Chad Billingsley continues impressive run by Dodgers pitchers
The Dodgers went into the All-Star break still in search of their identity.
They closed the first half of their season Sunday with a 9-1 victory over the Florida Marlins at Dodger Stadium to move to within a game of first-place Arizona in the National League West, but they remained under .500 at 46-49.
They pounded Andrew Miller for seven runs in the first two innings to prevent a four-game sweep, but the offensive explosion served only as a reminder of what they aren't doing frequently enough.
"We certainly expected our record to be better," Manager Joe Torre said, "but we also didn't expect to be a game out of first place. It's sort of a mixed bag. In the second half, we have to be more consistent."
Salvation for the Dodgers has come in the form of pitching. The Dodgers enter the break with a staff earned-run average of 3.63 that is among the best in baseball. Chad Billingsley struck out a career-high 13 batters over seven innings of one-run ball Sunday, improving his record to 9-8 in the type of performance that has long ceased to be thought of as anything out of the ordinary for a Dodgers starter.
"The pitching staff has risen to the occasion," third base coach Larry Bowa said. "Without them, we'd be 14, 15 games out."
They'd be out of contention, Bowa said, because of the inconsistency of the hitters.
"I don't think it has anything to do with ability," Bowa said. "It has to do with focus."
The Dodgers rank near the bottom in the league in runs, hits, doubles, home runs and runs batted in.
"We've got a lot of things we have to improve on -- driving in runs, scoring runs," outfielder Matt Kemp said.
The young players aren't the only ones being blamed.
Torre spoke on Sunday morning with Andruw Jones, who tied a franchise record with five strikeouts the previous night.
Jones, who was 0 for 3 on Sunday, blamed his struggles on returning too quickly from a minor league rehabilitation assignment in an effort to make up for the injury to Juan Pierre and on working on a new upright batting stance. Jones said that on Saturday night, he made the mistake of expecting to see fastballs and, as a result, lunged forward at what turned out to be breaking pitches.
Bowa conceded that losing No. 1 and No. 2 hitters Rafael Furcal and Pierre to the disabled list "kills us." But he also said that the Dodgers can't count on them to return.
