NewsEx-Phillie Wolf's terrific outing lifts LA
Loney, Blake homer as Dodgers end Philadelphia skid
By Joseph Santoliquito / Special to MLB.com
05/13/09 10:30 PM ET
PHILADELPHIA -- The Dodgers received a template for what it will take to win without the suspended Manny Ramirez, and it couldn't have come more perfectly wrapped than Wednesday night's 9-2 victory over the Phillies. The Dodgers received a nice smidgen of everything. Randy Wolf improved to 2-1 with his third straight quality start, while James Loney broke his personal power outage with a three-run homer. The offense produced 14 hits, and Matt Kemp applied some fine defense, with a diving catch in the fifth that robbed Shane Victorino. It's exactly what the Dodgers needed as they broke a seven-game losing streak at Citizens Bank Park that dated back to August 2007. "We know we're a good team, but when you walk into a building like this where we lost four last year during the season and twice in the playoffs, and you walk into some places and say it doesn't matter, you think about those things," manager Joe Torre said. "We had to be aggressive. These are the World [Series] champs here and I know their record at home isn't as good as it's going to be. But that's the thing we have to do, we were aggressive." It just took the Dodgers four innings to get to Phils starter Jamie Moyer. The crafty veteran left-hander retired 10 through three innings, before Los Angeles finally caught on to him. "We had to make some adjustments after the first three innings," Casey Blake said. "You have to be patient against someone like Moyer. It's not easy for anyone facing him the first time, because he won't give in to you. He's so effective changing speeds. It's patience, and you have to make him get the ball on the plate. He might say he didn't have his best stuff, because he got the ball up and he was getting behind hitters." Wolf, on the other hand, had his best start this season. With a group of his fans, "Wolf's Wolfpack," watching from the upper deck behind third base, the lefty stymied the Phils on three hits -- the one mistake being a Jimmy Rollins solo homer in the second. Wolf wanted to stick with a game plan and attack the Phillies with offspeed stuff, mixed in with a few fastballs. "Wolf did a pretty good job, especially against our left-handed hitters," Phils manager Charlie Manuel said. "He had been pitching real well against lefties and he continued it." Wolf might not have been as effective as he wanted, throwing a season-high 113 pitches over six innings, but he also had Philadelphia baffled, throwing eight strikeouts. "I threw a lot of pitches, but I was able to get my curveball over for strikes and my changeup, I was feeling those two pitches," Wolf said. "The five-run fourth was big for us. Once we started going, we didn't stop. I threw 113 pitches, but I just wish I would have thrown 113 pitches over eight innings, not six. "But I do feel good; we bounced back nicely from [Tuesday night's] game and winning the way we did is going to make an impact. We got a nice balance going of everything, some defense, pitching and hitting." For Loney, it was a breakout game. It was unclear where exactly Loney's homer landed, but Torre thought it bounced off the facing of the upper deck in right field. What is definite was it marked Loney's first homer since September 26, 2008, a 38-game span. What's more, Loney had entered the game without an extra-base hit in his past nine games, and just one in his past 15 (14 starts). "I feel good right now," Loney said. "Moyer likes to throw to both sides of the plate, but he threw me a fastball. I think I'm where I want to be right now." The Dodgers should be pleased where they are -- with the best record in the Majors (23-12) and a template to refer to for the next 44 games without Ramirez.Joseph Santoliquito is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
