padres to six hits over 8 2/3 scoreless innings.

Blanking the Padres through eighth innings, Kuroda told the coaches that he wanted to go out for the final inning.

"The bullpen did a lot yesterday," Kuroda said. "I wanted to finish the game if I could to give them the day off."

But Kuroda gave up a pair of two-out singles to Brad Hawpe and Headley, prompting Mattingly to summon Broxton for the second time that day.

"I made Broxton pitch twice in one day," Kuroda said. "I'm sorry about that."

By his own admission, Broxton made the game more interesting than it should have been by walking Denorfia.Then Headley ran into Blake.

Blake admitted that had Headley not run into him, he didn't think he would have been able to throw out Maybin.

"I would've had to barehand it," Blake said. "That guy can run a little bit."

The save was Broxton's fifth of the season.

After the game, Mattingly announced that John Ely would be called up from triple-A Albuquerque to start on Sunday. He said a corresponding roster move would be made Sunday.