Ted Lilly fought a two-front war on Wednesday, one with a powerful Tigers lineup hungry for runs and another with his mortal enemy, the sun. Day Lilly dug a hole too deep for the Dodgers, who lost 7-5, unable to complete their sweep. In six daytime starts this season, Lilly is 0-4 with a highly inconvenient 7.11 ERA, and has allowed nine home runs in 31 2/3 innings under the sun.
The Dodgers had their chances, most notably with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning. However, Casey Blake struck out and Dioner Navarro flew out to center to end the game. Matt Kemp reached base all five times he stepped to the plate, with two singles, a triple, and two walks, and is hitting .328/.420/.620 on the season. Kemp's 42 walks are just 11 shy of his career high, set last season. James Loney was 3-for-4 with a walk.
Lilly had a bizarre game, to say the least. He had a season-high-tying eight strikeouts, but he also allowed a season-high-tying three home runs, and lasted just 4 2/3 innings. The Tigers charged six runs to Lilly's ledger, the final tally coming on an RBI single by Victor Martinez off Mike MacDougal, who has inherited 33 runners this season, tied with Cesar Ramos of Tampa Bay for the MLB lead (13 of those 33 have scored, including nine of the last 17).
Dodger pitchers struck out 13 Tigers today, and had 35 punchouts during the three-game series. The only other three-game series with more strikeouts by Dodger pitching was from May 13-15 against Arizona.
The Dodgers are off on Thursday before opening the first of two straight weekend series against the Angels. In Friday's opener, Rubby De La Rosa gets the call for the Dodgers against Dan Haren.
WP - Al Alburquerque (4-1): 2 1/3 IP, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
LP - Ted Lilly (5-7): 4 2/3 IP, 6 hits, 6 runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Sv - Jose Valverde (17): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout