Joe Saunders left after only 1 1/3 innings. AP Photo/Gus Ruelas Oakland A's defeat LA Angels 6-5. Joe Saunders left the game in the second inning. Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar left the game with sore hammies. Outfielder Juan Rivera forced to come into the game at second base. It was one of those games for the Angels yet they managed to make it close. With Joe Saunders pitching with an ailing hand, he......

John Lackey flirts with a complete game shutout. AP Photo/Jeff Lewis LA Angels defeat Oakland A's 5-1. Angel's starter John Lackey pitched a complete game giving up only one run in the ninth on seven total hits while walking no one and striking out five. This is Lackey's third complete game since coming off the disabled list in the middle of May. And how about some run support? The Angels gave Lackey a lovely......

Phillies get the sweep. AP Photo/Tom Mihalek Philadelphia Phillies defeat LA Dodgers 5-0. Figure this one out. The Dodgers outhit the Phillies 13-10 but can't score one stinking run. Really? Is this how a team plays when they're in the heat of a pennant race? Chad Billingsley was not sharp throwing 107 pitches in six innings but gave up only three runs despite the seven hits and three walks he gave up. Phillie's starter......

LA Dodgers defeat Florida Marlins 9-1. Marlins starter Andrew Miller looked absolutely horrible. He went 1 2/3 innings and gave up seven earned runs on five hits and five walks which could have been worse if reliever Mark Hendrickson (remember him?) didn't get the final out in the second inning with the bases loaded. Meanwhile Chad Billingsley went seven innings notching a season-high 13 strike outs while giving up only one run on five hits.......

LA Dodgers defeat Houston Astros 4-1. They did it with pitching, defense, a squeeze play, power and the bullpen. Whodathunkit? Starter Hiroki Kuroda went seven scoreless innings in his first outing since coming off the disabled list, Luis Maza squeezed in a run in the fourth and Andre Ethier hit a solo shot in the fifth. Meanwhile the Dodgers sent start Clayton Kershaw back down to AA Jacksonville to make room for Kuroda. Hopefully......

Houston Astros defeat LA Dodgers 4-1. The Dodgers return to National League play and promptly continue their offensive futility. With Juan Pierre on the disabled list for the first time in his nine-year career, the Dodgers called up Jason Repko from the minors hit lead off. He struck out four times. The rest of the team managed 11 hits but couldn't do anything with those hits. Meanwhile Eric Stults coming off of his complete......

Boston Celtics defeat LA Lakers 108-102. The Lakers just stunk. They trailed by as much as 24 points in the fourth quarter but managed to get within four points in the final seconds of the game. But in the end they could not overcome their horrendous play. Although things looked good for the Lakers in the first quarter, Boston just came right back and were the aggressors. Yet again Boston kept Kobe out of......

LA Dodgers (14-13) defeat Florida Marlins (15-12) 13-1. The Dodgers are an offensive juggernaut on a five-game winning streak. Seriously. Manager Joe Torre made the unprecedented move to use the same lineup two nights in a row, and the Dodgers rewarded him. Rafael Furcal had a career-high five hit game, Russell Martin hit a solo homer in the second inning to lead the scoring and James Loney and Blake DeWitt hit bases-clearing triples in......

LA Angels (17-11) over Oakland A's (17-11) 2-0. While a lot has been said about Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy and Chien-Ming Wang, Joe Saunders (5-0) has been lights out with little fanfare. Saunders pitched an eight-inning shutout giving up four hits and five strikeouts. Francisco Rodriguez notched a league-high 11th save despite walking the lead-off man Mark Ellis and the Big Hurt. Meanwhile for the A's Greg Smith (2-1) pitched a strong complete game......

LA Lakers over Denver Nuggets 107-101. The Nuggets played some D. Well they didn't play D like the Detroit Pistons and they benefited from some very shaky Laker offense. But they played with enough desperation to put a scare in the Lakers. In the end, though, it was to be won by the Lakers who won their first playoff series since the 2004 Western Conference Final against the Minnesota Timberwolves and their first sweep......

In an attempt to shore up holes in their pitching staff, the Dodgers claimed right-hander Esteban Loaiza, 36, off waivers from the Oakland A's today. ...

The Los Angels of Anaheim suffered a bitter defeat yesterday, falling to the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 in a marathon 18 inning game. The loss was the fourth in a row for the struggling Angels, who have seen their AL West lead shrink to 3.5 games over the surging Oakland A's. While LAist still thinks the Angels will wind up winning the West, Bill Stoneman and Mike Scioscia need to be very concerned about......