Tag Archives: Chad Billingsley

Are the Dodgers done dealing?

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Maybe not.

“If there’s somebody out there in the next week or so, we’ll take a shot at it, as always,” general manager Ned Colletti told reporters at a press conference announcing today’s trade for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto.

Perhaps the biggest x-factor is injuries.

Colletti said that he was motivated to acquire Punto after Jerry Hairston Jr. was sidelined for the rest of the season due to a hip labrum injury that will require surgery. Chad Billingsley‘s second bout with elbow inflammation underscored the need to acquire another starting pitcher in Beckett. Dee Gordon, Matt Guerrier and Ted Lilly are all currently out on rehab assignments, but there’s no guarantee that any of them will be back healthy before the end of the season.

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Dodgers 4, White Sox 3.

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Jerry Sands‘ walk-off single drove in pinch-runner Elian Herrera in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Dodgers (11-8-4) to the win before 5,816 at Camelback Ranch. [box score]

Sands’ single was just his sixth hit in 38 Cactus League at-bats, and it came at a critical time as the roster is trimmed in advance of opening day.

“I’ve been feeling pretty brutal just trying to work on some things,” Sands said. “Changes here and there, just trying to get comfortable now after making some changes, all kinds of stuff. Just trying to get rhythm and timing after making changes is the hardest thing.

With two strikes against him, Sands lined a single into left field that Kosuke Fukudome could not field cleanly, allowing Herrera to score easily from second base. It was only the sixth hit by the Dodgers all afternoon, as starter Chad Billingsley allowed 11 hits in his 5 2/3 innings of work.

All of those hits were singles, however, and Chicago left nine runners on base. Billingsley also walked two and struck out five.

Dee Gordon stole two bases, giving him a major league-leading 10 this spring. Andre Ethier‘s fifth-inning double was his eighth, tying him for the major league lead with a pair of luminaries, Lorenzo Cain and Matt Carpenter.

A few more notes:

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Dodgers 7, Brewers 6.

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The Dodgers got three hits from Dee Gordon, two from Mark Ellis and Matt Kemp, and overcame a rocky start before an announced crowd of 6,348 at Camelback Ranch. [box score]

Starter Chad Billingsley pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed five hits, three runs (all earned), walked two and struck out four. He also issued a wild pitch and left with the score tied 3-3. He threw 86 pitches — more than any Dodgers starter this spring — and 57 went for strikes.

The right-hander served up a two-run home run to Brooks Conrad in the second inning on a curveball, though Billingsley said the pitch was otherwise working well for him. “I was executing pitches, missing some of them,” he said. “You win some, you lose some.”

Andre Ethier hit his second home run of the spring, a two-run blast in the fifth inning, giving him 10 extra-base hits among 11 this spring. He is hitting .440. Ellis’ sixth-inning double down the left-field line drove in the Dodgers’ sixth and seventh runs.

A few more notes:
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Dodgers 10, White Sox 6.

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The Dodgers concluded a long day of baseball with a ninth-inning rally against the Chicago White Sox before an announced crowd of 8,310 at Camelback Ranch on Saturday. [box score]

Cory Sullivan’s grand slam — his first home run of the spring –capped the comeback win for the Dodgers (4-1-2), who trailed 6-5 after the White Sox scored the go-ahead run off Michael Antonini in the eighth inning.

The game began at 7:05 p.m. local time and ended three hours and 39 minutes later (the Dodgers’ two games Saturday lasted a combined 6 hours and 16 minutes). Players and coaches get to report bright and early tomorrow for a 12 p.m. game against the Cubs –they had played no earlier than 1 p.m. local time through the first week.

With the teams even at 5-5, Antonini surrendered an RBI double to Ray Olmedo in the bottom of the eighth inning. But Ivan DeJesus scored from third base on a wild pitch to tie the game at 6 in the top of the ninth. That merely set the stage for Sullivan’s dramatic grand slam.

Chad Billingsley struggled in his second Cactus League start, allowing six hits and three runs –all earned –in 2 1/3 innings. His line would’ve looked better if Josh Lindblom had not allowed a three-run homer to Tyler Flowers, the first batter he faced out of the bullpen. Both runners belonged to Billingsley.

“I struggled a little bit early just finding my rhythm,” he said, “but overall I was pretty happy. My curveball was sharp. I threw some changeups, my fastball was missing a little down and off the plate but that’ll come.”

While Nate Eovaldi threw three innings earlier in the day, Billingsley appeared to get a quick hook, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. He said he was given a pitch count in the 50-60 range, not an innings quota (Billingsley threw 53 pitches).

Juan Rivera and Jerry Hairston Jr. hit home runs. One day after his minor heart scare, Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Dodgers 6, White Sox 4.

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Scott Van Slyke’s two-run home run highlighted a five-run sixth inning that lifted the Dodgers to a win in their exhibition opener. [MLB.com box score]

The Dodgers’ first home run of the spring cleared the left-field bullpen — a no-doubter — and completed a cycle for the team in the inning. Tony Gwynn Jr. (single), Justin Sellers (double), Ivan DeJesus (triple) all scored runs in the inning. Coincidentally, all of them, including Van Slyke, are the sons of former major league players.

Ten different Dodgers collected hits, and Chad Billingsley’s two scoreless innings will be the focus of tomorrow’s notebook. A couple other tidbits that won’t make tomorrow’s editions:
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Postgame: Braves 9, Dodgers 5 (12 innings)

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The Braves beat the Dodgers 9-5 in 12 innings late last night. For a full recap and boxscore click here.

THE BARE ESSENTIALS:

The Braves won it in the 12th on an RBI base hit that unlocked the 5-5 tie, then broke it open with a three-run homer by Ryan Church. Jonathan Broxton, who entered the game with a 5-4 lead in the ninth, blew the save.

The loss went to Ramon Troncoso, who simply wasn’t effective beginning the 12th inning. Scott Elbert, the Sunday starter (as announced today), then entered in relief and gave up the bomb to Church.

Chad Billingsley pitched six strong innings but again exited early due to injury, this time with a left hamstring strain termed mild. Sunday he left early with a right hamstring strain. He allowed four hits and three walks in his six innings of work.

Only two Dodgers had multiple-hit performances, as Casey Blake went 3-for-6 with a home run and Russell Martin went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .271.

ETC…ETC:

Only James McDonald shined out of the bullpen tonight, as he pitched two perfect innings. Hong-Chih Kuo had his first bad outing since his return from the disabled list, getting only one of three batters out. George Sherrill wasn’t charged with any runs but gave up three hits in 1 2/3 innings.

It could be speculated that Broxton blew the save in part due to a fan that ran onto the field in the top of the ninth. From that point, he walked Nate McLouth and wasn’t in control.

Manny Ramirez went 0-for-3 with a walk before leaving in a double switch to start the ninth. Andre Ethier went 0-for-2 with, count ‘em, four walks.

ON DECK:

The Dodgers send LHP Clayton Kershaw (8-6, 2.89) against Braves RHP Kenshin Kawakami (5-9, 4.38).

Postgame: Dodgers 9, Braves 1

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The Dodgers beat the Braves 9-1 today at Turner Field to win the three-game set in Atlanta. For a full recap and boxscore click here.

THE BARE ESSENTIALS:

19 hits for the Dodgers tonight, as Matt Kemp (3-for-5, HR, 5 RBI) and James Loney (3-for-6, 2 RBI) shined on national television.

Chad Billingsley threw five solid innings but exited early with an apparent right hamstring cramp. He attempted to convince Joe Torre that he could stay in, so things don’t look too serious.

Jair Jurrjens has been one of the best hurlers in baseball thus far, but the Dodgers got hold of him pretty well in the fifth. He ended up with a line of 10 hits, two walks, and four runs in five innings.

ETC…ETC:

When Jason Schmidt comes up to pinch hit and knocks a single, you know you’re going good. Schmidt pinch hit for Billingsley in the sixth and eventually came around to score.

Braves outfielder Matt Diaz on Ramon Troncoso: “I don’t know what the role that last guy has on their team. But I know he has a 2.00 ERA and nasty stuff. He’s not their setup guy and he’s not their closer. So when you’ve got that guy just getting innings, that’s a pretty deep bullpen.”

Casey Blake hurt his hand lifting weights over the weekend and was unavailable today, leading to a Mark Loretta start. X-rays on Blake were reportedly negative. Loretta had his first two-hit game since June 25.

Scott Elbert pitched well in relief of Billingsley, going 2 2/3 innings and being charged with just one run. George Sherrill replaced Guillermo Mota in a double switch and got Chipper Jones to fly out to end an Atlanta mini-rally.

ON DECK:

Clayton Kershaw (8-5, 2.76) and Manny Parra (5-8, 6.50) meet tomorrow at Dodger Stadium.

Postgame: Cardinals 10, Dodgers 0

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The Cardinals beat the Dodgers 10-0 tonight to give the Dodgers their first three-game losing streak of the season. For a full recap and boxscore click here.

THE BARE ESSENTIALS:

Chad Billingsley was masterful in his first five innings of work, walking two and allowing only one hit, but he truly imploded in the sixth, issuing four walks (two intentional) and giving up three singles while being charged with six runs.

Adam Wainwright wasn’t fooling the Dodgers, but he navigated out of jams with incredible consistency in eight innings of work, stranding nine runners. He got better as the game went on, retiring the last eight batters he faced.

The 3-4-5 hitters in the Dodgers order went 1-for-11 on the day, including two strikeouts from Manny Ramirez.

ETC…ETC:

Brent Leach continued to struggle in relief, allowing four batters to reach base while retiring none. He was charged with three runs.

There was an 80-minute rain delay that pushed the start of the game back from 5:15 P.M PST to 6:35.

The Dodgers had been 10-0 in games in which they had a two-game losing streak this season. This is the first time since August 30, 2008 that the Blue have lost three in a row.

Joe Torre was non-committal today of his Friday starter. It would be Jason Schmidt’s turn in the rotation but he struggled his last time out. Jeff Weaver could make the spot start.

ON DECK:

Clayton Kershaw (8-5, 2.96) and Joel Pineiro (9-9, 2.95) are scheduled to start tomorrow at 5:15 P.M. PST.