LOS ANGELES DODGERS CLIPS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2012
LA Times
Kubel homer downs Dodgers in 11
Diamondbacks defeat Dodgers again and a chance to gain ground in West is missed.
By Dylan Hernandez
September 1, 2012
Matt Kemp was back in center field. The lineup changed. And if Manager Don Mattingly's closed-door meeting the previous night did what was intended, so did feeling in the Dodgers' clubhouse.
But it didn't matter.
The Dodgers lost again to the Arizona Diamondbacks, this time falling, 4-3, in 11 innings.
Jason Kubel, whom the Dodgers wanted but couldn't afford last winter, welcomed back Matt Guerrier to the major leagues by hitting a solo home run off him that decided the game. Guerrier, who had been sidelined with elbow problems, had last pitched on April 18.
The loss was the Dodgers' eighth in a row to the Diamondbacks.
The Dodgers blew an opportunity to make up ground in the National League West standings. The first-place San
Francisco Giants fell to the Chicago Cubs earlier in the day.
But the gap in the standings remained at 4 1/2 games. The Dodgers have 29 games left on their schedule.
"To me, I'm not concerned about the Giants," Mattingly said. "I'm concerned about us."
What Mattingly said was a variation of a cliche commonly thrown around by baseball managers and players. But in this case, he was probably telling the truth. The Dodgers have problems of their own.
The Dodgers couldn't make any acquisitions before 8:59 p.m. on Friday, which marked the deadline to add playoffeligible players. With the Dodgers uncertain of closer Kenley Jansen's status for the remainder of the season, they were looking to add a reliever.
Mattingly changed what he could: the lineup.
Kemp batted cleanup for the first time this year, trading places with Adrian Gonzalez, who moved into the third spot.
Mattingly said he plans to continue batting them in this order.
Mattingly wants Gonzalez and No. 6 hitter Andre Ethier, who both bat left-handed, separated in the lineup.
Early on, the game Friday looked like an extension of the one the night before, which the Dodgers lost, 2-0.
The Dodgers had only one hit off Diamondbacks starter Trevor Cahill in the first four innings.
The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, when Chris Johnson tripled in Miguel Montero.
The lead grew to 3-0 in the fifth inning, when Johnson led off with a double and Aaron Harang served up a run-scoring

single to Cahill, who scored on a double by Aaron Hill.
Faced with the Dodgers' first real scoring opportunity of the night, Mattingly faced a decision: whether to bat for Harang with two on and two outs in the fifth inning.
Mattingly had Nick Punto hit for Harang, and Punto reached on an infield hit to load the bases, setting up a two-run single by Mark Ellis that drew the Dodgers to within 3-2.
The Dodgers tied the score in the sixth inning.
Kemp reached on a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a fly ball to right field by Ramirez. Ethier drove in Kemp on a flare single to left field. Kemp raised his arm as he saw Ethier's hit fall and trotted home, tying the score at 3-3.
Bud Selig isn't feeling blue about Dodgers
Baseball commissioner is happy with the way things turned out after a long, heated battle with Frank McCourt.
By Bill Dwyre
September 1, 2012
The architect of the rebuilt Dodgers' ownership sat back Friday and took a long look at the plans and drawings of the last two years.
Then Bud Selig smiled.
The pain of a fractured franchise was gone. Calcium was filling in, healing underway. The anguish that the longtime commissioner of baseball had felt for the last two years had faded. It was a long process, sending Frank McCourt on his way and eventually welcoming the Guggenheim Group, a.k.a. Magic's Men.
"I watch a lot of games," Selig said. "I'd turn on the Dodgers game and see all those empty seats, all those no-shows. It just made me sad. That's the word. Sad."
Friday was a good day for Selig, on more fronts than just the now-financially viable Dodgers. He had attended a statue unveiling at Miller Park in Milwaukee for his longtime friend and nationally known comedian Bob Uecker. When he was the Milwaukee Brewers owner and president, Selig hired Uecker to be the Brewers' play-by-play announcer. That was
1971, and Uecker is still on the job.
Uecker's statue was added to a cluster that includes Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Selig.
Selig likes to walk past and ask passersby which statue doesn't belong.
Fortunately for the Dodgers, Selig was much more than a statue when the McCourt ownership started to unravel under a pile of debt and the odor of an ugly divorce. When Dodgers fans learned from divorce documents that their ticket and hot dog money had been helping pay for half-a-dozen home mortgages and a lifestyle of the rich and famous, they responded in the most effective way they could. They stayed home.
"This was the Dodgers," Selig said. "It was a franchise with wonderful, historical background. It was great victories, memories, Ebbets Field. Who could have believed it would be them? It had to be fixed.
"I understood what was going on, how powerful this was," he said, referring to the fan reaction. I told myself I had to keep my eye on the ball, go slowly. The process was painful. Time spent was enormous. But I kept coming back to the same thing, and I say this understanding how valuable each major league franchise is.

"This was the Dodgers. Think about that. The Dodgers."
Selig eventually seized team operations, appointing former Texas Rangers executive Tom Schieffer to run the Dodgers.
Then he rejected McCourt's plan to fund his own bailout through a TV deal with Fox that, McCourt said, would have made him whole again and allowed him to retain the team. Selig said no, that would merely provide funds for McCourt to pay off personal bills, not improve the team.
During this time, Selig was taking hits from fans and media for allowing McCourt to buy the team in the first place, back in January 2004. Selig understood that no amount of explaining the pickle he was in would mollify all the fans. The team was owned by Fox, which was not only a business partner of Major League Baseball as rights-holder to All-Star and postseason games, but also wanted out as owner.
"They wanted it sold right away," Selig said.
Other than McCourt, who passed the financial tests applied at that time by Selig and his ownership committee — several groups bid more but were judged to be lacking in other areas — there was nobody else.
"I fully understand the second guessing that caused seven years later," Selig said.
ESPN.com columnist Gene Wojciechowski nicely summed up McCourt ownership when he wrote: "The McCourts had as much business buying an MLB club as Charlie Sheen has buying the Christian Broadcast Network."
We flash forward to present-day Dodgers Blue Heaven.
Wednesday night, at a Times special events program at Dodger Stadium, new president and part-owner Stan Kasten spoke to a gathering of several hundred Dodgers fans. They seemed to enter warily and depart happily. Selig said Kasten is ideally placed and more than capable.
The team is in playoff contention. The new owners have spent like drunken sailors to boost the talent base. Fans are coming back, and not just in drips and drabs. Vin Scully announced he will return next year, which may be worth the
$2.15 billion Guggenheim's Magic (Johnson) Men spent to get this done.
That number, of course, is part of the smile on Selig's face these days. When that happened, the going price of every
MLB franchise jumped. Think of the house next door to your fixer-upper selling for millions.
"The night the judge announced the $2.15 billion, I was stunned," Selig said. "Then I was very happy. At a meeting in July
1998, I told the owners to judge me on their asset value."
Picture the next baseball owners meeting, a big boardroom and 29 very wealthy people falling over each other to pull out the chair for Selig.
As for McCourt still being around, with a slice of Dodger Stadium's parking lot and a vague real estate deal with the
Guggenheim people, Selig refused to comment. Asked if, like the rest of us, he'd prefer McCourt owned fishing boats in
Iceland, Selig refused to comment again.
And why should he? When you win the war, who needs to quibble about the little battles along the way?
Dodgers' Kenley Jansen awaits determination on continuing season
A heart specialist will evaluate Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen to determine if he can stop taking medication that prevents him from playing.
By Dylan Hernandez, Los Angeles Times

September 1, 2012
Closer Kenley Jansen will learn on Tuesday if he will pitch again this season.
That determination will be made by a heart specialist, who will instruct Jansen whether to continue using a bloodthinning medication he is using to treat a heart condition.
If Jansen stops using the medication, he can pitch as early as Sept. 7 in San Francisco. If not, he will not be able to compete for four weeks, which will all but end his season.
Jansen started using the medication after he was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat earlier this week in Denver.
The medication prevents clots and strokes but can also cause severe bleeding. Because Jansen could bleed to death if struck by a baseball, he is prohibited from even sitting in the clubhouse or dugout while taking it.
"It's frustrating," Jansen said. "You see all your teammates working hard and busting their butts every day. You want to be out there helping your teammates win games."
Ronald Belisario and Brandon League will split closing duties in Jansen's absence.
Jansen was sidelined for almost a month last year with a similar heart problem.
He said he felt the latest symptoms while on a trainer's table on Tuesday in Denver. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he spent the night. His heart was shocked back into rhythm the next day.
Jansen will continue throwing, in case he can come back. Jansen threw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Friday and plans to play catch on Saturday.
If the heart specialist tells him he has to shut himself down for the remainder of the season, he will accept it.
"It's my life," Jansen said. "I can't play around with that. What can I do?"
Three more years
Vin Scully isn't the only Dodgers Hall of Fame broadcaster who will be returning next season. So will Jaime Jarrin.
Jarrin, who is completing his 54th season as the team's Spanish-language radio voice, has signed a three-year contract extension that will run through the 2015 season. His tenure with the Dodgers is the second-longest in major league broadcasting history, behind only Scully's, which is at 63 seasons.
"I love what I do," Jarrin said. "This has nothing to do with money. I love doing what I do."
Jarrin, 76, was asked if he could continue broadcasting games in his 80s.
"I don't know," he said. "It depends if I'm still in good health."
Roster expansion
Major league teams can have as many as 40 players on their active rosters starting Saturday, and triple-A catcher Tim
Federowicz will be part of the first wave of players called up, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said.
Javy Guerra is also likely to be called up.
Shortstop Dee Gordon, who is recovering from a thumb operation, will remain with triple-A Albuquerque until the end of its season. The Isotopes end their regular season on Monday but could make the playoffs.

Outfielders Tony Gwynn Jr. and Bobby Abreu are also in triple A and could be called up but would first have to be added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster. Both players were designated for assignment earlier this month.
There's no meeting of offense in Dodgers' 4-3 loss in 11 innings
The Dodgers lost their fifth game in their last six -- and eighth consecutive to the Diamondbacks -- when reliever Matt
Guerrier gave up a solo home run in the 11th.
By Steve Dilbeck
August 31, 2012, 11:09 p.m.
Fresh off that team meeting, Manager Don Mattingly unveiled his new batting order Friday.
Then, for four innings, watched it wallow along, still unable to manufacture any offense. Do they have meetings about meetings?
With Matt Kemp back in the lineup and batting cleanup, the Dodgers went out and managed just six hits in the 11 innings of their 4-3 loss Friday to the Diamondbacks before a Dodger Stadium crowd of 37,622 that kept them 4 1/2 games back of the Giants in the National League West.
The Dodgers lost for the fifth time in their last six game -- and eighth consecutive to the Diamondbacks -- when reliever
Matt Guerrier gave up a solo home run to the first batter he had faced since April 18.
Jason Kubel hit the solo shot inside the right-field foul pole to lead off the 11th. Guerrier, the Dodgers' fifth pitcher, had just come off the disabled list Thursday after missing almost the entire season with elbow tendinitis.
The Dodgers did not exactly look rejuvenated early, that postgame meeting from Thursday seemingly failing to ignite any spark.
The Diamondbacks took the early lead, scoring once in the second inning after Andre Ethier lost Chris Johnson’s fly ball in the stadium lights. The ball landed behind an awkward looking Ethier for a triple, scoring Miguel Montero from first.
It remained a 1-0 game until the Diamondbacks scored two more off Aaron Harang in the fifth. Johnson blooped a double and scored when Arizona right-hander Trevor Cahill bounced a single into center.
Aaron Hill doubled home Cahill with a drive into the right-center gap, and Arizona had a 3-0 lead. The way the Dodgers’ offense has been rolling, that seemed a reasonably intimidating lead.
But the Dodgers finally put together a rally in the bottom of the inning after Luis Cruz singled with two outs. Cahill hit
A.J. Ellis with a pitch and pinch-hitter Nick Punto beat out an infield hit to load the bases.
Mark Ellis finally gave the Dodgers the big hit that had been evading them of late, hitting a sharp bouncer into left to score two.
The Dodgers tied the score in the sixth after Kemp -- whom Mattingly switched in the lineup with Gonzalez to put righthanded hitters Kemp and Hanley Ramirez between left-handed hitters Gonzalez and Ethier -- walked with one out.
Kemp, who had missed two games with various bruises after taking on the Coors Field outfield wall one time too many, stole second and advanced to third on a Ramirez fly. Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson brought in left-hander Brad
Ziegler to pitch to Ethier, who sliced a single into left to score Kemp.

Harang gave up three runs and five hits in his five innings. The Dodgers got two scoreless innings from both Shawn
Tolleson and Ronald Belisario, and one from Brandon League.
The Dodgers turned a season-high four double plays, including a sterling one started by a diving Cruz in the ninth.
Dodgers look at expanding rosters by Saturday
By Steve Dilbeck
August 31, 2012, 6:12 p.m.
Saturday comes that bizarre quirk to the major league season, where rosters can be expanded to include anyone active on the 40-man roster.
Play all season with 25 guys, and the final month comes for the stretch drive, and suddenly it’s a new game with expanded rosters.
Manager Don Mattingly said the Dodgers would call up Tim Federowicz as a third catcher, and likely will bring back reliever Javy Guerra. More would follow later, as minor league teams finish their seasons next week.
That’s operating under the assumption the Dodgers don’t trade for yet another player. For a player to be eligible to participate in the playoffs, he must be on a team’s roster before Friday’s 9 p.m. PDT deadline.
With the Dodgers uncertain over closer Kenley Jansen’s situation until Tuesday, if they are to add anyone, it would likely be a reliever.
“That’s what we’ve talked about,” Mattingly said. “It’s what’s right in front of us.”
Jansen, who is again battling with an irregular heartbeat, threw in a bullpen session Friday before the rest of the team took the field.
“You’re always trying to get better,” Mattingly said. “We don’t know what they’re going to tell us, what’s going to happen Tuesday. On Tuesday they could tell us Kenley is OK to pitch or he can no longer pitch [this season]. If something happens and we’re able to do it, great. If not, we’ll win with what we have.”
Mattingly said shortstop Dee Gordon, on a rehab assignment with triple-A Albuquerque after undergoing thumb surgery, is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list on Monday, but would likely remain with the Isotopes until their season ends. Albuquerque’s regular season ends Monday, but its season will continue in the playoffs should they remain in first place in the Pacific Coast League.
The Dodgers also have outfielders Tony Gwynn and Bobby Abreu down in Albuquerque. Both were waived and are no longer on the 40-man roster, but were told they could be promoted in September.
“We’re still talking about that,” Mattingly said. “There is definitely a possibility.”
The Dodgers would have to either remove players from the current roster, or place them on the 60-day DL, to make room for Gwynn and Abreu. Injuries could open a spot. Scott Elbert, Chad Billingsley and Jansen are all trying to determine if they can return this season.
Matt Kemp returns to the Dodgers' lineup
By Dylan Hernandez
August 31, 2012, 3:30 p.m.

Matt Kemp is back in the Dodgers' lineup.
Kemp missed the last two games after crashing into the center-field wall at Coors Field on Tuesday.
Kemp will bat cleanup on Friday for the first time this season, part of what appears to be an effort by Manager Don
Mattingly to shake up his surprisingly unproductive lineup.
Recently acquired first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will bat third.
In other news, closer Kenley Jansen was seen on Friday playing catch in the Dodger Stadium outfield with bullpen catcher Rob Flippo. Jansen was unavailable for the last three games because of heart problems.
The Dodgers lineup:
Mark Ellis 2B
Shane Victorino LF
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Matt Kemp CF
Hanley Ramirez SS
Andre Ethier RF
Luis Cruz 3B
A.J. Ellis C
Aaron Harang P
Dodgers keep one streak going: Jaime Jarrin to return
By Steve Dilbeck
August 31, 2012, 2:18 p.m.
Vin Scully is not the only beloved Dodgers Hall of Fame announcer planning on returning next season.
The Dodgers announced Friday that Jaime Jarrin would be back for a 55th season next year as the team’s lead Spanishlanguage broadcaster. Jarrin agreed to a three-year contract extension.
Jarrin is the second-longest tenured broadcaster in Major League Baseball, trailing only Scully, who announced Sunday he would return next year for his 64th consecutive season.
A native of Ecuador, Jarrin began broadcasting Dodgers games in 1959, the year the Dodgers won their first World Series in Los Angeles.
“I am honored to extend my career during such a thrilling time in Dodger history and under new ownership that has demonstrated a strong commitment to the Latinos in Los Angeles and in revitalizing the Dodgers throughout Latin
America,” Jarrín said in a statement. “I am confident this leadership can bring a championship back to Los Angeles and I am happy to be a part of it.”
Jarrin is considered a pioneer in Spanish-language sports broadcasting. The Dodgers estimate that nearly 40% of their fan base is Latino.
“We’re committed to the Latino community in Los Angeles and knew that one of the most important things we could do right away was to ensure that Jaime would continue to lead the Spanish-language broadcast,” Dodgers President Stan
Kasten said in a release. “We’re happy to have him here with us and are grateful for his insight and the foundation he laid in this community that we can now build upon.”

ESPN.com
Jason Kubel's 11th-inning HR lifts Diamondbacks over Dodgers
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- After arriving in town on a six-game skid, the Arizona Diamondbacks have gone in the opposite direction. Jason Kubel shrugged off his own struggles to help make it happen.
Kubel homered to lead off the 11th inning, helping the Diamondbacks rally for a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles
Dodgers after blowing a three-run lead on Friday night to earn their eighth consecutive win over their NL West rival.
Arizona has been especially dominant at Dodger Stadium, going 6-1 this season.
Kubel was 1 for 24 before he sent a 1-1 pitch from Matt Guerrier (0-1) into the lower right field seats for his 27th homer.
"Even better, August is over," said Kubel, who was hitting .048 in his previous eight games. "For a while I was chasing everything and I stopped doing that. Hopefully this one can give me a little more confidence going forward."
Guerrier was making his first appearance since April 18, having come off the disabled list on Thursday.
Brad Bergesen (1-0) pitched two hitless innings for the victory.
"We knew we needed to get in here and turn it around," he said. "Just trying to relax as much as possible in that situation and rely on Miggy (Miguel Montero) as much as possible. You don't want to let yourself get too rushed."
J.J. Putz got three outs for his 28th save in 31 chances, striking out Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, and retiring A.J. Ellis on a fly ball with runners at the corners to end it as the Diamondbacks won their sixth in a row on the road. They had won the series opener 2-0 on Thursday night to snap that six-game overall skid.
"We got to beat somebody. Hope we can make it nine," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "We've had good pitching and played good defensive baseball. We're trying to get as close as we can and we're looking to get on a streak late in the season."
The Dodgers' losing streak against Arizona ties their longest since dropping eight in a row against the D-backs from July
2-Sept. 29, 2005. They lost for the fifth time in six games to remain 4 1/2 games behind San Francisco in the NL West race.
"We still have a chance to control our own destiny if we can play really well down the stretch," manager Don Mattingly said. "You don't have to look back very far to see what can happen in the last month of a season if you remember what happened to Atlanta last season and the Cardinals and Boston. So this thing's far from over, but we need to get on that run."
The Dodgers rallied to tie the game 3-3 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth on Mark Ellis' two-run single and Andre
Ethier's RBI single over the head of shortstop Jake Elmore that scored Matt Kemp, who walked and stole second.
Arizona got two runs in the top of the fifth on an RBI single up the middle by pitcher Trevor Cahill -- the second run of his career -- and an RBI double by Aaron Hill with two outs.
Chris Johnson's triple led to the Diamondbacks' first run in the second after right fielder Ethier lost the ball in the twilight. It fell behind him and he fell down scrambling to recover as Miguel Montero scored.
Cahill gave up three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, struck out four and walked two. Los Angeles starter Aaron
Harang allowed three runs and five hits in five innings, struck out three and walked two.

Game notes
The Dodgers turned a season-high four double plays. ... Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen threw a 25-pitch bullpen session and plans to play catch Saturday. The right-hander has been out since Tuesday, when he experienced an irregular heartbeat similar to what happened to him last season. He is on blood thinners until at least Monday, and will find out more when he meets with doctors on Tuesday. If they give Jansen the go-ahead to pitch again, he would return to his closer's role immediately. ... With Kemp back in the lineup, manager Don Mattingly flip-flopped Kemp and Adrian
Gonzalez in the third and fourth spots, putting Kemp in the cleanup spot for the first time this season. ... The
Diamondbacks claimed INF Cody Ransom off waivers from Milwaukee. He is scheduled to join the team Saturday when
MLB rosters expand. He began the season in the organization and played 17 games before being designated for assignment on May 21. He played 64 games for the Brewers. ... Jaime Jarrin, who does the Dodgers' Spanish-language radio broadcast, will return for his 55th season in 2013 as part of a three-year contract. He holds the second-longest tenure in MLB broadcasting history behind his Dodgers colleague and fellow Hall of Famer Vin Scully.
'If we can't put wins together, it's not going to matter'
By Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com
LOS ANGELES -- It's always quiet in major league clubhouses after losses. Managers, coaches and team leaders don't want to hear a lot of laughter or idle chit-chat.
On Friday night, it didn't look as if anybody in the Dodgers' clubhouse had much to say anyway. The quiet in the room had an ominous, strained quality to it, as if the frustration of the team was beginning to smother sounds before they formed.
It was a bit of a contrast from the night before when manager Don Mattingly called a team meeting and got a few things off his chest.
You could faintly hear the fireworks beginning to erupt above ground Friday. The rest was a dull silence.
The Dodgers know what's happening. A pennant race is taking shape with them just holding on for dear life. The
Dodgers came back from a 3-0 deficit Friday but stalled again and lost 4-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 11 innings.
This thing keeps get dangled in front of their faces, and they lunge and come up with fistfuls of air.
Everybody the Dodgers are chasing lost Friday night, and they couldn't gain an inch. If that doesn't get to you, you don't care.
"If we can't put wins together, it's not really going to matter," Mattingly said. "We're going to have to put wins together and take care of our own business. That's pretty much where we're at.
"This thing's far from over. That being said, we talk about it all the time. We need to get on that run. There are a lot of teams thinking they can be that team, so we've got to do that and be that team."
With more than a month's worth of baseball left to play -- and with last season's examples of late-September collapses fresh on everyone's minds -- it's way too early to make any sweeping declarations about the Dodgers' chances. All they really need is to gain a little momentum, and they could easily steamroll past the teams they need to pass.
A 4 1/2-game deficit in the division isn't overwhelming when they play the San Francisco Giants six times. A 1 1/2-game deficit before September is hardly worth mentioning.
There's still plenty of time left for some magic. There's not a lot of time left for these awkward silences.

3 up, 3 down: D-backs 4, Dodgers 3 (11)
By Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com
LOS ANGELES -- At some point, the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to run out of opportunities this plump and ripe for the picking.
They lost for the 10th time in 15 games -- this time 4-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 11 innings Friday night -- and the door closed another inch. Every team ahead of the Dodgers in either the division or wild-card standings lost Friday.
They remain 4 1/2 games behind the San Francisco Giants and 1 1/2 out in the wild-card race, a jumble of four teams.
Jason Kubel hit the decisive home run off Dodgers reliever Matt Guerrier, and the game ended with Dodgers at first and third when catcher A.J. Ellis popped out to left.
The Good:
Mis-matchup. Andre Ethier was batting .216 against lefties, so it's not surprising Kirk Gibson brought in reliever Mike
Zagurski to face him with a runner at third and two outs in the sixth inning. Ethier didn't exactly crush the ball, but he made good enough contact to bloop it over lunging shortstop Jake Elmore to tie the score at 3. It was a redemptive moment for Ethier, who had lost a ball in the twilight in the second inning to let Arizona's first run score.
Bouncing back. You can learn more about a reliever off a bad outing than a good one. Shawn Tolleson probably will have sleepless hours thinking about his previous outing at Coors Field -- four runs allowed without recording an out -- for weeks. But at an important moment for the Dodgers, the young reliever flipped the script. Tolleson pitched two scoreless innings Friday, allowing the Dodgers to build a rally off Trevor Cahill.
Doubling up. The Dodgers, frankly, were more than a bit lucky. Arizona hit plenty of balls hard in key situations that landed in the Dodgers' gloves, and four of them turned into crucial double plays. It was a season high in double plays for the Dodgers. Luck is a big part of them, but the players still have to turn them. Luis Cruz made a diving stop on Chris
Johnson's hard shot in the ninth inning, threw to second from his knees and started a key double play.
The Bad:
Softening up. Adrian Gonzalez's Dodgers career started with a loud noise -- his three-run home run in his first at-bat. It's the at-bats since then that have been strangely quiet. Gonzalez is 5-for-28 (.179) with just three RBIs since that swing.
It's a small sample size, but then again, so is the amount of time the Dodgers have with Gonzalez in their lineup this year.
Power shortage. Matt Kemp looked a little frustrated striking out in the eighth inning, when he slammed his bat to the turf. It's not so much that he has been struggling -- when he's healthy -- but he hasn't been driving the ball consistently.
Kemp is batting .271 since Aug. 8, but since then, he has struck out 19 times, hasn't homered and has 10 RBIs in 19 games. The Dodgers need Kemp on the field, but they also need him a bit more productive.
Nothing in reserve. Has there ever been a team with a less impressive bench? Don Mattingly had Juan Uribe (.186), Matt
Treanor (.176), Nick Punto (2-for-13 as a pinch hitter), Juan Rivera (.240) and Adam Kennedy (one home run) at his disposal Friday night. The Dodgers looked long and hard at pitchers before Friday night's waiver deadline -- an attempt that proved unsuccessful -- but maybe they should have been trying to sniff out some bench help.
Word coming soon on Kenley Jansen
By Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers will know Tuesday whether closer Kenley Jansen will be back in a week or lost for the season.
Jansen was hospitalized in Denver earlier this week after a recurrence of an irregular heartbeat caused by a condition known as atrial fibrillation. Cardiologists will decide Tuesday whether Jansen can come off the blood-thinning medication he currently is taking -- in which case he could return to pitching as quickly as next weekend -- or whether he will need to remain on it and be shut it down for the remainder of this season.
“They don’t play around with that stuff,” Jansen said. “Whatever decision they make, I’ve got to take it and, hopefully, my health will get better.”
Jansen had yet to take the field Tuesday in Colorado when he began experiencing a fast, irregular heartbeat. When he was first diagnosed with the condition last season, he says he cut down on fatty foods and on his consumption of caffeine, sugar and alcohol.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia. If treated properly, often with medication, patients with it can live normal lives with a typical life expectancy. Jansen said doctors have discussed the possibility of performing a procedure known as an ablation, in which the heart tissue that produces the irregular beat is destroyed arthroscopically.
If Jansen (2.54 ERA, 25 saves) pitches again this year, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said he would resume his closer duties right away. In the interim, the Dodgers are going with Brandon League and Ronald Belisario for the ninth inning.
“At that point, for me, yeah, Kenley won’t go anywhere,” Mattingly said.
Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, who missed three games after a collision with the outfield wall in Colorado, returned to the lineup Friday.
Arizona
Chris Young CF
Aaron Hill 2B
Jason Kubel LF
Paul Goldschmidt 1B
Justin Upton RF
Miguel Montero C
Chris Johnson 3B
Jake Elmore SS
Trevor Cahill P
Dodgers
Mark Ellis 2B
Shane Victorino LF
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Matt Kemp CF
Hanley Ramirez SS
Andre Ethier RF
Luis Cruz 3B
A.J. Ellis C
Aaron Harang
Jaime Jarrin signs a three-year extension
By Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com

LOS ANGELES -- Less than a week after the Dodgers announced that legendary broadcaster Vin Scully would return for a
64 th season, another Hall of Famer says he’ll be back in the booth in 2013.
Jaime Jarrin, the Spanish voice of the Dodgers for 54 years, said Friday he’ll be back next season as part of a three-year contract extension.
“I am honored to extend my career during such a thrilling time in Dodger history and under new ownership that has demonstrated a strong commitment to Latinos in Los Angeles and in revitalizing the Dodgers throughout Latin America,”
Jarrin said in a statement.
Scully and Jarrin, known for his home run call, “Se va, se va, se va! Y despidale con un beso!,” or “Going, going, going!
And kiss it goodbye!” are the two longest-tenured broadcasters in baseball.
A native of Ecuador, Jarrin, 77, started in 1955, the same year Dodger great Sandy Koufax made his major-league debut.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. He has called three perfect games, 15 no-hitters, 26 World Series and 21
All-Star games.
Dodgers.com
Rally spoiled as Dodgers miss chance to gain
Pressed into action in depleted 'pen, Guerrier allows homer in 11th
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
LOS ANGELES -- Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars adding players lately, the Dodgers lost a game Friday night because they were short-handed.
Rolling the dice by not replacing ailing closer Kenley Jansen, the calculated gamble backfired when a five-inning start by
Aaron Harang and an extra-inning game led manager Don Mattingly to throw Matt Guerrier -- who hadn't pitched in a
Major League game in four months because of a serious elbow injury -- into the fire, ready or not.
Former teammate Jason Kubel lined Guerrier's third pitch over the fence for a 4-3 D-backs win, after the Dodgers had rallied from a three-run deficit to tie the game and received five scoreless innings of relief from Shawn Tolleson, Ronald
Belisario and Brandon League.
"Probably not the way we wanted to put him in a game," Mattingly conceded. "For the first time his stuff was actually really good. In that kind of game, he's on the roster and we had to use him when we had to use him."
That's part of the story. But the Dodgers were playing for the fourth consecutive game without Jansen, management trying to get to Saturday when rosters expand and reinforcements can arrive. They held off putting Jansen on the disabled list because on Tuesday he might be cleared to pitch by next Friday. Or he might be ruled out for the rest of the season because of a recurrence of an irregular heartbeat.
Jamey Wright, whose primary role would be to pitch extra innings as the long man, threw two innings in relief of Clayton
Kershaw on Thursday night. Mattingly said there had been no talk of disabling Jansen because the Dodgers are hopeful of getting him back for the stretch run.
"If not," said Mattingly, "this is what we're playing with and the way it is."

Guerrier, who last pitched in a big league game on April 18, and Kubel played together in Minnesota. Kubel, who has 27 homers, came into the game 1-for-28.
"I just didn't get it in enough," said Guerrier, who made five Minor League rehab appearances before his Thursday activation. "I know him well. I played with him. That is what he likes to do. I felt great. It's good to be back out there and it's unfortunate it ended the way it did."
The Dodgers were losing for the fifth time in six games and for the eighth consecutive time to Arizona.
"Well, we've got to beat somebody," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "Is that eight in a row? I hope we can make it nine. They're a very good team. We've had good pitching and we've played good defensive baseball and kept it close and scratched these two wins out."
The Dodgers, meanwhile, wasted a three-run comeback, four double plays by the defense and a chance to pick up a game on the Giants, who also lost and still lead by 4 1/2 games in the National League West.
"If we can't put together wins and take care of our business, it's not going to matter what other teams do," said
Mattingly, who held a team meeting after Thursday night's game and another meeting before Friday night's game with general manager Ned Colletti and the eight players acquired in the last six weeks.
"We still have a chance to control our destiny if we play really well down the stretch. We did a lot of good things in this game, but at this point in the year there are no moral victories. Each loss is a stinger."
Matt Kemp returned to the lineup, having missed two games after losing a collision with the Coors Field center-field fence. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a walk, his bruised left knee improved enough to steal a base and score a run, but the stiff left shoulder looking less than sound on some swings.
Unlike the shutout loss of the previous night, the Dodgers had a pair of clutch hits, Mark Ellis' two-run, two-out single in the fifth inning and Andre Ethier's two-out tying single in the sixth. Luis Cruz was a star again with a pair of hits and a diving stop that began a crucial double play in the ninth.
Harang was unlucky to fall behind in the second inning. After Miguel Montero's two-out single, Harang got Chris Johnson to lift a routine fly to right field, but Ethier lost the ball in the dusk sky. Ethier caught sight of the ball late and made a backward lunge but came up empty as Montero scored on Johnson's triple.
Shane Victorino, one of the newer Dodgers who came over with the World Series ring, winced when asked if it was time for the Dodgers to panic.
"I hate to use the word panic or pressure. It's more a sense of urgency," Victorino said. "We came from behind tonight, gave ourselves chances to win. Is it frustrating with the offense we have? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, if we've given our best effort that's all we can ask.
"There's enough pressure with this trade and we're all in the microscope. You can say that we've become a team everybody puts on a pedestal and when we don't score and don't win, do you say we're pressing? We're panicking? I'd say we're not. We're all professionals and we just have to stay focused and take it one game at a time."

Spanish voice Jarrin returning to Dodgers' booth
Three-year deal to keep radio broadcaster in LA through 2015 season
By Alex Angert / MLB.com
LOS ANGELES -- The words have been heard throughout Los Angeles and all of Latin America for five decades: "Se va, se va, y se fue ... despidala con un beso!"
Unlike the countless home run balls he has called over the past 54 seasons, Dodgers fans will not have to say goodbye anytime soon to Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrin.
Less than a week after Vin Scully revealed he will return for another year, Jarrin, the Spanish-language radio voice of the
Dodgers, announced he agreed to a three-year contract that will keep him in the booth next year for a 55th season and through 2015.
Jarrin, 76, will broadcast the majority of the team's 162 regular-season games, eight Spring Training games and any potential postseason games. He is the second-longest tenured personality in Major League broadcasting history, behind only his longtime colleague Scully.
"I had to get the OK from my wife first," Jarrin said. "She has been the champion of everything."
A native of Ecuador, Jarrin began his professional broadcasting career in 1959 with the Dodgers.
He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 as the Ford C. Frick Award winner and he was just the second-ever Spanish-language announcer to be inducted. He has called three perfect games, 15 no-hitters and 26 World
Series and 21 All-Star Games.
"We're committed to the Latino community in Los Angeles and knew that one of the most important things we could do right away was to ensure that Jaime would continue to lead the Spanish-language broadcast," Dodgers president and
CEO Stan Kasten said. "We're happy to have him here with us and are grateful for his insight and the foundation he laid in this community that we can now build upon."
With the Dodgers' future looking bright and a love for what he does, Jarrin didn't want to hang it up just yet.
New to Twitter, Jarrin said he has enjoyed the ways he can now connect with fans all over the country.
"Now I can see how important baseball is to our listeners," said Jarrin, who added that fans throughout all of Latin
America have reached out to him. "From all over the world, I didn't know that before."
Jarrin said Scully's announcement to return for at least one more year was a big reason he wanted to come back, as well.
"I will never catch him, never, never, never because he can still keep going and he is way, way ahead of me," Jarrin said with a laugh.
Beckett faces D-backs in first home start since deal
By Chelsea Janes / MLB.com

Whatever isn't working for the Dodgers needs to start working pretty soon: After a tough 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Dbacks on Friday night, the recently restocked Los Angeles squad is the odd man out in the National League West and
Wild Card races as the calendar turns to September.
"You lose game 70 and you know you have a lot of baseball. You have 90 games left. When you are down to 31 games, it is a little different feel," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "I talked about it when we were in Miami, there is an
NCAA Tournament feel. You can't take losses. You can't give away games. There is just an urgency you have to be prepared for."
So far, the Dodgers haven't responded well to the increasing sense of urgency, as they have just two wins since the Aug.
25 deal that brought Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford to Chavez Ravine. The D-backs have been a particularly frustrating thorn in the Dodgers' side: Friday night's loss was L.A.'s eighth straight to Arizona.
But intrigue abounds as September arrives and the Dodgers will turn to Beckett to shed memories of recent struggles, hold down the D-Backs and help L.A. open the final month of the season with the momentum they'll need to elbow its way back into the playoff picture.
The righty's Dodgers debut was unremarkable, as he gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings at Coors Field. Saturday will mark his first home start since the trade and his third career outing at Dodger Stadium. Beckett is 1-4 with a 4.91 ERA in six outings against Arizona.
The D-backs' Friday night victory brought them within just four games of the Dodgers for second place in the NL West and in the Wild Card standings, and the league's youngest starting rotation will turn to its youngest -- 21-year-old Tyler
Skaggs -- to keep that momentum going Saturday.
Skaggs will be making just his third Major League start -- and first on the road -- though it seems he'll be making plenty more in September after Arizona traded lefty starter Joe Saunders to Baltimore last week, allowing Skaggs to slide into the rotation.
Skaggs was done in by a Bronson Arroyo home run in his last outing against the Reds but has given up just four earned runs in those two starts, good for a 1-1 record and 2.92 ERA.
D-backs: Bloomquist to return despite lingering soreness
The D-backs plan to activate infielder Willie Bloomquist on Saturday, when rosters expand. Bloomquist has been on the
DL since Aug. 11 with a strained lower back and experienced soreness while on rehab assignment in the Arizona Rookie
League.
According to the veteran infielder, tests earlier this month revealed a minimal cartilage tear in the back, something that requires rest to heal, though with his team in the heat of a playoff push, Bloomquist doesn't plan on giving it that rest right now.
"Some games it feels good, some games it stiffens up on me," Bloomquist said. "Some days it feels good, some days it doesn't."

Dodgers: Jansen's status uncertain
Closer Kenley Jansen spent Tuesday night in a Colorado hospital after calling for paramedics before Tuesday's game with the Rockies after feeling an irregular heartbeat.
That's an issue that has plagued Jansen before, as he spent a month on the disabled list in 2011 with a similar issue. He is on blood thinners an will meet with doctors on Tuesday to determine whether he can return as soon as Sept. 7.
Worth noting
• D-backs rookie pitchers have the most wins of any rookie pitching corps in the NL with 21.
• D-backs closer J.J. Putz worked in and out of trouble in the bottom of the 11th to hold the Dodgers off the board and convert his 19th straight save opportunity. Putz has turned in 24 straight scoreless outings and 23 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, the second-longest such streak in club history.
Dodgers to get word Tuesday on Jansen's status
By Ken Gurnick and Alex Angert / MLB.com
LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen said he could be back pitching Sept. 7 at the earliest or out four weeks and the rest of the season depending on how a meeting with doctors goes on Tuesday.
Jansen, who is on blood thinners until at least Monday, threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Friday, and he plans to play catch Saturday.
While being stretched out before last Tuesday's game, Jansen said he felt a similar irregular heartbeat to what happened last year and he immediately called for the paramedics. After an overnight stay in a Colorado hospital Tuesday, Jansen was released during Wednesday's game and he had tests again Thursday.
Having spent a month on the disabled list last year with an irregular heartbeat, Jansen said this most recent episode wasn't scary like the first time it happened. Although he said it is frustrating, he is willing to accept any prognosis from the doctors.
"It's my life, I can't play around with that," he said, adding he feels fine. "It's going to be frustrating because I really want to help this organization and help my teammates. But what can I do? This is stuff you can't control. It's just nature."
Jansen said the possibility of surgery is out there for down the road, but he's awaiting word from the doctors before rushing to any judgment. He drastically changed his diet after going through similar problems last year, and he cut out caffeine, soda and alcohol completely.
"You really want to be out there to help your teammates because we all know what we want to accomplish and what we want to do for this city," Jansen said. "It's frustrating. Hopefully my health gets better and I have a long career."
If the news comes back positive from Tuesday's appointment and he is able to come back at the end of the week, manager Don Mattingly plans to reinsert Jansen back into the closer role immediately. Until then, he said he will play matchups and go with either Brandon League or Ronald Belisario.

Colletti, Mattingly meet with Dodgers newcomers
LOS ANGELES -- General manager Ned Colletti and manager Don Mattingly held a unique meeting with the eight newly acquired Dodgers Friday as the club struggles with the integration of its radical makeover.
Hanley Ramirez, Randy Choate, Brandon League, Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Nick
Punto squeezed into Mattingly's office in a follow-up to the full team meeting Mattingly held after Thursday night's 2-0 loss to the D-backs.
Mattingly declined to discuss details of the Friday meeting with the new players other than to emphasize that nobody had done anything wrong.
But earlier he discussed the challenges of turning over one-third of the roster during a pennant race and the urgency to get the Dodgers playing as a team with 30 games remaining.
"We've got eight new guys that haven't been through Spring Training or the fight to this point," Mattingly said. "Just making sure everybody's on the same page as everybody else."
Although the Dodgers could use another reliever with the uncertain health of closer Kenley Jansen, no deal appeared imminent approaching Friday night's 8:59 p.m. PT waiver deadline to add players who would be eligible for the postseason.
Mattingly said that when rosters expand Saturday, the Dodgers will likely promote Tim Federowicz from Triple-A
Albuquerque to be a third catcher and Javy Guerra for bullpen depth.
Disabled shortstop Dee Gordon is eligible to return from his rehab assignment Monday, although Mattingly said earlier this week that Gordon won't start when he returns, with Ramirez now at short and Luis Cruz excelling at third base.
When Albuquerque's postseason play is done, the pool of players that might get callups includes Bobby Abreu, Tony
Gwynn, Stephen Fife, Josh Wall, John Ely, Elian Herrera, Alex Castellanos and Scott Van Slyke.
Kemp returns, bats cleanup for first time this year
LOS ANGELES -- After two days out following his collision with the Coors Field wall on Tuesday, Matt Kemp was back in the Dodgers' lineup for Friday night's game and batting cleanup for the first time this season.
Manager Don Mattingly said Kemp felt fine hitting in the cage and he would start unless his shoulder tightened up before first pitch.
With the slugger back in the lineup, Mattingly opted to flip Kemp and newly acquired Adrian Gonzalez in the third and fourth spots. After a breather on Thursday, second baseman Mark Ellis was back leading off with Shane Victorino behind him. Gonzalez and Kemp were followed by Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier.
Mattingly said he made the change to further separate Gonzalez and Ethier, both lefties, and create matchup problems out of the bullpen for opposing managers. He said both Kemp and Gonzalez were fine with the switch.

Worth noting
• Left-hander Ted Lilly, dealing with back pain, said he is feeling pretty close to getting back to 100 percent and he would like to be able to throw off the mound Saturday. He is still hopeful he can throw out of the bullpen in September.
Daily News
BASEBALL: Kemp back in lineup, but Dodgers' skid continues against Diamondbacks
By J.P. Hoornstra, Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES - Matt Kemp was smiling Friday because he was in the starting lineup for the first time in three days.
Understandable.
What the Dodgers' center fielder might not have understood in the moment was how contradictory that smile looked as he issued a tenuous declaration of health.
"It's as good as it's going to get," he said of his left knee, which along with his face and his left shoulder got the worst of a collision with the Coors Field wall Tuesday.
Kemp played through the pain, using his hustle to score the game-tying run in the sixth inning, before the Dodgers fell 4-
3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 11th inning in front of an announced crowd of 37,622 at Dodger Stadium.
Jason Kubel hit a solo home run inside the right-field foul pole off Dodgers reliever Matt Guerrier for the game-winning run. Kubel was the first major-league batter Guerrier had faced since April 18; the right-hander missed the previous 119 games with tendinitis in his right elbow and was activated from the disabled list Thursday.
The loss was the Dodgers' fifth in their last six games and kept them 4 1/2 games behind the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West. The Giants lost earlier Friday to the Cubs.
Kemp went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in his return to the lineup, but it was his sixth-inning walk that extended the
Dodgers' chances for victory. He stole second base easily when catcher Miguel Montero's throw bounced off the pitcher's mound. Kemp tagged up and went to third on a fly ball to right field by Ramirez, then scored on a single by
Andre Ethier off left-handed reliever Mike Zagurski.
It was a reminder how, even on an off-night at the plate, the Dodgers' best player could change a game.
For all the setbacks that have surrounded the team lately - and there was another meeting to address those Friday - getting their best player to be their best player may be key to the Dodgers' hope for making the playoffs.
Closer Kenley Jansen could be lost for the season because of a cardiac arrhythmia. Chad Billingsley's elbow may prevent him from pitching again this year, too. The Dodgers ought to have answers to both of those question marks next week.
In the meantime, manager Don Mattingly wanted to make sure the eight newest Dodgers understood the urgent situation the team faces with 30 games left on the schedule. So he summoned all of the mid-season pickups - Adrian
Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, Josh Beckett, Brandon League, Randy Choate and Nick Punto - into the manager's office.
DODGERS NOTEBOOK: Jansen will learn his future Tuesday
By J.P. Hoornstra Staff Writer

Kenley Jansen will learn Tuesday whether he will be able to help the Dodgers in their quest for a playoff spot.
The 24-year-old closer, who was hospitalized Tuesday in Denver after an acute case of cardiac arrhythmia, is taking prescription blood thinners. If he is able to come off the medication Monday, Jansen said he will be able to pitch as soon as Sept. 7 in San Francisco. If not, he will have to take the medication another four weeks, which projects to Sept. 28.
The regular season ends Oct. 3.
"It's my life," he said. "I can't play around with that."
Jansen said he felt "fine" Friday after throwing 25 pitches in a bullpen session and participating in a "totally normal" workout.
But he did not take the field during batting practice and watched the game against the Diamondbacks from inside the
Dodgers' clubhouse to avoid the possible consequences of being hit by a baseball.
(Blood-thinning medication makes it more difficult for wounds to clot, so with any open wound Jansen runs the risk of losing a significant amount of blood.)
The incident seems to have left Jansen with a mix of optimism and frustration. There's a chance he might come back and that his problem is treatable.
"It's a common thing in the United States so they can find a way to stop it for good," he said.
Yet Jansen also felt he did enough to prevent the problem on his own.
The pitcher believes he may have inherited the condition rather than caused it by his own inaction, meaning it could be difficult to prevent a recurrence.
"I did everything I can," Jansen said. "Last year when it happened (in July 2011) I cut down a lot of bad food, drinking caffeine, drinking soda, drinking alcohol."
Jansen said that surgery is "a possibility" if he continues to experience the arrhythmia.
Even though Jansen hasn't pitched since Monday, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that the right-hander would go back into the closer's role if he is able to return next Friday. The Dodgers have other options in the meantime, including
Ronald Belisario and Brandon League.
"It's frustrating," Jansen said. "I see all my teammates working hard ... It just breaks you down at some point because you want to be out there.
"The doctor's got to decide what's best for me and my health first."
Guerra, Federowicz coming
Rosters expand around Major League Baseball today to include all players on the 40-man roster. The Dodgers are expected to bring two players up from Triple-A Albuquerque: catcher Tim Federowicz and pitcher Javy Guerra.
Federowicz is hitting .296 with 11 home runs and 76 RBIs in 114 Triple-A games this season. The 25-year-old appeared made his major-league debut last season with the Dodgers, going 2 for 13.
Guerra had a pair of scoreless two-inning stints Aug. 22 and 25, then allowed four runs while recording only one out last
Wednesday in Oklahoma City. His Triple-A ERA is an unsightly 8.31.

Mattingly said that more players could be added later on. One possibility is Dee Gordon, who was transferred to the 60day disabled list on Thursday and therefore can't be activated until Monday at the earliest.
Gordon is batting just .133 (2 for 15) in Albuquerque as he recovers from surgery on his right thumb, however, and might be held back.
"He really hasn't swung the bat well yet, so we're going to let him play as long as we can," Mattingly said.
The Pacific Coast League regular season ends Monday. The Isotopes are in first place, one game ahead of the Oklahoma
City Redhawks, but have yet to clinch a playoff berth. Assuming they clinch, they would advance to a best-of-five firstround series, and Gordon could keep playing there.
Also ...
Left-handed pitcher Onelki Garcia, the Dodgers' third-round draft pick in June, will be assigned to Single-A Rancho
Cucamonga to make his long-awaited 2012 debut. Garcia, who defected from Cuba in 2010, did not receive his U.S. work visa until recently and has been working out in Arizona since. The Quakes have three games left in the regular season, all in Bakersfield. … Albuquerque Isotopes manager Lorenzo Bundy was chosen Pacific Coast League manager of the year. …
The Dodgers announced veteran Spanish-language radio broadcaster Jaime Jarrin will return for his 55th season on a three-year contract that takes him through 2015. Jarrin will broadcast most of the the Dodgers' regular-season games, plus eight spring training games and any playoff games, on KTNQ (1020-AM).
True Blue LA
Dodgers 8/31/12 Minor League Report - Isotopes Move Closer to Playoff Spot as Magic Number Drops to 2 by Brandon Lennox
Minor League Player of the Day – Pedro Guerrero (LoA) - 2 for 4, 2 HR's, 4 RBI's. While Bobby Abreu went a perfect 4 for
4 at the plate, he didn't have an extra base hit so I gave the award to Guerrero after he hit a pair of homers. As I've mentioned before Pedro isn't much of a prospect, but he has a big game every now and then to get some recognition.
AAA – The Isotopes finally broke their losing streak on Friday as they defeated the Storm Chasers (Royals) 11 to 3.
Starter Stephen Fife won his 11th game of the year by allowing just 1 earned run over 7 frames, giving up 6 hits and walking just 1. Erick Threets got out of the 8th without issue, then Tim Corcoran finished off the victory despite giving up a run in relief. At the plate Bobby Abreu went 4 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored, while Scott Van Slyke doubled and drove in a pair of runs. Elian Herrera also knocked in a pair to give the Isotopes the lead they needed to pull out the win.
AA – The playoff bound Lookouts defeated the Barons (White Sox) 6 to 5 on Friday thanks to a strong pitching performance from Chattanooga. Starter Duke von Schamann allowed just 3 hits and 1 run over 5 frames, and won his first AA game in his first Southern League start even though he didn't strikeout a batter. Francisco Felix did not allow a run his 2012 AA debut, while the Boston bound Rubby De La Rosa gave up 3 runs without recording an out. Jose
Dominguez pitched the final 2 frames and struck out 5 of the 6 batters he faced to record his first Southern League save of the year. Nick Buss was the leader at the plate as he went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI's, while Joe Becker went a perfect 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored and a walk. J.T. Wise had the only other extra base hit as he doubled and walked twice.
HiA – The Quakes scored 3 runs in the 9th on Friday, then held on for a 8 - 7 win over the Blaze (Reds). Chris Jacobs' homer in the final frame capped a 3-run 9th for Rancho, but before that it was Joc Pederson who plated a pair to tie the game. Austin Gallagher went 3 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI's, although Yasiel Puig had his second 0 for 4 game in a row.
Starter Jon Michael Redding allowed 3 runs (1 earned) and struck out 8 over 5.2 frames, while Yimi Garcia gave up 2 unearned runs. Eric Eadington technically blew the save in the 8th and allowed 2 runs in the 9th, but he still recorded the win.

LoA – The Loons lost to the Dragons (Reds) 7 to 6 on a walk-off double which broke the team's 3 game win streak. Geoff
Brown took the loss by allowing the game winning run, but prior to his appearance the recently promoted Victor Arajuo started the contest and gave up 5 runs (3 earned) over 5 frames. At the plate 2nd baseman Pedro Guerrero connected on a pair of homers and drove in 4 runs, while lead-off man Darnell Sweeney had two hits and a pair of RBI's. O'Koyea
Dickson also had a two-bagger during his 2 for 4 night and has apparently broken out of his slump and his now hitting
.277 for the season.
Rookie Ogden – The Raptors can't win them all, and on Friday Ogden fell to the Chukars (Royals) 12 to 5. The recently promoted Jonathan Martinez got touched up for 6 hits and 5 runs in his Pioneer League debut, while Michael Drown permitted 4 runs to score in relief. Riley Welch also allowed a trio of runs, and he left the contest before Derek Cone calmed the storm. At the plate Jose Capellan went 2 for 5 with a double and a pair of RBI's, but that was it for the offense as nobody else had more than one base knock. Bladimir Franco was the only other batter to drive in a run.
Arizona Dodgers - Season over
DSL – Season over
Coming up – The Isotopes will put their faith in Will Savage as the takes the mound for the Isotopes, while Ryan Acosta will start for the Quakes. Lindsey Caughel will throw for the Raptors, while the other starting pitchers are TBD.
Minor League Transactions – AAA: Tyler Ogle was promoted to the Isotopes to take the place of Tim Federowicz. Also
Luis Vasquez was placed on the DL while Ramon Troncoso was activated from the inactive list. Ogden: Since the Arizona
Dodger season has now ended, the Raptors have been provided with reinforcements as Jonathan Martinez, Miguel
Sulbaran, Zachary Bird, Riley Welch, Travis Jones, and Paul Hoenecke were assigned to Ogden. To make room for these players, Sawil Gonzalez, Jharel Cotton, and Jake Hermsen were removed from the Raptor roster.
Bittersweet Moment For Matt Guerrier & Dodgers by Eric Stephen
A pair of old Twins teammates met up at Dodger Stadium in the 11th inning on Friday night, but it was the Dodgers who came up on the short end. Jason Kubel's home run off Matt Guerrier gave the Diamondbacks a 4-3 win, handing the
Dodgers their fifth loss in their last six games.
"I just didn't get it in enough. I know him well, I played with him. It's what he likes to do," said Guerrier. "I felt good. I made a mistake, and he hit it. It's one of those things, you tip your cap I guess."
Guerrier and Kubel were teammates for seven seasons in Minnesota, from 2004-2010. It was Guerrier's first outing for the Dodgers since April 18, though with the ending he didn't exactly have much time to celebrate.
"I wish it wouldn't have ended that way, but I feel good," said Guerrier.
Mattingly was asked if he gave any thought to using Randy Choate, the only left-hander in the Dodgers' bullpen, to open the 11th inning against Kubel, who hits left-handed.
"Choate is really a one-hitter guy, not really a one-inning guy," Mattingly said. "Matt's on our roster. Matt actually threw the ball pretty well tonight."
With closer Kenley Jansen unavailable, both Shawn Tolleson and Ronald Belisario throwing two innings Friday, Jamey
Wright pitching two innings Thursday, and Brandon League pitching each of the last two days, the Dodgers bullpen could use some reinforcements, even if Guerrier, who missed over four months with right elbow inflammation, says he is ready to pitch on back-to-back days.

A reinforcement will come Saturday in the form of Javy Guerra, though the move is not yet official. In fact, given the heavy bullpen usage of late it's possible that Guerra won't be alone on his way to Los Angeles on Saturday.
"Things are always fluid as to what we're going to do," Mattingly said.
Up Next
The Dodgers will try to end their eight-game losing streak to the Diamondbacks on Saturday, an earlier (6:10 p.m. PT) start. Josh Beckett makes his second start for the Dodgers and his Dodger Stadium debut, facing lefty Tyler Skaggs, making his third big league start.
Jason Kubel Ruins Matt Guerrier's Welcome Back Party by Eric Stephen
After getting five scoreless innings out of their bullpen, a sixth was too much to ask. Jason Kubel lined a ball just over the short wall down the right field line for a solo home run in the 11th inning to give the Diamondbacks a 4-3 win over the
Dodgers on Friday night in the second game of a four-game series at Dodger Stadium.
The home run for Kubel came against Matt Guerrier, who hadn't pitched for the Dodgers since April 18, missing over four months with right elbow pain. Kubel was the first batter faced by Guerrier, who retired the next three in order, including two strikeouts.
The Dodgers put two runners on base in the 11th against closer J.J. Putz, but A.J. Ellis flew to shallow left field to end the game.
The loss was the eighth straight against Arizona for the Dodgers, who remained 1½ games behind the Cardinals for the second wild card spot in the National League.
Aaron Harang got the benefit of a pair of double plays in the first two innings, but also had some bad luck fall his way.
Or, Andre Ethier's way at least. After catcher Miguel Montero singled with two out in the second, Chris Johnson lofted a fly ball to right field that should have ended the inning. But Ethier lost the ball in the lights, and it fell for a gift triple and a 1-0 Diamondbacks lead.
Johnson started another Arizona rally with a leadoff double in the fifth inning, the start of a two-run inning that gave the
Diamondbacks a 3-0 advantage and continued Johnson's tormenting of Los Angeles. Since joining Arizona via trade on
July 29, Johnson has two doubles, a triple, and two home runs with eight RBI in four games against the Dodgers, hitting
.533 (8-for-15).
After their scoreless streak reached 14 innings, the Dodgers offense showed life in the fifth inning with a two-out rally that featured three singles and a hit-by-pitch. The third and final single of the inning was delivered by Mark Ellis, scoring both Luis Cruz and A.J. Ellis.
In the sixth inning, Matt Kemp singled with one out, then stole second and advanced to third on a fly ball by Hanley
Ramirez. That ended Trevor Cahill's night after 5 2/3 innings, as lefty Mike Zagurski was brought in to face Ethier, hitting just .216/.276/.324 against southpaws entering the night.
But Ethier lofted a ball just over the head of shortstop Jake Elmore for an RBI single and a 3-3 tie.
Shawn Tolleson had a nice bounce back outing after allowing six runs in his last two appearances. Tolleson struck out three in two scoreless innings on Friday night.

The Dodgers turned a season-high four double plays on Friday, including in both the eighth and ninth innings behind
Ronald Belisario, who threw two scoreless innings of his own.
Brandon League struck out all three batters he faced in the 10th inning, continuing his good run of late. In his last six outings, League has allowed one hit, three walks, and no runs, with nine strikeouts.
The Dodgers are 6-5 in extra-inning games this season.
Minor Note
Catcher Tyler Ogle was promoted from Class A Great Lakes to Triple A Albuquerque, making room for Tim Federowicz to head to Los Angeles on Saturday. Per Isotopes beat writer Chris Jackson, Albuquerque manager Lorenzo Bundy said
Federowicz would be the only call-up to the Dodgers on Saturday, but not relief pitcher Javy Guerra.
Friday's Particulars
Home Runs: Jason Kubel (27)
WP - Brad Bergesen (1-1): 2 IP, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
LP - Matt Guerrier (0-2): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 2 strikeouts
Sv - J.J. Putz (28): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
Matt Kemp Returns To Lineup, Kenley Jansen Decision Coming Tuesday by Eric Stephen
The Dodgers got some good news on Friday, as center fielder Matt Kemp is back in the starting lineup against the
Diamondbacks after missing two games with a right knee contusion. Kenley Jansen also threw a bullpen session Friday, though more news will come Tuesday.
Jansen was put on blood thinners, which means the first day he would be able to pitch is next Friday, when the Dodgers are in San Francisco. But before that even happens, Jansen must be cleared by team doctors, with whom he will meet on
Tuesday.
"We don't know what's going to happen with Kenley on Tuesday. They could tell us he could get ready to pitch, or that he's no longer available," said manager Don Mattingly. "He can do everything pretty much that everyone else can do, but he can't do it while they're out there. He can't risk the chance of getting hit by a ball."
Active roster limits expand on Saturday from 25 to 40, and the Dodgers will add players in stages. Mattingly said catcher
Tim Federowicz and relief pitcher Javy Guerra would likely be recalled Saturday, with a few more players on their way after Triple A Albuquerque concludes its season.
The Isotopes end their regular season Monday, but with playoffs looming will likely have some more games ahead. Dee
Gordon, who is eligible to return as early as Monday, will stay with Albuquerque until their season ends so he can play every day.
"We'll probably let him keep playing. He really hasn't swung the bat well yet, so we're going to let him play as long as he can."

Mattingly also said that outfielders Tony Gwynn Jr. and Bobby Abreu are still being discussed as possible September additions as well. Both are not on the 40-man roster, and would require a corresponding roster move, as will the activation of Gordon, who is on the 60-day disabled list.
Jaime Jarrin Signs Through 2015
The Dodgers have re-signed yet another Hall of Fame broadcaster, as Jaime Jarrin has signed a three-year contract extension, through 2015. Jarrin has called Dodgers games since 1959.
"To do what I love is fantastic, really fantastic," Jarrin said.
Jarrin will broadcast "most" of the Dodgers' 162-game regular season, plus eight spring training games and any postseason games on Univision America KTNQ 1020 AM for the next three seasons.
Starting Lineups
After 77 starts batting third this season, Kemp has been moved to the cleanup spot, with the left-handed Adrian
Gonzalez batting third.
"It was really to split Adrian and Andre Ethier apart. We felt it was the best for our lineup," Mattingly said. "Matt didn't care either way, Adrian didn't care either way."
Game Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket
MLB Gameday
Dodgers Need Offense To Come Through by Eric Stephen
Diamondbacks
CF Young
2B Hill
LF Kubel (L)
1B Goldschmidt
RF Upton
C Montero (L)
3B Johnson
SS Elmore
P Cahill
Dodgers
2B Ellis
LF Victorino (S)
1B Gonzalez (L)
CF Kemp
SS Ramirez
RF Ethier (L)
3B Cruz
C
P
Ellis
Harang
The Dodgers look for that ever elusive win against the Diamondbacks on Friday night, as they continue their weekend series at Dodger Stadium. The team will need to rely heavily on the offense for the final 30 games of the season.
Not to say that the pitching won't be important, but with an ever increasing likelihood that both Chad Billingsley and
Kenley Jansen have thrown their last pitches this season, run prevention will suffer. If either one happens to return that would be great, but scoring more runs would be ideal.

Matt Kemp will return soon enough, but his surrounding cast will have to perform too. Let's look at the new guys.
Hanley Ramirez has been wonderful since arriving from Miami. Since joining the team on July 25 Ramirez has hit
.279/.336/.522 and has led the team with eight home runs and 34 runs batted in during that time.
Shane Victorino was having a bit of a down year in Philadelphia, and his month in Los Angeles hasn't been any better.
Victorino is hitting .255/.305/.360 in 26 games as a Dodger, not exactly setting the table from either the first or second spot in the order.
Adrian Gonzalez hit a home run in his first at-bat as a Dodger but is just 5-for-23 (.217) since. A small sample size caveat applies, obviously, but having Gonzalez produce would be a big boost to an offense that has been shutout twice this week and been held to two runs or less in four of the last five games.
Did I have a point here? Not really, except be more like Hanley Ramirez, new guys.
Then again, maybe it is just as simple as Matt Kemp returning.
 In 78 games Kemp has played, the Dodgers have averaged 4.40 runs per game.
 In 54 games Kemp has not played, the Dodgers have averaged 3.50 runs per game.
Come back soon, Matt.
Game Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket
MLB Gameday
NBC Sports
Despite the hype, Dodgers are no lock
LA ramps up with huge trade, but this team has plenty of hurdles
By Tony DeMarco
For all the hype created and long-term expense added, the Los Angeles Dodgers' talent/payroll accumulation guarantees them exactly nothing. Not for the rest of this season. And not beyond 2012.
And nobody knows it better than manager Don Mattingly.
"We don't think that we're going to show up and win, just because we got new guys," Mattingly said. "We're pretty realistic. We've got to play, and we know it."
We've never seen this big of a roster-altering deal this late in a season. Last week's blockbuster deal with the Red Sox rendered the July 31 non-waivers deadline irrelevant, and the Dodgers' talent grab since the All-Star break has grown their booklet of new player biographies to 25 pages, front and back.
And to ask a dramatically made-over roster, with eight new players added in the past six weeks, to put everything together, erase a short deficit in the standings and earn a playoff spot might be a stretch.

"I think we all know that we're in a short-term, short-run, sprint situation, and anything can happen — no matter what kind of guys you have playing," Mattingly said. "To me, our challenge is what kind of baseball are we going to play? What are we going to be?"
The immediate answer hasn't been pretty. The Dodgers arrived at Coors Field on Monday off two home games following the mega-deal, and by the time they left town, were facing a list of sobering issues.
We're not just talking about 10-0 and 8-4 losses before a sweep-avoiding 10-8 victory Wednesday tainted by the
Rockies' seven-run bottom of the eighth.
Matt Kemp bruised a knee, hurt his jaw and dented the center-field wall on a scary-looking attempt at Josh Rutledge's triple Monday, but he should be back soon enough a day or so.
Closer Kenley Jansen again is dealing with a heart-related issue that has sidelined him indefinitely. Concern was raised
Monday, when he came into the blowout and quickly added to the deficit. After not pitching for five days, he didn't have his usual velocity, and was knocked around for four runs in 2/3 innings. Nobody knows when we'll see him on the mound again.
There also is concern that Chad Billingsley's latest elbow issue might shut him down for the rest of the season, costing the Dodgers their most-effective starter of late. Before going on the disabled list, Billingsley had gone 6-0 with a 1.80
ERA.
You know how crucial those two losses could be when Mattingly says, "it's still going to get back to our pitching. We have to pitch well enough every day to keep us in games." Look for the Dodgers to try to make another trade, although at this point, there isn't much left to acquire.
And one more thing. Make no mistake — the Rockies, Giants and rest of the National League will be gunning for a team that has picked up the "Yankees of the West" tag. Why, the Rockies' Jim Tracy managed the Dodgers' series as if it was his team's playoffs.
Facing deficits of 3 1/2 games in the NL West and 1 1/2 games in the wild-card race, the Dodgers' final five weeks will bring a very challenging schedule — more so than those of the Giants, Pirates and Braves.
Unlike the Giants, who will stay entirely within the NL West after this weekend's series against the Cubs, the Dodgers will face a crucial 10-game, out-of-division stretch Sept. 13-23: four games vs. St. Louis, three in Washington, and three in Cincinnati. The Dodgers also have six more cracks at the Giants: Sept. 7-9 in AT&T Park, and a season-ending series
Oct. 1-3 in Dodger Stadium.
In contrast, the Braves have only two series remaining against playoff contenders: at home Sept. 14-16 against the
Nationals and a season-ending series in Pittsburgh.
The Pirates already are done with the Cardinals, and other than that season-ending series against the Braves, will play only six games against a playoff contender: home-and-home series with the Reds.
But at the very least for the Dodgers, there is a clubhouse full of players with new-found respect for, and level of commitment to, ownership. As Clayton Kershaw said: "If this ownership group has taught me anything, it's that you can't count us out of anything."

Which in part is why this is a risk worth taking for Dodgers ownership — especially when you can afford to pay $2 billion for the franchise, and are looking at a new local television rights deal that probably will run significantly higher than the
$3 billion deals recently signed by the Angels and Rangers.
But what exactly do the Dodgers have in Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford — and how will they impact the roster going forward?
Gonzalez, 30, was the obvious star-power target. Even though his numbers fell amidst all the turmoil in Boston, between his usual production, plus defense and Mexican heritage, should be close in value to the $127 million remaining on his deal through 2018.
Beckett, 32, is a middle-of-the-rotation guy these days, throwing 90-92 mph fastballs and needing good command of his entire repertoire to succeed. He's owed $35 million for 2013-14, and although that's a big over-pay for a No. 3 starter, if his good year/bad year pattern holds for another season, he's due for a good one in 2013 — especially with the move from AL East to the NL West.
That leaves Crawford, 31, as the biggest long-term exposure risk. Truth is, the Dodgers took on one of the worst contracts in the game here, as Crawford is owed $102.5 million through 2017, and will be coming off Tommy John surgery and two lost seasons. But observers say he was beginning to regain the line drive/gap pop in his bat before the elbow gave out. So that offers hope the Dodgers will be getting more for their nine figures than another Juan Pierre.
There also is the nagging issue that Crawford and Andre Ethier will leave the lineup vulnerable to left-handed pitching for the next five years, as both left-handed-hitting corner outfielders have much-worse splits facing southpaws.
Talent evaluators say the Dodgers also gave up too much in pitching prospects Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster, given the enormous money they took on in salaries. That probably will prove to be a valid criticism.
But the money picture wasn't all that daunting before all the additions began — thanks, of course, to Frank McCourt's financial woes that had put a lid on the payroll.
Before the Red Sox's deal, the Dodgers' only contracts in place beyond 2014 were for Kemp (seven years, $148 million remaining), Ethier (five years, $85 million), and Cuban defector Yasiel Puig (seven years, $42 million). Of course, Kershaw will have to be next as far as a long-term mega-deal goes, as his two-year, $19 million deal expires after next season.
But Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton and Brandon League ($23 million combined) are free agents this winter, and deals for
Ted Lilly, Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano and Juan Uribe ($33 million combined) expire after 2013.
Some of that money will have to be turned into a legit No. 2 starter behind Kershaw and in front of Beckett and
Billingsley for the Dodgers to be considered serious World Series contenders. But luring free agents to Chavez Ravine should prove to be an easier task going forward.
"It's exciting," Kershaw said. "There are no more excuses. We have a great team. But we have to go do it now."
Kenley Jansen to be examined by heart specialist Tuesday
D.J. Short
Kenley Jansen was hospitalized in Denver earlier this week due to an irregular heartbeat. He missed a month last season with the very same issue and he’ll soon find out whether his recent scare will cost him the rest of the season.

According to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, Jansen threw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Friday and plans to play catch today. He’s scheduled to see a heart specialist on Tuesday, who will tell him whether he must continue taking a a blood-thinning medication. His medication prevents clots and strokes, but can also cause severe bleeding. He could bleed to death if he was struck by a baseball, so he isn’t even allowed to sit in the dugout while taking the medication.
If Jansen is cleared by the specialist, he could pitch again as soon as next Friday against the Giants. However, if he is instructed to continue taking the medication, he will not be allowed to throw for four weeks. That would essentially end his season.
Health obviously comes first here, but it’s still a tough break for Jansen, who stepped into the closer role at the end of
April and has a 2.54 ERA and 86/19 K/BB ratio over 56 1/3 innings this season. Brandon League and Ronald Belisario are expected to split save chances during his absence.
Sporting News
Flawed contenders: Cardinals, Dodgers, Rays limp into stretch run
By Stan McNeal
September has arrived, meaning teams chasing playoff berths no longer have time on their side.
“We all can’t get in,” Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski says. “And we’re all very close.”
The Tigers are one of five teams separated by 4 1/2 games in the race for the two AL wild-card berths. The Atlanta
Braves hold a three-game lead for one NL wild card, while the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles
Dodgers are separated by just 1 ½ game in the race for the other.
In such tight races, the team that is hottest last is sitting prettiest. That means trouble for three suddenly struggling clubs.
CARDINALS
When spring training opened, wise observers knew the two-pronged loss of Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa would not be the No. 1 challenge facing the World Series champions. Staying healthy would be the key. Sure, every team can say the same, but not every team fields a lineup so dependent on players who have had trouble staying on the field in recent years.
As carefully as rookie manager Mike Matheny has parceled the playing time of Carlos Beltran, Rafael Furcal and David
Freese, the Cardinals are dragging into the stretch. After an impressive series win at Cincinnati, the Cardinals have lost four consecutive games while managing a total of one run (and it was unearned).
Beltran, 35 and gimpy-kneed, is hitting .214 (36-for-168) with eight homers and 20 RBIs since the All-Star break. His first half included a .296 average, 20 homers and 65 RBIs.
Freese has managed to play 100 games for the first time in his major league career, but he has hit .217 (13-for-60) since reaching the milestone on Aug. 7.
Furcal, already dropped from the leadoff spot because of a tired bat, became the team’s top concern when he left
Thursday night’s game with a right elbow injury. He went on the disabled list on Friday and could be done for the season. If that's the case, the Cardinals will have to turn shortstop over to Daniel Descalso. While he lacks Furcal’s range and arm, his defense still is strong. But Descalso already had lost playing time at second base because of a production line of .220/.294/.314 through St. Louis’ first 131 games.

Bottom line: The Cardinals trail the Cincinnati Reds by 9 1/2 games in the NL Central and they can’t count on the Braves to collapse again. So, they will have to fend off the Pirates and Dodgers for the second wild card. Thanks to a schedule that includes six games against the Houston Astros and three against the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals should be able to hang on.
DODGERS
After all that wheeling and dealing, Los Angeles actually has lost ground in the NL West race, while basically breaking even in the wild-card standings.
Money can’t prevent elbows from giving out or heart conditions from flaring or star players from crashing into fences.
Matt Kemp should be back soon, but the Dodgers could be without No. 2 starter Chad Billingsley (elbow) and closer
Kenley Jansen (irregular heartbeat) for the rest of the season.
The rotation already was scuffling, as Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang have tailed off in the second half and the next quality start the Dodgers get from Josh Beckett will be his first since July 15.
LA can’t count on its schedule for any favors; it still faces a 10-game stretch against the Cardinals, Reds and Washington
Nationals. The NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, meanwhile, will not face a team currently over .500 the rest of the way except for six games against the Dodgers.
Bottom line: No Billingsley, no playoffs.
RAYS
A week ago, Tampa Bay was playing like the best team in the AL. The Rays’ pitching remains the most dangerous in the league, but their bats aren’t scaring anymore. After a hot streak ignited by Evan Longoria’s return, the Rays’ offense has gone missing again. They have lost six of their past seven games, a predictable outcome when you are shut out twice and held to one run in another game.
As much as Longoria’s return has boosted their bats, the Rays have gotten little lately from two lineup mainstays, Carlos
Pena and Matt Joyce. They are hitting a combined .183 (26-for-142) in August, and the on-base percentage isn’t just much better. Pena is averaging just one walk every other game this month.
Bottom line: Pitching matters most, which is why the Rays' chances remain strong. A little more offense, though, would help.
Fate of Dodgers' Jansen's will be decided Tuesday
Yahoo! Sports
By The Sports Xchange
The reeling Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost again Friday night, won't know until Tuesday whether closer Kenley Jansen is cleared to pitch again after a recurrence of his heart condition.
Jansen was hospitalized on Tuesday in Colorado with an irregular heartbeat, the same malady that caused him to miss a month in 2011. Jansen will meet with team physicians on Tuesday to find out if he can pitch again this year.
"We don't know what's going to happen with Kenley on Tuesday. They could tell us he could get ready to pitch or that he's no longer available," manager Don Mattingly said before the Dodgers lost to Arizona,, 4-3 in 11 innings.
Jansen is 5-3 with a 2.54 ERA and 25 saves for the Dodgers this year and has a whopping 86 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings.

Jansen pitched a bullpen session at Dodger Stadium on Friday, but because he took blood-thinning medication he cannot yet risk pitching in a game.
"(Jansen) can do everything pretty much that everyone else can do, but he can't do it while they're out there," Mattingly said. "He can't risk the chance of getting hit by a ball."
The earliest Jansen could pitch for the Dodgers is September 7 against the Giants in San Francisco. But if he gets bad news on Tuesday, Jansen could be out until 2013, which would be a huge blow for the Dodgers.
LAist
Blue Moon for Blue Dodgers
By Jimmy Bramlett
Not even in a blue moon can the Dodgers get a win against an NL West team. The Dodgers came from behind to tie the game in the sixth but lost it in the 11th inning 4-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"We're all frustrated trying to win games," manager Don Mattingly said after the game. "We're in a pennant race.
There's frustration from needing to do that."
Mattingly added later, "Each loss is a stinger. You can't get away from that at this time of the year."
Yf they say the mone is blewe
We must believe that it is true.
This is allegedly the first known utterance of the "blue moon" in a 1528 poem "Rede Me and Be Not Wroth" according to various sources on the interweb. Most people know the phrase blue moon from the various covers of the Richard
Rodgers (of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame) and Lorenz Hart song written in 1934.
The song gives thanks to the blue moon, the luck of the stars, for seeing the desperation of the singer and sending the singer a love. The blue moon certainly saw the Dodgers without a win in their ledger. Certainly the blue moon heard the prayers, but it came through with nothing.
A team that went 39-33 against the NL West last season the Dodgers currently sit at 24-29 with the completion of this game including losing 14 of the 20 since the All Star break. Before the game manager Don Mattingly had a simple answer as to why it's gone to crap: "We haven't played good enough to win those games. We should be better."
After Monday's loss Mattingly held a 15-minute closed-door meeting where he admitted he had to naturally amplify his voice in trying to get his team to play better.
"You're hoping that with 30 games left that there's a different level there, that there's a level that's elevated," Mattingly explained. "It's not just come-get-loose-and-go-through-the-motions, ho-hum it's another day. It almost has to be, 'We have to have this game.' It's got to almost feel like a playoff game everyday to you. That's really the feeling that we have to get to."
Mattingly wanted to ensure that all of the new players were on the same page with the rest of the team.
Things looked about as dismal as status quo. When Andre Ethier lost Chris Johnson's fly ball in the lights in the second inning that was scored an RBI triple, another loss seemed inevitable. Then D-back starter Trevor Cahill singled home a run in the fifth inning off of Dodger starter Aaron Harang and scored on Aaron Hill's double for the 3-0 lead.
Little did anyone know a rally was in store much less what a rally looked like.

With two outs in the fifth inning, pinch hitter Nick Punto hit a grounder to the shortstop. Somehow despite making an illadvised slide to first base, he wound up being safe by a hair. The Dodgers had the bases loaded with two outs, and the
37,622 yelled their heads off for the hopes of Mark Ellis not ending this rally.
Mark Ellis took a 2-2 sinker that stayed up in the zone and lined it to left field to score two runs.
The Dodgers to apply the pressure in the sixth inning. After Matt Kemp worked a one-out walk, he stole second base during Hanley Ramirez's at-bat who wound up flying to right field.
The D-backs brought in left-handed reliever Mike Zagurski to pitch to Ethier. Ethier atoned for his earlier gaffe while showing he is impervious to such switches by popping up a single to left field that scored Kemp to tie the game.
It was a battle of the bullpens from that point on, and with the lack of depth the Dodgers have it was no surprise they blinked first. Matt Guerrier who was just reinstated from the 60-day disabled list on Thursday pitched the 11th inning, his first appearance since April 18. Jason Kubel welcomed Guerrier back with a leadoff homer.
"That's probably not the way we wanted to put him in the game," Mattingly admitted. "But his stuff was good." Guerrier did strike out two to retire the side.
"You've just got to keep playing," Shane Victorino said. Victorino held his head high after the game choosing to focus on the positives: coming from behind; being a hit away from tying or winning the game.
"If we give 100 percent and come up short, that's all you can do."
Victorino did reiterate the message from the closed-door meetings. "Is tehre a sense of urgency that we've got to go in the right direction? Yes.
"You can't play anybody on paper. You still got to go out there and play. You've got to play the 27 outs. You've got to play a full game."
With the Major League rosters open to the 40-man roster beginning Saturday, it has been confirmed that catcher Tim
Federowicz would be called up to the team. Mattingly also told reporters after the game a relief pitcher would be on the way, though no names were given.
Also the Dodgers didn't make any additional moves on the waiver wire. "This is what we're playing with," Mattingly said.
"This is what it is."
With Kenley Jansen's status up in the air until Tuesday, the Dodgers are in quite some trouble with the bullpen. The offense hasn't come together yet.
Taking Victorino's approach on things, at least the Dodgers didn't lose any ground. But with the clock ticking and 29 games left in the season, the Dodgers need to make their move in the standings soon and not rely on some sort of Red
Sox or Braves kind of collapse. Not in a blue moon.
"This thing is far from over," Mattingly chanted. No. It's close to being over, and no amount of money can buy the one thing the Dodgers really need: time.
ESPN Deportes
Jaime Jarrín firmó extensión por 3 años

Por Rodrigo Azurmendi
Especial para ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com
LOS ÁNGELES -- Los Dodgers de Los Ángeles anunciaron el viernes que Jaime Jarrín renovó su contrato con la franquicia por las próximas tres temporadas, ligándolos hasta fines del 2015.
El narrador se unió a la institución en 1959 y lleva 54 campañas consecutivas relatando los partidos.
"Yo mismo no lo creo que ya son 54 años todos los santos días detrás del micrófono", confesó sorprendido. "Pensé que sería cuestión de unos siete u ocho años. Creí que mi futuro estaba en la televisión y lo hice, pero en verdad soy una persona de radio y prefiero esto".
El periodista expresó las razones para seguir en su cargo.
"En primer lugar amo lo que hago", avisó. "Tengo el mejor asiento aquí en el estadio y los nuevos dueños me han demostrado que confían en mí y que debo seguir siendo la cara de los Dodgers con la comunidad".
Jarrín contó que la magia del béisbol lo sigue cautivando tras tantos años.
"En cada noche, en cada día y en cada juego hay algo diferente que a uno le impulsa a apreciar lo que uno está haciendo", señaló. "Es un deporte tan hermoso y tan limpio que le da a uno gusto meterse con eso."
El nacido en Quito, Ecuador, de 76 abriles, no quiso olvidar a su mentor, quien además es su gran inspiración.
"Vin Scully ha sido mi norte y mi guía", indicó. "Siempre me ha respaldado y yo escucho sus consejos y mi longevidad se debe en parte a él".
Jarrín también tuvo palabras de gratitud para sus compañeros de transmisión, con los que ha compartido incontables experiencias en la carretera.
"Quiero agradecerles mucho a Pepe [Yñiguez] y Fernando [Valenzuela] por la paciencia que han tenido conmigo y por su grata compañía, principalmente en los viajes".
Su esposa Blanca también le dio la bendición.
"Está totalmente detrás de mí", aseguró. "Goza de mis éxitos, si se los puede llamar así, y ella se merece todos los tributos porque se ha portado como una campeona".
El narrador ha sido condecorado en muchas ocasiones, incluyendo su introducción al Salón de la Fama del beisbol en
1998. Sin embargo, Jarrín ha mantenido la humildad y el compromiso con los latinos.
"Me encanta servir a la comunidad y mi unión con ellos me obliga a eso", observó. "Me preguntan por qué no lo hago en inglés y les respondo que sirvo a los hispanos porque ellos son los que ponen en pan en la mesa para mis hijos. Les pertenezco a ellos".
El locutor no cerró la puerta a seguir en su puesto luego de la finalización del nuevo contrato.
"Si me siento físicamente bien y todavía me aguantan seguiré pero no sé", remató. "Luego Dios dirá".
El compromiso del Grupo Guggenheim, nuevo propietario de los esquivadores, para reforzar la plantilla lo llenó de ilusión.

"Los nuevos dueños desean que el equipo llegue a una Serie Mundial", aseveró. "Mi anillo [de 1988] está demasiado viejo y necesito uno nuevo y esa es una de las razones por las que decidí seguir".
Para Jarrín el periodo de adaptación de adquisiciones como Shane Victorino, Hanley Ramírez y Adrián González acabará pronto y confía en sus aportes.
"La semilla está plantada y ahora es cuestión de [los jugadores]", concluyó. "Yo creo que a pesar de los descalabros de los últimos días el equipo va a levantarse y darle muchas satisfacciones a la afición".
Los Dodgers caen en entradas extras
Por Rodrigo Azurmendi
Especial para ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com
LOS ÁNGELES -- Los Dodgers de Los Ángeles volvieron a tener la pólvora mojada y cayeron por segunda noche consecutiva ante los Diamondbacks de Arizona por 4-3 el viernes en el Chávez Ravine.
Un jonrón solitario de Jason Kubel a Guerrier en la parte alta de la undécima entrada fue la diferencia entre los rivales de la Conferencia Oeste de la Liga Nacional.
El relevista hacía su regreso a la nómina californiana luego de una larga ausencia por lesión.
"Probablemente no era la manera que lo queríamos poner a jugar [a Guerrier] en su regreso pero su repertorio fue bueno", dijo Don Mattingly. "Fue algo que tuvimos que hacer por las circunstancias del juego".
El dirigente se fue conforme con la performance monticular de su último carabinero.
"Matt lanzó la bola muy bien y su picheo rompiente funcionó", aseguró. "A.J. [Ellis] dijo que la bola del jonrón estuvo bien ubicada y Kubel solo conectó un buen lanzamiento".
El abridor Aaron Harang se fue sin decisión tras batallar 5.0 entradas y dar tres carreras en cinco hits, con dos pasaportes y tres ponches.
"Me sentí bien y la única bola que golpearon duro fue el doblete de Aaron Hill", avisó. "Las demás cayeron en lugares donde no estaban nuestros muchachos".
Los angelinos solo fueron capaces de producir seis inatrapables en toda la noche y el cuarteto formado por Shane
Victorino, Adrián González, Matt Kemp y Hanley Ramírez se fue en blanco en 16 turnos al bate.
"Todos están presionándose en lugar de relajarse y divertirse", opinó Harang. "Tenemos que salir y ejecutar y las cosas van a estar bien".
COMO SUCEDIÓ
Sucedió cuando un triple del antesalista Chris Johnson remolcó a Miguel Montero y ya en la segunda entrada los visitantes ganaban por 1-0.
Luego en el quinto periodo el abridor de los del desierto Trevor Cahill primero bateó un sencillo impulsando a Johnson y luego llegó a la tierra prometida tras un doblete de Hill, extendiendo el liderato a 3-0.
Fue ahí en la baja de la quinta que los Dodgers reaccionaron y cortaron una sequía de 14 episodios en blanco. Un doblete del segunda base Mark Ellis empujó al plato a su tocayo receptor y a Luis Cruz, acercando a los esquivadores a una sola rayita.

El empate llegó un capítulo después y fue obra del zurdo Andre Ethier, que con un sencillo al jardín izquierdo permitió a
Kemp llegar al plato.
La paridad se mantendría hasta el fatídico vuelacercas de Kubel, quien dio números finales al tanteador.
"Tuvimos un par de grandes hits", se lamentó el piloto. "Perdiendo 3-0 Mark [Ellis] conectó uno y Andre [Ethier] conectó otro en el siguiente episodio. A partir de ahí tuvimos chances para anotar pero no lo conseguimos".
FRUSTRACIÓN
Mattingly alabó la defensa del equipo y elogió al bulpén aunque sin esconder su desazón por el resultado.
"Todos estamos frustrados porque necesitamos ganar partidos", resumió. "El picheo hoy nos dio la chance de ganar y el bulpén subió varios ceros pero no pudimos conseguir esa última carrera". Victorino habló de la presión generada por la reputación de sus bates.
"Este deporte de por sí ya tiene suficiente presión todos los días", explicó. "Con el cambio ahora estamos todos bajo el microscopio y nos pusieron en un pedestal y eso hace que digan que hay pánico.
No es así y todos en este camerino son grandes profesionales y será cuestión de encontrar una racha y mantenerse enfocados". Por otra parte el dirigente nuevamente se negó a darle cabida a la performance de sus rivales directos.
"No puedo preocuparme por los que están delante nuestro porque si no ganamos no va a importar", resumió. "Tenemos que solucionar nuestros problemas".
A la vez, Mattingly se ilusionó con que sea su equipo el que se encienda en el tramo final como ha pasado en temporadas pasadas.
"Viendo lo que le pasó a Atlanta, Boston, los Cardinales y Tampa Bay el año pasado muestra lo que puede suceder durante el último mes", recordó. "Falta mucho pero necesitamos una buena racha si queremos ser ese equipo que de la sorpresa".
COSAS PARA RESCATAR
El jardinero izquierdo puso énfasis en los puntos altos de su equipo.
"Miro los aspectos positivos", dijo Victorino. "Remontamos, que es algo que no hacemos muy a menudo. Tuvimos chance al final y estuvimos a un hit de posiblemente empatar el partido".
Mattingly sonó una campana parecida, enumerando virtudes pero recordando que se está haciendo demasiado tarde para festejar logros que no se traduzcan en la columna de victorias.
"Remontamos una desventaja de 3-0, Cruz hizo grandes jugadas defensivas&hicimos muchas cosas buenas pero el resultado no nos favoreció", aseveró. "Lamentablemente en esta parte de la temporada no hay victorias morales y cada derrota nos duele". Quien se mostró calmo y confiado fue Harang, basándose en el calendario restante.
"No hay urgencia", opinó. "Todavía nos quedan varios juegos ante los Gigantes y ellos se enfrentan a Arizona también".
LO PRÓXIMO
Ubicados a cuatro juegos y medio de los Gigantes por el banderín de la división y a un juego y medio de San Luis por el comodín, los Dodgers volverán a enfrentar a los Diamondbacks el sábado en el tercer duelo de la serie, urgidos de triunfos.

En la lomita estarán el recientemente adquirido Josh Beckett (5-12) y el zurdo Tyler Skaggs (1-1). El cotejo comenzará a las 6:10 p.m. (PT).
Los Dodgers.com
D-backs vencen a los Dodgers en 11 entradas
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Jason Kubel abrió el 11 inning con un jonrón, y los Diamondbacks de Arizona vencieron el viernes 4-3 a los Dodgers de Los Angeles tras desperdiciar una ventaja de tres carreras.
Kubel envió un lanzamiento en 1-1 de Matt Guerrier (0-1) a las gradas del derecho, para su 27 jonrón del año. Guerrier hacía su primera salida desde el 18 de abril.
Brad Bergesen (1-0)trabajó dos innings sin permitir hits, para quedarse con el triunfo. J.J. Putz sacó tres outs, para su 28 salvamento en 31 entradas.
Por los Diamondbacks, los venezolanos Miguel Montero de 5-3, una anotada; y Gerardo Parra de 1-0.
Por los Dodgers, los mexicanos Adrián González de 5-0 y Luis Cruz de 5-2, una anotada. El dominicano Hanley Ramírez de
3-0.
Jarrín volverá para una 55ta temporada
LOS ANGELES - Los Dodgers de los Angeles anunciaron hoy que el locutor Salón de la Fama y "la voz en español de los
Dodgers," Jaime Jarrín, regresará a la cabina en español de los Dodgers para una 55ta temporada en el 2013 como parte de un contrato de tres años y permanecerá como el locutor para las transmisiones en español de los Dodgers en
Univision America KTNQ 1020 AM Los Angeles.
"Es un honor extender mi carrera durante una emocionante etapa en la historia de los Dodgers y bajo nuevo propietarios que han demostrado un fuerte compromiso a los latinos en Los Angeles y para revitalizar a los Dodgers en
Latinoamérica," declaró Jarrín. "Confío en que este grupo de directivos traerá de nuevo a Los Angeles un campeonato y estoy contento de estar aquí y de ser parte de esta organización."
Jarrín será parte de la mayoría de los 162 juegos de temporada regular de los Dodgers, ocho juegos de entrenamiento primaveral y todos los posibles juegos de postemporada hasta la campaña del 2015. Jarrín es uno de los dos narradores de mayor experiencia en las Grandes Ligas detrás del también Salón de la Fama, Vin Scully, y es el narrador en español de mayor experiencia en las Grandes Ligas.
"Jaime es una institución de los Dodgers y un gran motivo por el que los Dodgers tienen el apoyo latino," dijo el dueño de los Dodgers, Earvin "Magic" Johnson. "Los Dodgers son el único club con dos locutores Salón de la Fama y estoy emocionado de que Jaime vaya a continuar fomentando el amor por el béisbol de los Dodgers entre los residentes de
Los Angeles de habla hispana."
"Estamos comprometidos con la comunidad latina de Los Angeles y sabíamos que una de las cosas más importantes que podíamos hacer era asegurar que Jaime continuara encabezando la transmisión en español," dijo el presidente y máximo ejecutivo, Stan Kasten. "Estamos contentos de tenerlo aquí con nosotros estamos agradecidos de contar con sus conocimientos y la base que sentó en la comunidad, sobre la que podemos ahora construir."
Jarrín, oriundo de Ecuador, llegó a los Estados Unidos en junio de 1955, el mismo año en que la estrella de los Dodgers,
Sandy Koufax, hizo su debut de Grandes Ligas. Jarrín comenzó su carrera profesional como locutor de béisbol en 1959

con los Dodgers de Los Angeles, el mismo año en que el club ganó la Serie Mundial, el primer campeonato en la historia de la franquicia de Los Angeles.
Jarrín, ingresado al Salón de la Fama el 26 de julio de 1998 al recibir el Premio Ford C. Frick, se convirtió en solamente el segundo narrador en español en ser inmortalizado en Cooperstown. Durante su carrera sin precedente en transmisiones en español, ha narrado tres juegos perfectos, 26 Series Mundiales y 21 Juegos de Estrellas. Jarrín narró los Series
Mundiales de los Dodgers de Los Angeles de 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981 y 1988.
Desde que transmitió su primer juego el 14 de abril de 1959, Jarrín ha narrado muchos de los momentos históricos en la historia de los Dodgers en Los Angeles, incluyendo el juego perfecto de Sandy Koufax (9 de septiembre de 1965 vs.
Cubs), las seis blanqueadas consecutivas de Don Drysdale en 1968, la primera apertura de Fernando Valenzuela en el Día
Inaugural de 1981, algo que lanzó la "Fernandomanía," los 59 innings en blanco de Orel Hershiser en 1988, el cuadrangular de Kirk Gibson en el Juego 1 de la Serie Mundial de 1988 y el regreso histórico contra San Diego con cuatro cuadrangulares consecutivos el 18 de septiembre del 2006, reacción que culminó con el cuadrangular decisivo de Nomar
Garciaparra para que ganaran los Dodgers 11-10 en entradas extras.
Jarrín es un pionero de las transmisiones en español y por eso ha recibido varios reconocimientos, incluyendo el primer premio "Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association's President's Award," una estrella en el Camino de la Fama en Hollywood, el mayor reconocimiento de la Asociación de Periodistas Hispanos, el ingreso al Salón de la Fama de
Locutores de Deportes del Sur de California, y su premio al locutor del año en otro idioma y el Premio "Golden Mike." El año pasado Jarrín fue honrado por American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) Foundation con el premio "AFTRA Media and Entertainment Excellence" e ingresó al Salón de la Fama de la Associated Press Television-
Radio Association (APTRA).
El 40 por ciento de los aficionados de los Dodgers son latinos y cada temporada los Dodgers reciben a un millón de aficionados de ascendecia hispana. Los Dodgers fue el primer club en Grandes Ligas en implementar las transmisiones en español por radio en 1958.
All Access Music Group
Jaime Jarrin Inks New 3-Year Deal to Remain Dodgers Spanish-Language Voice
On the heels of VIN SCULLY's announcement that he is returning for another season calling the team's games on its
English-language radio network, Hall of Fame LOS ANGELES DODGERS Spanish-language broadcaster JAIME JARRÍN has inked a new three-year deal and will continue to call DODGER baseball through the 2015 season The 2013 season will be JARRIN's 55th with the club. DODGER games air in Spanish on a network headed by UNIVISION Talk KTNQ-A/LOS
ANGELES.
“I am honored to extend my career during such a thrilling time in DODGER history and under new ownership that has demonstrated a strong commitment to the Latinos in LOS ANGELES and in revitalizing the DODGERS throughout LATIN
AMERICA,” said JARRIN. “I am confident this leadership can bring a championship back to LOS ANGELES and I am happy to be a part of it.”
“JAIME is a DODGER institution and is a big reason why the DODGERS have such a strong Latino fan base,” said coowner EARVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON. “The DODGERS are the only club with two Hall of Fame broadcasters on staff and
I’m excited that JAIME will continue to instill a love of DODGER baseball in Spanish-speaking Angelenos.”
“We’re committed to the Latino community in LOS ANGELES and knew that one of the most important things we could do right away was to ensure that JAIME would continue to lead the Spanish-language broadcast,” said President and
CEO STAN KASTEN. “We’re happy to have him here with us and are grateful for his insight and the foundation he laid in this community that we can now build upon.”