SB Nation Los Angeles - Dodgers Officially Eliminated From Playoffs, Then Lose To Padres 6-0https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48949/la-fave.png2010-09-21T21:51:32-07:00http://losangeles.sbnation.com/rss/stream/14658242010-09-21T21:51:32-07:002010-09-21T21:51:32-07:00Dodgers Shutout 6-0 By Richard, Padres
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jh9Z6YLoOn8RpIDEcry6r_S1VkQ=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828123/large_losangeles.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/32845/Clayton_Richard">Clayton Richard</a> threw the first shutout of his career as he helped the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/teams/san-diego-padres">San Diego Padres</a> take a 6-0 win over the Los Angeles in the opener of a three-game set.</p>
<p>The win helped San Diego keep pace with San Francisco in the chase for the NL West. The Padres remained a half-game back of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/teams/san-francisco-giants">Giants</a>, who took a 1-0 win over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/teams/chicago-cubs">Cubs</a> on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Richard (13-8) scattered eight hits and two walks while striking out six to stop a three-decision slide. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/947/Ryan_Ludwick">Ryan Ludwick</a> drove in four runs in the win.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/924/Chad_Billingsley">Chad Billingsley</a> (11-11) was tagged for five runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts over five innings of work for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/teams/los-angeles-dodgers">Dodgers</a>, who have lost five of six. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/539/Jamey_Carroll">Jamey Carroll</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/33284/A_J_Ellis">A.J. Ellis</a> each had two hits in the loss.</p>
<p>With no score in the third, the Padres jumped ahead. With one out, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/942/David_Eckstein">David Eckstein</a> walked, but was forced out at second on a fielder's choice by <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/34/Miguel_Tejada">Miguel Tejada</a>. After Adrian Gonzalez doubled, Ludwick punched a single to left to score both runners for a 2-0 lead.</p>
<p>San Diego padded its lead in the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Ludwick was hit by a pitch to force home one. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/494/Yorvit_Torrealba">Yorvit Torrealba</a> followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Eckstein before Chase Headley's RBI single made it a 5-0 game.</p>
<p>Los Angeles got leadoff singles in the fifth and sixth, but failed to move the runners to second base.</p>
<p>Richard worked a 1-2-3 eighth and San Diego added a run in the ninth on Ludwick's RBI fielder's choice.</p>
<p>Richard gave up back-to-back one-out singles to <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/91/Casey_Blake">Casey Blake</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/890/James_Loney">James Loney</a> in the ninth, but then induced a double play from <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../../mlb/players/860/Reed_Johnson">Reed Johnson</a> to end the game.</p>
<p>Richard had one career complete game coming into the contest...San Diego has taken nine of the 16 games with Los Angeles this season...Los Angeles went 0- for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven.</p>
https://losangeles.sbnation.com/2010/9/21/1703452/padres-6-dodgers-0-clayton-richard-shutoutEric Stephen2010-09-21T20:36:59-07:002010-09-21T20:36:59-07:00Dodgers Officially Eliminated With Giants Win Over Cubs
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jh9Z6YLoOn8RpIDEcry6r_S1VkQ=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828123/large_losangeles.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>With the Giants’ 1-0 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field tonight, the Dodgers have been officially eliminated from the playoffs.</p>
<p>At 73-77, the best the Dodgers could hope for is 85 wins. The Braves, second place in the NL East, already have 86 wins, so the Wild Card is out. Tonight’s win by San Francisco is their 85th of the season, but the Dodgers are still eliminated thanks to the remaining schedule.</p>
<p>If the Giants lose all their remaining games, the Dodgers could theoretically tie them at 85-77, but the Giants’ final three games are against San Diego, and a Padres’ sweep would give San Diego 86 wins, again more than the Dodgers.</p>
<p>The Dodgers are currently trailing the Padres 5-0 in the sixth inning tonight, so it is likely they would have eliminated themselves anyway.</p>
https://losangeles.sbnation.com/2010/9/21/1703322/dodgers-officially-eliminated-playoffs-giants-cubsEric Stephen2010-09-21T15:51:43-07:002010-09-21T15:51:43-07:00Tonight's Dodgers-Padres Lineups: A.J. Ellis & His Hot Bat Starts
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jh9Z6YLoOn8RpIDEcry6r_S1VkQ=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828123/large_losangeles.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>A.J. Ellis, who had seven hits in eight at-bats against the Rockies over the weekend, gets the start at catcher tonight, as Joe Torre is riding the hot hand.</p>
<p>The Padres got some bad news on Jerry Hairston, who is out for the year with a fractured right tibia, per Corey Brock of <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100921&content_id=14913656&vkey=news_sd&c_id=sd&partnerId=rss_sd&asid=47259978" target="new"><span class="caps">MLB</span>.com</a>.</p>
<p>Here are the lineups:</p>
<p><strong>Padres</strong><br>
Venable CF<br>
Eckstein 2B<br>
Tejada SS<br>
Gonzalez 1B<br>
Ludwick RF<br>
Torrealba C<br>
Headley 3B<br>
Denorfia LF<br>
Richard P</p>
<p><strong>Dodgers</strong><br>
Furcal SS<br>
Carroll 2B<br>
Ethier RF<br>
Kemp CF<br>
Blake 3B<br>
Loney 1B<br>
Johnson LF<br>
Ellis C<br>
Billingsley P</p>
https://losangeles.sbnation.com/2010/9/21/1702865/dodgers-padres-lineups-aj-ellis-jerry-hairstonEric Stephen2010-09-21T08:21:20-07:002010-09-21T08:21:20-07:00Struggling Dodgers Host Struggling Padres
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jh9Z6YLoOn8RpIDEcry6r_S1VkQ=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828123/large_losangeles.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>(Sports Network) - The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/san-diego-padres">San Diego Padres</a> hope to continue their push towards a National League West title this evening when they open a three-game series against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/los-angeles-dodgers">Los Angeles Dodgers</a> at Dodger Stadium.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.gaslampball.com/">Padres</a> have hit the skids of late and enter tonight's opener having lost four of their last five games to fall a half-game back of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/san-francisco-giants">San Francisco Giants</a> in the division.</p>
<p>San Diego slipped out of first place on Sunday, as it fell 4-1 to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/st-louis-cardinals">St. Louis Cardinals</a>, while the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a> beat Milwaukee to reclaim the top spot. The Padres are also two games back of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/atlanta-braves">Atlanta Braves</a> for the wild card.</p>
<p>"We're in a position to continue to make this a great race," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Our guys will all come out ready to play on Tuesday."</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/33206/Will_Venable">Will Venable</a> had two hits in the loss and has hit safely in eight of his last 11 games with an at-bat. Over that stretch, he has six multi-hit games and is hitting .484 (16-for-33).</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/32845/Clayton_Richard">Clayton Richard</a> takes the hill for the Padres tonight attempting to win for the first time in four starts. Richard dropped his third straight decision on Wednesday in Colorado, as he was hammered for eight runs and 11 hits in just three innings, dropping him to 12-8, while raising his earned run average to 3.70.</p>
<p>"They hit balls hard. They hit balls soft. They broke bats for hits. It was their day against Clayton," said Black.</p>
<p>Richard beat the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> the last time he faced them and is 3-0 lifetime against them with a 3.57 ERA in four starts.</p>
<p>Los Angeles, meanwhile, has fallen out of the race, but has had a say in what has transpired atop the NL West over the last week, as it dropped two of three to the Giants, before salvaging the finale of its three-game set with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/teams/colorado-rockies">Rockies</a> on Sunday.</p>
<p>The Dodgers snapped a four-game skid on Sunday when it rallied from five runs down and pulled out a 6-5 win over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a> in 11 innings.</p>
<p>"We showed we had some fight in us," said <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/888/Matt_Kemp">Matt Kemp</a>, who tied the game in the ninth with an RBI double. "We're not worried about spoiling it for anybody. We just want to win games."</p>
<p>Heading to the hill for the Dodgers tonight will be righty <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/924/Chad_Billingsley">Chad Billingsley</a>, who is 11-10 with a 3.55 ERA. Billingsley lost for the third time in four starts on Wednesday in San Francisco, but pitched well, surrendering just a run and six hits in seven innings of a 2-1 loss.</p>
<p>He lost to the Padres the last time he faced them, but is 10-6 in 22 games (18 starts) with a 2.68 ERA.</p>
<p>San Diego has won eight of its 15 meetings with the Dodgers this season.</p>
https://losangeles.sbnation.com/2010/9/21/2321328/struggling-dodgers-host-struggling-padresEric Stephen