LAst Night's Action: Dodgers and Angels Continue to Head South

San Francisco Giants defeat LA Dodgers 5-3. As if the depths of this dark season for the Dodgers haven’t been enough, this team passes yet another milemarker of their ineptitude. For the first time since 1969, the Dodgers have lost six in a row to the Giants.

The game started as bleak as the last four games they have lost when Dodgers’ starter Rubby De La Rosa spotted the Giants two runs in the second inning - Brandon Belt in his first game back since being recalled from Triple-A crushed a solo homer to lead off the bottom half of the inning. But like the resurrection of Lazarus, the Dodgers answered with three runs in the third inning. They even had two hits with runners in scoring position, something that has eluded the team all season.

De La Rosa opened the bottom of the fifth inning giving up three singles and the tying run, but it would be Hong-Chih Kuo who gave up the final two runs to drive the stake in this game.

The Dodgers now fall to 14 ½ games behind the Giants and share the cellar with the San Diego Padres who beat the Florida Marlins earlier in the evening. The last time they were this far behind was the final day of the 2003 season when they were 15 ½ games behind the Giants. Mind you, the Dodgers were 85-77 and second place in the division at that time. The 42-55 record they currently possess doesn’t quite buffer the shock.

Not only do the Dodgers have a lunch time special on Wednesday, they are also in bankruptcy court to see if they get the rest of their hedge fund money or if they have to use MLB funds.

Texas Rangers defeat LA Angels 7-0. With Rod Carew and Chuck Finley in tow, the Angels feted original team owner Gene Autry for his posthumous induction into the Hall of Fame. Rangers’ president Nolan Ryan, who threw his first four no-hitters with the Angels in the 1970’s, was unable to attend having gone into a Houston-area hospital on Monday undergoing tests on his heart after experience discomfort.

The Rangers’ bats decided to represent for Ryan, who was released Monday night and is resting at home. Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre hit back-to-back two-out doubles off of Angels’ starter Tyler Chatwood with Hamilton scoring on the latter in the first inning to get the Rangers going right away. The Rangers added a run in the fourth and fifth innings off of Chatwood to get the comfortable 3-0 lead.

Michael Kohn was then rattled when Endy Chavez hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and Hamilton and Beltre each hit solo homers in the ninth.

Alexi Ogando went eight innings pitching a four-hit shutout. But after 116 pitches, the Rangers opted to go to former Angel Darren Oliver to pitch a scoreless ninth. Speaking of former Angels, catcher Mike Napoli in his first return to Angel Stadium, only went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks and two runs scored.

The Rangers now upped their win streak to 12 while the Angels cede their third straight now going five games behind the Rangers.

TONIGHT’S ACTION

LA Dodgers at San Francisco Giants. 12:45 p.m. FS Prime Ticket, AM 790 KABC.

Texas Rangers at LA Angels. 7:05 p.m. FSWest, AM 830 KLAA.

Columbus Crew at LA Galaxy. 7:30 p.m. FS Prime Ticket, AM 1220 KWKW (en español).