Dodgers have advantage after sweep of D-backs

ESPN.com

Updated: September 7, 2008

AP Photo/Ric Francis

James Loney drove home three runs Sunday as the Dodgers finished off a sweep of the D-backs.

BAD WEEKEND FOR D-BACKS

By Mark Simon, ESPN Research

The Dodgers continued their run to the top of the National League West, securing a 1½-game lead over the Diamondbacks by completing a sweep of Arizona with a 5-3 win on Sunday.

Dodgers pitching dominated the series, allowing only five runs in the three games. The Dodgers' offense, which has been up and down all season, was patient all weekend. Dodgers hitters drew 21 walks in the three games, a key factor contributing to their 19 runs. Derek Lowe set the tone for the Dodgers' pitching on Friday with a dominant effort, going eight shutout innings while allowing just two hits.

The teams don't meet again this season. In fact, the Dodgers won't face another team with a winning record the rest of the regular season. That's another edge over Arizona, which still has four games with the Cardinals remaining.

Inside the Series Dodgers sweep Diamondbacks
ARI LAD
Runs 5 19
BA .188 .270
HR 2 2
Extra-base hits 6 10
Batter K-BB 30-8 25-21

CUBS NEED TO PLAY IT SAFE

By Steve Phillips, ESPN

The biggest thing for the Cubs right now is they need to get Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden healthy when it counts. They make the Cubs special. The impact of the front end of the rotation with Zambrano, Harden and Ryan Dempster has been huge this year. No one can match their depth in the National League, and quite possibly, in the American League, either.

It's very important for them to be healthy and fresh come October. So, if they have to sit out a few more starts, it's probably for the best. That being said, you have to carefully balance that with the team's place in the standings. If the team struggles, they may have to come back sooner. And you definitely want to get them at least one more start in the regular season before you enter the postseason. From all indications, it sounds like that is a strong possibility.

There's been nothing that's come out so far that indicates to me that either one of them has had a big setback. In the long run, it may be the best thing that could have happened to those two guys. It'll allow them to be rested for the games that really count.

Harden is as important as Zambrano is in terms of how far the Cubs will go in the playoffs. CC Sabathia has gotten so much attention in the NL Central, and rightly so. Sabathia's proven to be a great pickup by Milwaukee, but Harden has been a real difference-maker in Chicago. The team has to really listen to what he's saying about his arm because he's been through this before. They need to do everything they can to assure themselves of his services the rest of the way.

I don't think the Cubs are at risk of missing the playoffs, and I think they'll hold on to win the division even if Zambrano and Harden don't pitch much in September. Their bullpen is so good that it allows the Cubs to shorten the game for anyone making spot starts. Still, they need to start scoring more runs. Their offense has struggled during this little skid, except for Saturday's 14-run breakout. With Zambrano and Harden on the shelf for a little while, the offense will need to pick up the slack.

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: Sept. 4 | Sept. 3 | Sept. 2 | Sept. 1 | Aug. 31 | Aug. 28

TOUCH 'EM ALL

Touch 'Em AllWho went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on "Baseball Tonight" and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

Click here to find out who hit the longest home run. For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

NAME HR OPPPITCHER SITUATION
L. Milledge, Was14AtlReyesTop 2: 0-1, 0 Outs. None on.
A. Pujols, StL32FlaJohnsonBot 1: 2-2, 1 Outs. 1 on.
D. Ryan, Det1MinPerkinsTop 2: 0-0, 2 Outs. 1 on.
M. Jacobs, Fla30StLWainwrightTop 2: 1-2, 0 Outs. None on.
P. Konerko, CWS16LAASaundersBot 4: 0-1, 1 Outs. None on.
C. Headley, SD9MilParraTop 5: 1-0, 1 Outs. None on.
G. Dobbs, Phi8NYMMartinezTop 4: 0-1, 0 Outs. 2 on.
A. Gonzalez, Was1AtlTavarezTop 7: 1-1, 0 Outs. None on.
T. Hall, CWS2LAASaundersBot 5: 1-1, 2 Outs. None on.
K. Kouzmanoff, SD21MilRiskeTop 7: 0-1, 0 Outs. None on.
M. Cabrera, Det32MinPerkinsTop 6: 0-0, 0 Outs. None on.
D. Jeter, NYY10SeaFeierabendTop 1: 2-0, 1 Outs. None on.
M. Ordonez, Det18MinBonserTop 7: 3-2, 0 Outs. None on.
G. Kapler, Mil8SDYoungBot 8: 1-0, 2 Outs. None on.
D. Ortiz, Bos18TexMcCarthyTop 5: 2-2, 2 Outs. 1 on.
X. Nady, NYY10SeaFeierabendTop 2: 2-1, 1 Outs. None on.
C. Snyder, Ari14LADKershawTop 2: 3-1, 1 Outs. None on.
B. Hawpe, Col23HouSampsonBot 6: 0-0, 0 Outs. 2 on.
J. Bay, Bos5TexWrightTop 7: 1-0, 1 Outs. None on.
A. Beltre, Sea25NYYMussinaBot 3: 2-0, 2 Outs. 1 on.
A. Dunn, Ari36LADKershawTop 3: 3-2, 1 Outs. None on.
J. Lopez, Sea13NYYMussinaBot 4: 2-2, 0 Outs. None on.
T. Teagarden, Tex3BosDelcarmenBot 8: 2-0, 0 Outs. None on.
J. Lopez, Sea14NYYVerasBot 8: 0-0, 2 Outs. None on.
R. Howard, Phi40NYMSantanaTop 3: 0-0, 2 Outs. None on.
C. Delgado, NYM32PhiHamelsBot 3: 0-2, 0 Outs. None on.
C. Delgado, NYM33PhiHamelsBot 5: 0-0, 1 Outs. None on.

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BBTN ON THE AIR: MONDAY

TIME WHO'S ON?
9:30 p.m. ET
ESPN2		 Host: Karl Ravech
Analyst: John Kruk, Buck Showalter, Eduardo Perez

BBTN MINUTE: RED SOX/RAYS PREVIEW

SUNDAY NIGHT: PLAYER OF THE GAME

SUNDAY'S NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES

GOOD
Chris Young• The Padres' Chris Young was four outs from perfection against the Brewers. Young retired the first 23 batters the Brewers sent to the plate and finished with a complete-game two-hitter in the Padres' 10-1 win.
BAD
Justin Upton• Justin Upton had a rough day at the plate as the Diamondbacks were swept by the Dodgers. Upton went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and stranded four baserunners in a 5-3 loss. All told, the D-backs left 21 runners on base in Sunday's loss.
UGLY
David Riske• The Brewers didn't just have problems hitting Padres starter Chris Young, they also had major trouble getting San Diego hitters out. Reliever David Riske had the worst line of all, giving up four hits and four runs in just one inning of work.

STAT OF THE DAY

Inside EdgeAccording to Inside Edge's scouting data, left-handed batters have shown a lot more power to the opposite field this season than have right-handed batters. Here are the three hitters from each side of the plate with the most power when driving a pitch the other way (minimum of 35 at-bats through Saturday):

RHB's on balls to right side of field
Player SLG pct.
Manny Ramirez .772
Chipper Jones .756
Martin Prado .746
LHB's on balls to right side of field
Player SLG pct.
Ryan Howard 1.141
Lance Berkman 1.000*
Jack Cust .918
*At-bats as LHB only

HUNT FOR OCTOBER

Here's the latest in the NL playoff races:

NL EAST
TEAM W-L GB POFF
NY Mets 80-63 -- 77.0%
Philadelphia 78-65 3.0 35.2%
NL CENTRAL
TEAM W-L GB POFF
Chicago 86-57 -- 99.0%
Milwaukee 82-61 4.0 82.5%
NL WEST
TEAM W-L GB POFF
LA Dodgers 73-70 -- 66.7%
Arizona 71-71 1.5 32.1%
NL WILD CARD
TEAM W-L GB POFF
Milwaukee 80-60 -- 82.5%
Philadelphia 78-65 4.0 35.2%
St. Louis 77-66 5 4.3%

For more on the playoff races, see the Hunt for October

FORWARD THINKING: MONDAY

Joe Blanton • Marlins at Phillies, 7:05 p.m. ET: After finishing up a weekend set with the Mets, the Phillies now face the Marlins. Joe Blanton (6-12, 4.79 ERA) has had quite a run of no-decisions since joining the Phillies. He has made nine starts since arriving in Philadelphia, but has just one decision, a 2-1 win against St. Louis on Aug. 2. Lefties Ryan Howard and Chase Utley should like the numbers in the matchup with Anibal Sanchez (2-3, 5.54 ERA), against whom lefties are hitting .365. Sanchez is limiting righties to a .189 batting average.

Edwin Jackson • Rays at Red Sox, 7:05 p.m. ET: The division race has gotten tight as the Rays have stumbled. It doesn't help the Rays that they are sending Edwin Jackson (11-9, 4.07 ERA) to the mound to face the Red Sox. Jackson has lost both his outings against Boston, posting a 6.19 ERA in those two defeats this season. Making matters worse for the Rays is that the Red Sox send out Jon Lester (13-5, 3.37 ERA), who is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA against Tampa Bay this year.

Tim Lincecum • Diamondbacks at Giants, 10:15 p.m. ET: The road doesn't get any easier for the D-backs. Fresh off being swept by the Dodgers, Arizona heads to San Francisco, where Tim Lincecum (15-3, 2.60 ERA) is waiting. Lincecum has won his past four decisions. Yusmeiro Petit (3-4, 3.44 ERA) will be appearing in his 17th game of the season, but is making just his eighth start. He gave up five runs and three homers last time out, an 8-2 loss to St. Louis.

• Complete list of pitching probables for Monday

FANTASY: PREVIEW OF MONDAY'S GAMES

Adam Madison examines the pitching matchups in store for the 10 games on Monday's schedule.

Madison also looks at current injuries and details player reports that could help shape the way you put together your roster for Monday's games. Daily Notes