The Dodgers might be seeing breaking balls in their sleep tonight, as Wandy Rodriguez, Alberto Arias, and the Astros were mesmerizing with their curveballs Thursday night, shutting out the home team 3-0 at Dodger Stadium.
I double-checked on MLB Gameday, and it only listed ten curveballs by Rodriguez, who pitched six scoreless innings to get his ninth win on the season. I have a feeling some of the pitches listed as sliders were actually curveballs, but for now let's take a look at the listed curveballs by both Rodriguez and Arias:
| Pitcher | Curves | Strikes | Outs |
| Rodriguez | 10 | 6 | 4 |
| Arias | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Humberto Quintero homered in the fifth to give the Astros a 1-0 lead, one they would never relinquish.
The Dodgers had a few rallies, putting two men on base with nobody out in both the fifth and seventh innings. But it was all for naught in this night, as the Dodgers were shutout for just the fifth time this season.
Randy Wolf entered the seventh inning having allowed one run on just two hits, but left after allowing consecutive singles to Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada, and Hunter Pence. Guillermo Mota entered the game with the bases loaded and nobody out, and pitched decently enough, even inducing a double play, but allowed two inherited runs.
Lance Berkman left the game in the middle of the eighth inning with a strained left calf, and is day-to-day, per Alyson Footer of MLB.com.
Manny Ramirez is now 13-1 at home this season.
Tomorrow's pitching matchup is a dandy: Chad Billingsley vs. Roy Oswalt.
WP - Wandy Rodriguez (9-6): 6 IP,5 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
LP - Randy Wolf (4-4): 6 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Sv - Jose Valverde (9): 1 IP, 1 hit