Dodgers go down quietly to White Sox yet again

Josh Beckett allowed home runs to David and Goliath, but the feeble Dodgers offense saw its drought reach biblical proportions in a 2-1 loss to the White Sox on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Dee Gordon opened the game with a perfect drag bunt for a single, but that was pretty much it for the Dodgers offense, until he grounded a double inside third base with one out in the eighth. John Danks pitched 7⅓ scoreless innings and saw his start bookended by Gordon hits, mixing in three walks and a couple pitches that hit Scott Van Slyke in between.

Gordon stole third and eventually scored on a force play ground out by Hanley Ramirez, who easily beat the throw to first base that could have doubled him up and nullified the run. It snapped a 14-inning scoreless streak by the Dodgers.

White Sox starters in the series allowed two earned runs in 19⅓ innings. Were it not for some atrocious fielding by Chicago in the fifth inning on Monday night, the Dodgers could have been swept.

Beckett struck out six and allowed only two runs in his six innings, both on home runs. Leury Garcia, listed at 5'8, 170 pounds, homered to center field in the third inning for his first major league home run. One inning later, the 6'6, 285-pound Adam Dunn lined a ball over the wall in right field for his 449th home run.

The Dodgers finish their homestand at 4-6 having dropped a second consecutive series after winning three straight. They are 13-19 at Dodger Stadium.

Manager Don Mattingly after the game showed his frustration at the Dodgers' play.

"I really think you should talk to [the players], I'm tired of asking questions honestly," Mattingly said. "Home, away, whatever. I don't know if that's got anything to do with it. Just being basically shitty, just not that good."

Up next

The Dodgers travel to Denver on Thursday afternoon to start a three-game series at Coors Field beginning Friday. The Dodgers send Hyun-jin Ryu to the mound in the opener, with right-hander Eddie Butler making his major league debut on Friday for the Rockies. But in between now and first pitch in Colorado, the Dodgers will have made their first 10 picks of the 2014 MLB Draft, which starts on Thursday evening.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Leury Garcia (1), Adam Dunn (9)

Stolen bases: Dee Gordon (35); Alejandro De Aza (7)

Caught stealing: Dee Gordon (4); Alejandro De Aza (4)

WP - John Danks (4-5): 7⅓ IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts

LP - Josh Beckett (4-2): 6 IP, 9 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

Sv - Ronald Belisario (5): 1 IP, 1 strikeout