Billingsley's Effort was Just What the Doctor Ordered | VaDodger's Blog

Chad Billingsley's complete game, near shutout effort at Minute Maid Park was a welcome sight for the Dodgers and manager Grady Little. With a bullpen that has been worked to near the point of exhaustion since the break, getting a complete game (the first by a Dodger pitcher other than Derek Lowe in 2007) was a great bonus to a night that saw the team score 10 runs, have 17 hits and move two games up on the Padres in the NL West.

YESTERDAY'S DIFFERENCE MAKERS

3) Luis Gonzalez- Gonzo was two for four with three RBI and made several nice running catches in left.

2) Jeff Kent- Kent's four hit game was his fifth such effort as a Dodger. He had two doubles and drove in a pair of runs to pace the Dodger attack.

1) Billingsley- The talented youngster came within one out of posting a rare complete game shutout as he allowed only five hits (Luke Scott's two run homer in the bottom of the ninth plated the Astros' runs) and fanned six.

ODDS AND ENDS

Billingsley's win made him 7-0 on the year. At Dodger Stadium he's 2-0 with a 3.98 ERA, and he's 5-0 with a 2.93 ERA in road games.

Both Gonzalez and Kent seem to enjoy the surroundings at Houston's hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park. In 94 lifetime at bats at the park, Gonzalez is hitting .394 with eight homers and 23 RBI. Kent's 156 games played at Minute Maid have resulted in a .325 average in 576 at bats, with 25 homers and 127 RBI.

Kent and Gonzo weren't the only Dodgers hitters who did well last night. Nomar Garciaparra, fresh off hitting a key two run homer in Sunday's disappointing loss to the Mets, had three hits and a run driven in, Rafael Furcal had two hits and two runs scored and James Loney drilled a three run homer in front of the hometown folks in Texas. Six of Loney's eight career homers have come away from Dodger Stadium.

The bullpen got its rest on Monday and if recent history is a guide, they probably needed it heading into tonight's game. The scheduled Dodger starter tonight, Mark Hendrickson, has not pitched beyond the five inning mark in any of his starts since May 19th against the Angels. Dodgers' fans may want to avert their eyes when Houston's Carlos Lee comes to the plate against Hendrickson. The Panama-native is 3 for 4 lifetime against the Dodger lefty, with all three hits being doubles.

Jason Jennings, Houston's starter tonight, is a familiar opponent of the Dodgers. In his career with the Rockies, Jennings was 6-8 with a 4.16 ERA in 19 starts. He's only 1-6 with a 4.76 ERA so far for the Astros in 2007. Jeff Kent has three homers and a .368 average in 38 at bats against Lawrence, and Rafael Furcal is .407 with a triple and a homer in 27 at bats.

DODGER FLASHBACK

All the fuss over Chad Billingsley's complete game must ring hollow to longtime Dodger fans who remember the days when complete games were more the rule than the exception. A major part of that legacy was created by powerful righty Don Drysdale, who threw one of his 17 complete games in the 1963 season 24 years ago today.

Facing the Pirates at Dodger Stadium, Drysdale allowed only five hits and one run to beat the Pirates by a 5-1 score. Battery mate John Roseboro drove in two runs in support of the Double D, and all five batters at the top of the Dodgers' order (Maury Wills, Junior Gilliam, Wally Moon, Tommy Davis and Ron Fairly) scored a run.

Drysdale threw 167 games in his Hall of Fame career, with a career high of 21 coming in 1964.