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Manny gets congratulated after hitting his first home run since coming back but those smiling faces would be glum by end of the game.. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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It was the same script that the Dodgers have used to win game after game this season. Somehow score a few runs, give that lead to the Trio of Terror ( Belisario, Troncoso, and Broxton} and watch them shut down the opposition as they meekly make the last nine outs.

WIth a 2 - 1 lead headed in the bottom of the 7th it figured that Belisario might give up one run since it was a Randy Wolf lead and so a no - decision could have been expected but no Dodger fan  expected what happened next. By the end of the seventh inning the anemic Padre offense had scored three runs against Belisario with Troncoso saving him from further damage. However in the 8th it was Troncoso's turn to get worked over as he gave up three runs unearned runs of his own when the defense let him down.

For Belisario it was the first time in 42 games and 48 innings  he's given up three runs. Troncoso and Belisario have combined for 80 games and 101 innings so far this year as we hit the 1/2 way mark. Jon Weisman maintains the Dodger Duo is not overworked and based on numbers for this years he's right. But are they being overworked compared to their past workloads? That is another question for another day.

Manny Ramirez slugged a home run in the 1st inning but was taken out early,  and when the Dodgers were only down 4 - 2 in the eighth instead of Manny coming up with a chance to do some damage, Juan Pierre was there. Juan did his job bunting two runners into scoring position but when Dodgers only managed to score one of those base runners, it turned out to be a moot point after the defense let Troncoso down in the bottom of the eighth.

Everth Cabrera was the main star for the Padres, not only chipping in with several key hits but looking like Ozzie Smith at SS. The cheap combination of Cabrera and Davis Eckstein made the prime rib Dodger keystone combo look overcooked on Saturday. Everyone loves to make fun of Eckstein but he continues to do a job and be a pest. I'd say if you are considered a pest you are doing your job, otherwise who'd care.

Randy Wolf deserved another victory and has to be hoping he's not going to get paid based on his win totals in 2010. Leading the league in no - decisions he continues to do the job most of the time. If this is our fourth starter I'd say we are way a head of the game compared to most of baseball.

The Giants may still be far enough back not to be a worry but for a team with no offense they sure seem to be scoring a plethora of runs led by Pablo Sandoval (hitting .388 over the last 30 days) . They have outscored Houston 22  - 0 over the last two games and now sit 6 1/2 games back of the Dodgers.  As we hit the 1/2 way mark the Dodgers and Giants are one and two in the National League and I doubt anyone predicted that when the season started.

Orlando Hudson got the day off today and is expected to get the day off tomorrow. It was in the game thread early this week when several of us commented that he looked or tired or hurt. We were told it was perception but in this case our I'd say our perception was dead on. In early May a chorus was heard to sign Hudson to a multi-year deal, now that we've hit the 1/2 way point, with Orlando doing exactly he's done his whole career, I'm glad Ned didn't jump to sign him based on a hot start.

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