Clayton Kershaw is Bitten by the Snakes in the Sixth as Dodgers Lose in Arizona

Dodgers 3 13 0

  Diamondbacks 5 6 1

WP- Collmenter (1-2)

LP- Kershaw (6-5)

S- Putz (15)

HR- Kennedy (1)

The Diamondbacks snapped their seven-game losing streak with a win against the Dodgers tonight. Clayton Kershaw pitched great up until he tired out in the sixth, and the D-backs took advantage. Arizona scored 5 runs in the inning which was enough for the eventual win. The Dodgers left a eye-popping 12 runners on base while managing 13 hits. Failed rally after failed rally sunk the Dodgers this game. They even wasted a rare Adam Kennedy homerun.

Tony Gwynn Jr. leads off the tops of the first with a single against Josh Collmenter. Mark Ellis draws a walk. Gwynn tags up and goes to third

on a Bobby Abreu fly ball to center. Juan Rivera pops out in foul territory for the second out. Mark Ellis steals second while Kennedy is at bat, but Kennedy pops out to strand the two runners.

Clayton Kershaw goes to work in the bottom of the first. Aaron Hill gets a line drive single to center with one out. Justin Upton hits into a force out as his bat shatters. Jason Kubel‘s long fly ball is caught by Bobby Abreu right in front of the bullpen for the third out.

In the second, James Loney leads off with a signature groundout. Luis Cruz goes down on strikes after a 10-pitch at bat. A.J. Ellis also whiffs, but he goes down looking. Collmenter has retired six Dodgers in a row.

In the D-backs’ half of the second, Paul Goldschmidt flies out and Chris Young and Ryan Roberts both are struck out.

Tony Gwynn Jr. reaches safely on an error by Willie Bloomquist who sails a throw high with one out in the third. Mark Ellis strikes out on a foul tip. Bobby Blue finds the gap, and Gwynn scores on his long double. 1-0 Dodgers. Rivera makes the last out on a hard groundball to third.

Kershaw has an easy 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third.

The Dodgers add another run in the fourth as Adam Kennedy homers to right field. That’s Adam’s first four-bagger of the season! The Dodgers take a 2-0 lead. James Loney also hits a double in the inning. Cruz strikes out. A.J. walks, and Kershaw lays down a good sacrifice bunt to move the runners over. Gwynn flies out, and the Dodgers strand another two.

Clayton Kershaw allows a one-out walk to Justin Upton in the bottom of the fourth, but Upton is caught stealing by a good throw by A.J. Ellis. Kubel is Kersh’s fifth strikeout victim of the day as the D-backs retreat back to their dugout.

Josh Collmenter settles down after the Kennedy offensive explosion, and he sends the Dodgers down in order in the fifth inning.

Clayton Kershaw continues his dominance over the mediocre D-back lineup in the bottom of the fifth with another easy 1-2-3 inning. Kersh has only allowed one hit and has struck out six snakes.

In the sixth James Loney and A.J. Ellis both single, but Kersh strikes out to end the frame. Loney is now 8 for his last 17. Is he “back?”

The sixth inning would see the unraveling of Clayton Kershaw and the Dodger lead. Henry Blanco walks to lead-off the bottom of the sixth for Arizona. Kersh strikes out Lyle Overbay who is pinch-hitting for Josh Collmenter. Willie Bloomquist singles to right field, and Blanco makes it to third on the play. Kershaw is beginning to tire, and he’s up to 92 pitches. Blanco brings in a run for Arizona on the Aaron Hill single, 2-1 Dodgers. Rick Honeycutt goes out to counsel Kersh on the mound. Donnie should have yanked Kersh at this point, because he already made too many pitches. Justin Upton delivers by tripling down the left field line. The ball rattles around as Bobby Abreu fails to come up with it quickly, and two runs score. The D-backs take a 3-2 lead. Kubel doubles off the wall, and AZ scores another run as Upton comes home. 4-2. Kershaw is done for the night as Jamey Wright comes in to relieve the stunned southpaw. Goldschmidt grounds out. Wright gives up back-to-back walks to Young and Roberts to load up the bases with two outs as this nightmarish innings continues. Another run scores on a wild pitch by Wright, and it’s now 5-2. Finally the third out is made as Bobby Abreu makes a sliding catch on a Blanco fly ball. The damage is done as Arizona hangs a high-five.

Josh Collmenter pitched 6 innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts on 111 pitches.

Clayton Kershaw pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing 5 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts on 104 pitches.

Right-hander Bryan Shaw replaces Collmenter in the seventh. Tony Gwynn Jr. walks to start things out. Mark Ellis singles to center. Abreu singles to load the bases up with nobody out. Rivera comes up with the third consecutive Dodger single in the inning, and he picks up the RBI as Gwynn crosses the plate. The Dodgers now trail by two. Arizona makes another pitching change. Mike Zagurski, a lefty, comes in to pitch to Jerry Hairston Jr. who is hitting for Kennedy. Hairston strikes out looking. James Loney flies into a double play as Jason Kubel mows down Mark Ellis at the plate. That ball was way too shallow to send Ellis home on.

Javy Guerra comes into pitch the bottom of the seventh. It’s his first appearance since being activated from the disabled list after having knee surgery. Aaron Hill gets a two out single off the glove of Luis Cruz at short. Upton pops out, and Javy retires the side on 9 pitches.

Moving on to the eighth as David Hernandez takes the mound. Luis Cruz hits a long double off the wall to lead off. A.J. Ellis follows with a single to left field. While Elian Herrera is busy whiffing at the plate for the first out, a wild pitch on the third strike allows A.J. to move over to second. Gwynn flies out to center. Mark Ellis strikes out as the Dodgers waste yet another rally.

Shawn Tolleson will pitch the bottom of the eighth for the Dodgers. Jason Kubel is hit by a pitch, but Goldschmidt then grounds into a double play. Young flies out.

J. J. Putz will try to finish off the Dodgers in the ninth. Abreu leads off with a single. Juan Rivera hits into a double play, and the Dodgers are down to their last out. JHair manages a two-out single. Loney’s signature grounder ends the game on a fitting note.

The Dodgers are now 47-38 while the D-backs snap their 7-game losing streak and improve to 40-43. The Dodgers lead in the NL West by 1/2 game over San Francisco and 6 games ahead of the D-backs.

Tomorrow night Chad Billingsley and Trevor Cahill will face each other in game three. It will be a 7:10 pm start time. Only two more games before the All-Star break. Can the Dodgers retain their position in first place going into the break? These last two games will decide.