Postgame: Dodgers 7, Brewers 4

The Dodgers beat the Brewers 7-4 today in the finale of the first half of the season. For a full recap and boxscore click here.

THE BARE ESSENTIALS:

Dodger starter Clayton Kershaw continued his utter dominance of late, going 6+ strong innings and allowing only two hits and one run. Hiroki Kuroda came in in relief and allowed three runs of his own and Kershaw’s run. Unbelievably, Kershaw now has the best ERA on the staff and the 18th best in the majors at 3.16.

Matt Kemp had his first hitless game since July 1 — striking out twice and leaving 5 men on in four at-bats — but Orlando Hudson picked up the slack, hitting two solo homers.

The Dodgers’ offensive effort off of a solid starter in Milwaukee’s Yovani Gallardo was impressive: six hits and four walks in five innings. They scored five times off of him.

Manny is the same old Manny, in case you were wondering. 3-for-3 and a walk puts him at a .308/.400/.654 clip since he came back.

ETC…ETC:

Brad Ausmus went deep for his first homer of the season. That makes the Dodgers’ season total of home runs from behind the plate three.

James Loney was solid, hitting two base knocks to drive in runs. He’s two behind Andre Ethier for the team lead in RBI with 54. Casey Blake has 55 as well.

James McDonald and Ramon Troncoso pitched well in relief, going 1 2/3 scoreless.

ON DECK:

The Dodgers will take a three-day break before hosting Houston for a four-game set beginning Thursday. Randy Wolf is scheduled to make the start.

Morning briefing

The Dodgers fell 5-4 last night, with Andre Ethier (0-for-5, 8 LOB) going down as the main culprit. Randy Wolf vs. Livan Hernandez tonight at 4:10, but first, let’s recap some of the day’s blue-related news.

A year ago today: Derek Lowe took a perfect game into the seventh inning before giving up a single, and eventually, a solo home run but still earning the 2-1 victory over Atlanta. The Dodgers’ record entering play that day? 44-46.

Ronald Belisario is okay, relatively. Dr. Neil ElAttrache found no structural damage in the 26-year-old’s right elbow in a Wednesday MRI, but the rookie reliever has been placed on the DL in what appears to be primarily a precautionary measure. Belisario missed the entire 2005 and 2006 seasons due to Tommy John surgery.

There are less than 10 hours left to vote for Matt Kemp in MLB’s Final Vote 2009 campaign.

Lastly: yes, Daniel Murphy really did make that play last night.

Postgame: Padres 7, Dodgers 4

The San Diego Padres beat the Dodgers 7-4 today at Petco Park. For a full recap and boxscore click here.

THE BARE ESSENTIALS

– Manny Ramirez went 1-for-3 with a home run in his second game back. He was again lifted for Juan Pierre in the sixth inning.

– Casey Blake a had a bit of a slump-busting performance, going 2-for-4.

– Three errors and unusually spotty relief were the Dodgers’ undoing today, as both Ronald Belisario and Ramon Troncoso allowed three runs. All of Troncoso’s were unearned, though.

– Randy Wolf got…another no-decision. He went six strong innings, allowing only four hits and one run.

ETC…ETC

– The Dodgers mounted a bit of a rally in the top of the eighth to trail by only one, 4-3, but Troncoso couldn’t do the job in the bottom of the inning. The Blue put together another run in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough. Padres closer Heath Bell got the five-out save.

– The top three of the Padres’ order — Everth Cabrera, David Eckstein, and Adrian Gonzalez — combined for six of the team’s 10 hits.

– Orlando Hudson got the day off today. Joe Torre said he might not play tomorrow either.

ON DECK

– The Dodgers will try to win the series tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. Chad Billingsley (9-4, 3.12) and Josh Banks (1-0, 3.38) face off.

6/18: A’s at Dodgers

Randy Wolf will start tonight for the Dodgers despite the news that he has been suffering from a persistent cough for the last six weeks. He underwent tests yesterday. Obviously, the cough hasn’t been affecting his performance too much, as the 32-year-old lefthander has recorded a 3.41 ERA — which would be his second-best effort of his career over a full season — thus far.

Vin Mazzaro will be making his fourth career start for the A’s; his first three resulted in a 2-1 record and 1.37 ERA. From what I’ve read about him, he’s a young sinkerballer with a developing plus-curveball. He pitches to contact, and if his control is on, he is a real innings-eater.

Russell Martin announced today that he will be donating $600,00 over the next 10 years to the One Drop Foundation in an effort to provide higher access to clean water among the poor. Martin will also serve as the foundation’s spokesman. Check out the foundation’s site here. It’s in French, by the way.

Dodgers
Pierre, LF
Furcal, SS
Hudson, 2B
Blake, 3B
Ethier, RF
Kemp, CF
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Wolf, P

Athletics
Kennedy, 2B
Suzuki, C
Cust, RF
Holliday, LF
Giambi, 1B
Cabrera, SS
Crosby, 3B
Davis, CF
Mazzaro, P