The Los Angeles Dodgers have been shut out in three straight games, and 4 of their last 5. The pitchers who shut them out were Brandon Webb, Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang, and Doug Davis was not part of the streak. They have lost 6 straight and 14 of their last 18. Chad Billingsley started off the season 7-0. In his last two starts he has given up 2 runs in 12 2/3 innings and lost them both by the score 1-0. Over the longer 18-game slump, Matt Kemp has lost 61 points off his batting average and James Loney has lost 53. The Dodgers are now in fourth place in the NL West and falling fast.
Don't Harangue Him
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aaron Harang is quietly having a remarkable season. He has a .786 winning percentage on a team with a .434 WPCT. His three losses were all legitimate games he pitched badly in, and the offense bailed him out of two other games he should have lost. But he also has a 1.62 ERA in his 8 other no decisions including 1 run in 10 innings, 1 run in 8 innings, 0 runs in 7 innings and 1 run in 9 innings.
In 1972 Steve Carlton had a .730 WPCT (27-10) on a team that had a .378 WPCT (59-97). The exact same difference as Harang has with this year's Reds, but Carlton had 46% of his team's total wins, compared to 22% for Harang.
I think I like Harang because a few years ago he pitched with a misspelling on his jersey.
A New Home Run Record
Barry Bonds broke the all-time home runs record again. Now he has 757, dramatically reducing the value of the home run ball caught by Matt Murphy.
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