Tony Gwynn Saves The Day Against Padres Again

A diving catch by Tony Gwynn Jr. in left field with two outs in the ninth saved the game for the Dodgers, and saved Jonathan Broxton from his second blown save in a row, as the Dodgers beat the Padres 3-2 on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. Broxton entered the ninth with a 3-1 lead and retired the first two batters, but allowed three straight two-strike hits to pull the Padres to within one. In the game that started three weeks ago tonight, also started by Ted Lilly and Clayton Richard, Gwynn drove in the winning run in extra innings against his old mates.

Solo home runs by Juan Uribe and Matt Kemp provided the Dodgers with enough cushion for Broxton's wild ride in the ninth. San Diego helped out the cause by hitting and/or running into five double plays (one was a strikeout and caught stealing). Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier each made a diving catch of their own, in the seventh inning, helping to keep the Padres at bay.

Ted Lilly was shaky early, but retired the final eight hitters he faced, allowing just one run in six innings. Matt Guerrier and Vincente Padilla were a tad wild, but each pitched a scoreless inning.

For the Padres, their offensive woes continued, as they have scored two or fewer runs in nine of their last 11 games. They have 18 total runs in those 11 games, and are hitting .201/.272/.282 during that span.

Uribe, who also doubled, has 12 hits in his last 26 at-bats, hitting .462/.464/.885 during that span.

Ethier Hits 25

Andre Ethier hit a double off Clayton Richard in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to 25 games. It is tied for the second longest streak in Los Angeles Dodger history, and tied for seventh-longest if you include Brooklyn:

Kuo Sharp In Rehab

Hong-Chih Kuo was eligible to come off the disabled list today, but the Dodgers sent him back for more games on a minor league rehab assignment (he allowed runs on Monday and Tuesday in back-to-back outings). Kuo pitched a scoreless inning tonight in Adelanto, pitching for the Class A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes against the High Desert Mavericks. Kuo struck out the first two batters he faced, then allowed a single and lineout to end the inning. Kuo is slated to pitch again for Rancho Cucamonga again on Sunday, after which he will be reevaluated by the Dodgers and could possibly be activated from the disabled list.

Tomorrow's Game

Hiroki Kuroda will make his sixth start of the season, facing Tim Stauffer of the Padres. Saturday's game is a 7:10 p.m. start.

*****

WP -Ted Lilly (2-2): 6 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

LP - Clayton Richard (1-2): 5 2/3 IP, 8 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts

Sv - Tony Gwynn Jr. Jonathan Broxton (6): 1 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 strikeout

Box Score