FanNation - The Republic of Sport

With less than a month to go before the end of the season, each game takes on more and more meaning. On Sunday at Petco Park, the Dodgers were facing probably their biggest game of the year.  Thanks to young righthander Chad Billingsley, the team won 5-0 and, in the process, picked up a game on the teams ahead of them in both the NL West and the NL wildcard race.

SUNDAY's DIFFERENCE MAKERS

3) Jonathan Broxton-  Broxton usually doesn't enter games with the Dodgers up 5-0, but he did this time under somewhat dire circumstances.  Broxton came in with the bases loaded, with one out and perhaps with the Dodgers and their fans having visions of late-inning disasters of the past at Petco Park. There'd be no disaster on this day, as Broxton struck out Mike Cameron and Adrian Gonzalez to end the threat.

2) The young Dodgers hitters-  Andre Ethier's RBI hit broke a 0-0 tie in the sixth, James Loney had two hits (both doubles) and two RBI, and Matt Kemp went 3 for 5 with two runs scored, one driven in and a stolen base.

1) Billingsley- The righty's 10th win of the year was one of his best.  He threw seven innings of four hit, nine strikeout ball, walking only one Padre batter. The win was his third in a row and he went seven innings for the third straight game as well.

AROUND THE HORN

Rafael Furcal was also a big contributor to the Dodgers' win, going 3 for 4 with a run scored and three stolen bases.  The three steal day was only Furcal's third multi-steal game this year.  He had two against the Padres back on April 15th at Dodger Stadium and two against the Reds in front of the home crowd on May 13th. His last three steal game came against Oakland on the road on June 17, 2006.

In 12 1/3 innings pitched at Petco Park this year, Billingsley had 20 strikeouts.  In his last two starts agsint San Diego, Billingsley has thrown 14 shutout innings, striking out 18 batters.

The win was the Dodgers' third straight win on a Sunday after losing three straight from July 29th through August 12th.

Esteban Loaiza makes his Dodger debut on Monday against the Cubs in Wrigley Field.  The last time Loaiza started at Wrigley was on July 2, 2004 when he and the White Sox lost to Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs by a 6-2 score.  Chicago's Alfonso Soriano is regarded as one of the top offensive threats in the National League, but he's hit like a poor hitting pitcher against Loaiza in the past. In his career, Soriano is 3 for 27 with eight strikeouts against Loaiza.  It has been a different story for Cliff Floyd, who is 9 for 26 with a homer and seven RBI.

Chicago's Monday starter Carlos Zambrano has won 14 games this year, but he really struggled in August going 0-4 with a 7.06 ERA and 38 hits allowed in 29 1/3 innings pitched.  He's only 5-7 with a 4.60 ERA at Wrigley this year.  The good news for Zambrano is that the Dodgers hitters have, with the exception of Luis Gonzalez who is hitting .286 in 14 at bats, struggled against him in the past. Rafael Furcal is hitting .150 in 20 at bats, Juan Pierre has a .217 average in 23 at bats, Mark Sweeney is 0 for 7 and Jeff Kent has a .222 average and 11 strikeouts in 27 at bats.

Cubs' first baseman Derrick Lee is hitting 360 with 13 homers and 43 RBI at Wrigley Field this year.

A matchup to look for in this series is Dodger veteran Luis Gonzalez against 25 save Cubs' closer Ryan Dempster.  Gonzo has 10 hits, including a double and two homers, in his 18 career at bats against Dempster. Dempster has allowed only two homers in 53 at bats this year and when he's allowed them, it has been to the cream of the crop in terms of power hitters.  St. Louis' Albert Pujols homered off of Dempster on April 22nd, and Houston's Carlos Lee homered against him this past Saturday.

DODGER FLASHBACK

On September 3, 1991, the Dodgers played a game of "anything you can do I can do better" with the St. Louis Cardinals.

After the Cards scored three runs against Dodger starter Mike Morgan in the top of the third, the Dodgers bounced back with four of their own in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-3 lead.  The big blow in the inning was Eddie Murray's two run homer.

From the fourth through eighth innings, pitching was dominant as the teams combined for only one hit (an eighth inning single by Ray Lankford).  The Cards finally broke the drought in the ninth when a Jose Oquendo sacrifice fly scored pinch-runner Geronimo Pena with the tying run. But the Dodgers bounced back immediately, as pinch-runner Tom Goodwin scored the winning run on a Todd Zeile error to give the Dodgers an exciting 5-4 win.

The Cards' ninth inning rally cost Dodger starter Mike Morgan a win, but 1991 was still a memorable year for the righty. Morgan went 14-10 on the year and made the all-star team for the first and only time in his 22 year career.