Dodger Daily: First... For Now

Manny Ramirez is greeted at the plate by teammates after his 5th inning 3 run homer AP Photo/Reed Saxon

First game, it was Andre Ethier providing the beat down. This time it was Manny Ramirez wielding the big bat... and it should could have been worse.

Manny went 2-4 with 5 huge RBIs to lead the Dodgers to a 7-2 pounding of the Arizona Diamondbacks and give the Dodgers sole possession of first place in the NL West. In the third inning, with the bases loaded no less, Manny came up and was quickly sent back down, striking out on 3 pitches. But that was the last time he would leave men on base as he would hit a three-run homer and a two-run double in his next two at-bats.

Dodger starter Chad Billingsley went 6 1/3 strong innings and struck out 9 while only giving up one walk. Meanwhile, Arizona ace Brandon Webb gave up seven earned runs and a career high 6 walks. Webb has dropped 3 straight to the Dodgers and again failed to become the NL's first 20 game winner in 3 years.

The Dodgers are insanely hot with their 7th win in a row after being insanely cold and dropping 8 straight. They hope to continue the hot play today (1:10 pm on PrimeTicket) as they send up the kid, Clayton Kershaw (3-5 4.50 ERA) next against Max Scherzer (0-2 2.65 ERA). Kershaw's last appearance was a win against the Padres.

Dodger Notables

• Manny Being Manny: Ramirez's homer in the 5th was his 521st of his career, tied for 17th all-time with Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Willie McCovey and future HOF'er Frank Thomas. He also now has 1,706 RBIs for his career which puts him 20th on the all-time list.

• It's Been A While: The Dodgers haven't been in first place since April 4th. As recently as a week ago, the Dodgers were 5 games back of Arizona and looked cooked.