Rangers Struggle Against NL's Best

With the Los Angeles Dodgers coming to town for a 2-game set, Texas looked to measure themselves against the National League's best.

In game one of the series, Vicente Padilla worked out of a few jams, pitching five innings of shutout ball, setting the tone for the night.

"Padilla attacked the zone and kept guys off balance with off-speed stuff," Dodgers centre fielder Matt Kemp said.

The trio of Padilla, Jason Jennings, and the newly acquired Jason Grilli controlled the Dodgers, blanking them 6-0, Texas' 2nd consecutive shutout.

Texas also showed a little offense for the first time in several games, getting an RBI single from Michael Young and a 2-run blast from Hank Blalock, both of whom had been struggling at the plate.

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In game two of the series, both Scott Feldman and Dodgers starter Randy Wolf were mowing hitters down, both of them pitching five shutout innings. But an issues with the stadium lights forced a 1 hour and 41 minute delay, forcing both pitchers from the game.

L.A. manufactured a run in the top of the 6th which was match by a big, opposite field homerun by Andruw Jones. But in the 7th, with Jason Grilli on the mound, Matt Kemp hit a big 2-run blast, giving the Dodgers the lead and, ultimately, the victory.

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In the rubber match of the series, Derek Holland looked very much like a rookie pitcher, walking four and allowing four earned runs over five innings pitched, including a 3-run homerun by Casey Blake. 72% of Holland's pitches were fastballs and Los Angeles took advantage, making solid contact.



Holland is 0-3 with a 7.08 ERA after four starts for the Rangers.

The Rangers offense again appeared disjointed and out of sync, scattering just six basehits over nine innings. The group of Kinsler, Murphy, Byrd, & Andrus went a combined 0-for-13 with two strikeouts.

Texas has now lost 8 of their last 13 games and are averaging 3.3 runs per game during that stretch.

Michael Young says there's nothing to worry about.

"There's nothing in here that says anybody is going to panic with our offense," said Young. "We're a confident group we can make adjustments."

Texas has a day off tomorrow to regroup before hosting the Houston Astros for a 3-game set.