Dodgers Offense Flat, Beaten By A Phillips Screwdriver 3-1

The last time the Dodgers lost to the Reds at home, a Rule 5 pick got tagged with the loss. Twelve wins after D.J. Houlton was beaten by Brandon Claussen on July 28, 2005, another Dodger Rule 5 pick came out on the losing end tonight.

Carlos Monasterios had a very unique start. He set a new career high in strikeouts with six, a mark he reached after getting swinging strikeouts for his first four outs. Monasterios set new highs in both swinging strikes (nine; previous high was seven), and called strikes (16; previous high was 15). Unfortunately, he also allowed a career-high tying eight hits and, thanks to a high pitch count he was lifted with one out in the fifth inning.

Monasterios was also hurt by his own fielding. In the fourth inning of a 1-1 tie, he threw wide to first on a sacrifice bunt by Drew Stubbs, and with two outs, when the inning should have been over, Brandon Phillips drove in a pair of runs with a single up the middle. Phillips had three hits on the night, and in his career at Dodger Stadium he has 23 hits in 51 at-bats, for a .451 average in 11 games. Phillips drove in all three runs for the Reds.

The Dodgers' only run was scored in the third inning, courtesy of some small ball. After a walk by Jamey Carroll and a single by Brad Ausmus to start the inning, Monasterios sacrificed them to second and third. After a hard lineout by Scott Podsednik, Ryan Theriot surprised Reds pitcher Homer Bailey with a two-out bunt up the third base line. Theriot beat the throw to first base, and Carroll scored on the safety squeeze.

Bailey allowed one run in seven innings for the win, and in two starts since returning from the disabled list Bailey has allowed one run in 13 innings.

Manny Update

Manny Ramirez played in his third rehabilitation game with the Class A Inland Empire 66ers in San Bernardino tonight, playing six innings in left field and going hitless at the plate in two at-bats, with a strikeout and a double play. He could be activated from the disabled list as soon as tomorrow, or perhaps Tuesday when the Dodgers open a road trip in Milwaukee. Per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times:

Torre said the timing of Ramirez's activation off the disabled list would hinge primarily on his comfort level in the outfield. Ramirez has been sidelined since July 17 because of a right calf strain.

"If he's healthy, and we're hoping that's the case, then I think he's going to make a difference as far as giving us a threat in the middle of the lineup," Torre said of Ramirez.

Ramirez has been on the disabled list since July 20 with a strained right calf. He has started just two of the Dodgers' last 46 games, and in one of those, on July 16, Manny had to leave the game in the second inning.

Notes

• Kenley Jansen pitched scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh innings tonight, his only outing longer than a single inning this season, setting a career high in pitches thrown (33). It was the earliest Jansen has ever entered a big league game, as his other 10 MLB appearances began in the seventh inning or later
• The 12-pitch walk by Jay Gibbons in the fifth inning was the longest plate appearance by the Dodgers this season, and the only one with a double-digit pitch count
• Brad Ausmus, who spent three and a half months on the disabled list this season, had two hits tonight, for his first multi-hit game since last September 25. It was the first multi-hit game for a Dodger catcher since Russell Martin collected two hits on July 30.
• Since the All-Star break, the Dodgers are averaging 3.06 runs per game, and have scored two runs or less in 21 of 35 games.

Chad Billingsley faces Johnny Cueto in the second game of the series tomorrow night.

WP - Homer Bailey (3-2):  7 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

LP - Carlos Monasterios (3-4):  4 1/3 IP, 8 hits, 3 runs (1 earned), 1 walk, 6 strikeouts

Sv - Francisco Cordero (33):  1 IP, 1 hit, 1 strikeout

Box Score