FanNation - The Republic of Sport

This blog post is from my new blog at dodgersblog.mlblogs.com

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The Los Angeles Dodgers lost their first game of the Regular Season last night. The San Francisco Giants defeated Los Angeles after a 74-minute rain delay. The Dodgers' record thus far is 2-1, ending their opening series with the Giants.

Seventeen minutes before the first pitch, Joe Torre decided to start Hong-Chih Kuo instead of the scheduled starter, Chad Billingsley. Torre was cautious of the inclement weather evident in Los Angeles, perhaps believing that Billingsley would melt in the rain. When the game finally continued, the Dodgers' manager realized that he had overused their Pitching Staff.

Kuo pitched three shutout innings, striking out three batters. Chad Billingsley, the scheduled starter, came into the game during the fifth inning for one out. However, the Dodgers' hurler gave up a run, sending his Earned-Run Average to an astronomical 27.00.

Joe Torre of the Dodgers said, "I thought I finished with the rain stuff in New York. When you look at it, we gave up two runs in nine innings. You can't ask for anything more than that. We had plenty of opportunities, but came away empty." As a result of the Dodgers' depleted pitching staff, Los Angeles purchased the contract of Chan Ho Park and sent down Angel Chavez.

Chan Ho Park was stellar during Spring Training 2008. The ace posted an Earned-Run Average of 2.41 during the Pre-Season, but did not make the Dodgers' Opening Day Roster. Instead, the Dodgers chose Esteban Loaiza to be the fifth starter in their rotation. Now, the Dodgers have the best of both worlds.

Esteban Loaiza made a rare appearance from the bullpen in last night's game, suffering the loss. Although the pitcher struck out two batters in two and a thirds inning of work, he also surrendered one run on two hits. Thus far, Loaiza has an Earned-Run Average of 3.38 with an 0-1 record in the Regular Season.

The rain was no match for Blake DeWitt, who connected for three spectacular hits - which was half of the Dodgers' total hits in the game. The third-baseman is now batting .566 during the Regular Season. He has made a quicker adjustment to the Major Leagues than expected from a slugger who never even reached AAA.

Los Angeles is not playing a game today, but will travel to San Diego tomorrow to take on the Padres. San Diego and Los Angeles are both tied in first-place in the National League West with 2-1 records. The expected starters are Kuroda for the Dodgers, and Germano for the Padres.
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I would also like to apologize for the lack of updates to my blog within the past couple of days. As a High School student, I am sometimes consumed by my studies. However, I try to post to this blog whenever there is an opportunity. Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation in this matter.