The good news for the Los Angeles Dodgers is that they got to sleep in their own beds on Thursday night, returning home for a weekend series down Interstate 5 to face the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim this weekend. The bad news is that their three games in Oakland were ones to forget.
The Dodgers were swept by the Athletics, and the Dodgers offense was a complete no-show. The Dodgers totaled two runs and eight hits in three games against the A's, just the third time since 1918 they have had eight hits in a three-game span. It was the first time in at least 95 years that the club had three games in a row with three or fewer hits.
Dan Braunstein of ESPN noted that the Dodgers are "the first team since the 1978 Rangers to be held to no more than one run and no more than three hits in three straight games.
It was a bad three days for the Dodgers, to put it mildly.
A's starter Brandon McCarthy pitched seven scoreless innings on Tuesday, and he may have had the worst start of the series for Oakland (by game score, at least). Former USC Trojans pitcher Tom Milone allowed one run in a complete game win on Wednesday, and Travis Blackley, a 29-year old journeyman who hadn't pitched in the big leagues before this year since 2007, allowed just one run in eight innings on Thursday.
Maybe the Dodgers offense can get back on track against the Angels, though the Dodgers are just 15-28 all-time in Anaheim. One thing seems certain:these next three games for the Dodgers can't be any worse than the last three. Right?
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