Dodgers lose another close one, 3-2, and get swept by the Reds.

Darvish gets no help. Goes 7 innings, gives up 4 hits, 1 run, strikes out 6, Rangers lose to the Pirates 1-0.

gaijinmark wrote:

Darvish gets no help. Goes 7 innings, gives up 4 hits, 1 run, strikes out 6, Rangers lose to the Pirates 1-0.

Darvish must be Clayton Kershaw's kindred spirit, since Kersh never gets any support from the offense either...

Dodgers lose to the Dbacks, 4-1.

The offense has been sputtering for the last couple of weeks...

Dodgers beat the last place Giants, 3-2, in 10 innings... Ex-Giant Brian Wilson got the victory.

Kuroda pitches BP in the first inning, Red Sox score 4 and end up beating the Yankees 8-4. Koji Uehara pitched another scoreless ninth for the Sox. He hasn't given up a run since July 6th.

Hisashi Iwakuma pitches 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball against the Cardinals. Mariners bullpen blows it for him. Cardinals win 2-1.

gaijinmark wrote:

Darvish gets no help. Goes 7 innings, gives up 4 hits, 1 run, strikes out 6, Rangers lose to the Pirates 1-0.

The sequel: Darvish goes 7 innings against the A's, gives up 4 hits, 1 run, strikes out 10, Rangers lose again 1-0.

Dice-K, on the other hand, has his best outing in a couple years, 7 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, Mets beat Miami 3-1.

Dodgers get pummeled by the Giants, 19-3.

Dodgers appear to have reverted back to the pre-June22 team.

Wladimir Balentien belts 56th home run to surpass Oh

TOKYO -- Former major leaguer Wladimir Balentien hit his 56th and 57th home runs on Sunday, breaking the Japanese single-season record set by legendary slugger Sadaharu Oh 49 years ago.

Balentien hit a three-run homer in the first inning of Sunday's game, sending the ball over the left-field wall at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium to give his Yakult Swallows an early lead over the Hanshin Tigers. He then added a solo shot in the third for No. 57.

Oh set the record of 55 in 1964. While it was equaled by ex-major leaguers Tuffy Rhodes in 2001 and Alex Cabrera in 2002, many felt Oh used his position as a manager to prevent both players from breaking it.

"I want to thank the fans for all their support,'' Balentien said. "It was a great feeling. I don't think I will ever feel anything like that again in my life.''

The 29-year-old Balentien missed the first 12 games of this season because of a leg injury sustained while playing for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.

Balentien's challenge of Oh's record comes in a season in which there is controversy over a new, livelier baseball. In June, Japanese baseball officials admitted they introduced the new official ball this season without notifying players. The new ball has resulted in a dramatic increase in home runs.

Rhodes and Cabrera tied Oh's record with several games left in the season but were then walked repeatedly by teams managed by Oh, who later denied instructing his pitchers to not challenge either player.

Randy Bass hit 54 homers in 1985 but fell short in the last game of the season when the pitcher from the Yomiuri Giants, then managed by Oh, walked him in his last at-bat, preventing Bass from tying the record.

Oh is a legend in Japan. His 868 career home runs, which surpassed Hank Aaron's then major league record of 755, made him a national hero.

"Oh is the home run king and I have a lot of respect for him,'' Balentien said. "To be able to tie him and then pass him is something very special for me.''

Dodgers lose again to the Giants, 4-3.

Dodgers lose their fourth straight game, 2-1, to Arizona.

Dodgers rout the D-backs, 9-3... The magic number is now two.

Hisashi Iwakuma pitches 8 shutout innings, M's beat the Tigers 8-0. Iwakuma runs his record to 13-6 for a team that's 12 games under .500.

Dodger pitching gets hammered and they lose to the D-backs, 9-4.

Dodgers are stumbling to the finish line.

Darvish pitches horribly (5 innings, 5 hits, 6 walks, 4 k's) but the Rangers score 8 more runs in this game than in his previous two starts combined and he gets the win over Tampa 8-2.

Kuroda goes 6 innings, gives up 8 hits walks 4 and takes the loss to Toronto 6-2.

Dodgers finally(!) clinch the NL West with a 7-6 win over the D-backs.

Maybe Dice-K is back. Third good outing in a row. 6 innings, 4 hits, 4 runs (2 earned) 6 K's, Mets beat the Phillies 6-4.

Dodgers shut out the Padres, 4-0... Kersh gets his 15th win.

Dodgers shut out the Padres again, 1-0... Their 21st shutout to lead the majors.

Former Dodger Kaz Ishii to retire at end of season

TOKOROZAWA, Japan, Sept. 24 (15:39) Kyodo

Seibu Lions veteran left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the season, lowering the curtain on a 21-year career with a combined 182 wins in Japan and the major leagues.

"I've been thinking that the time has come," said Ishii.

The 40-year-old Ishii was named by the Yakult Swallows in the first round of the draft in 1991. He pitched a no-hitter on Sept. 2, 1997 against the Yokohama BayStars and won the ERA title in 2000.

In 2002, Ishii joined the Los Angeles Dodgers via the posting system. He pitched four seasons with a 39-34 record in the majors, including one season with the New York Mets.

Ishii rejoined the Swallows in 2006 and moved to the Lions in a free-agent deal in the 2007 offseason.

He holds a 143-103 career record with one save and a 3.63 ERA in 419 games in Japan. This season, Ishii is 0-1 in seven games.