Plodding along

That quick game we anticipated with these two sinkerballers going simply hasn't materialized. They already have five walks (one intentional) between them. Derek Lowe threw a staggering number of pitches in the first inning, when he walked two of the first three batters and should have gotten out of the inning, but a throwing error by James Loney negated a sure out and allowed the Snakes to score an unearned run. Since then, though, D-Lowe has settled in and become more efficient. Brandon Webb doesn't look the part of a Cy Young winner, either, but the Dodgers stranded five runners, three of them in scoring position, in the first three innings. Nomar just hit into a fielder's choice -- on the first pitch, of course -- to run his hitless streak to 13 ABs. ... Snakes 1, Dodgers 0, top 4