--LHP Eric Stults hit a batter, then gave up consecutive home runs before recording an out in the first inning. But he rebounded from there to pitch the equivalent of six shutout innings, allowing only four more hits, while striking out six. Stults is now holding opposing right-handed hitters to a .220 average (20 for 91), while left-handed hitters are batting .320 (eight for 25) against him.
--RHP Cory Wade faced the minimum over two hitless innings, erasing a leadoff walk in the seventh by getting Jorge Cantu to ground into a double play. He has now walked eight batters in 37 2/3 innings this season, an average of 1.91 per nine innings. But Wade has now walked three in his past 4 2/3 innings (three appearances) after walking only two in his previous 23 1/3 (19 appearances). --2B Jeff Kent went 0-for-3 with a walk and is now hitless in his past 12 at-bats, although he flied to the warning track to end the game at a point when a home run would have tied it. He entered the day having gone three consecutive games without a hit for the first time since May 9-11, and he has now gone four games in a row without a hit. He is two for 21 (.095) over his past six games, dropping his average from .266 to .254.
--OF Matt Kemp went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and has now struck out 101 times in 359 plate appearances, an average of once every 3.6 times he steps into the box. Kemp also batted leadoff for the 11th consecutive game, and he is now batting .255 (12 for 47) in that role, albeit with a home run, two doubles, a triple and six walks. He has now struck out 32 times in his past 90 plate appearances beginning June 20.
--OF Delwyn Young led off the ninth inning with a pinch-hit single, his 12th hit in 33 pinch-hit at-bats this season (.364). Young ranks third in the majors in pinch hits. He is batting just .209 (14 for 67) in all other at-bats.
BY THE NUMBERS: 12 -- Runs scored by the Dodgers in the first innings of their past nine road games, seven of which have been victories. The Dodgers have scored in the first inning of all but one of those nine games, outscoring their hosts 12-5 in the process. The only game in which they didn't score in the first inning was on July 4 at San Francisco, a game in which they otherwise exploded for 10 runs. Overall, the Dodgers are outscoring their opponents 64-45 in the first.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Any way you want to spin it, I'm getting sent down. They can say they didn't have enough room, but they (brought) me up when they didn't have enough room. All those guys were healthy then. ... Pitching-wise, I don't think I did great by any means, but I don't think I did badly, either. I just wasn't good enough to stick around." -- Dodgers rookie LHP Clayton Kershaw, after unexpectedly being optioned to Class AA Jacksonville last week.
