Nationals hand slumping Dodgers 6th straight loss (AP)
34 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Tim Redding outpitched Greg Maddux to send the Los Angeles Dodgers to a season-high sixth consecutive loss, 5-4 Wednesday night against the Washington Nationals.
The Dodgers, who have scored just 10 runs in the past six games, have lost eight straight road games for the first time since June 2005.
Casey Blake's run-scoring bloop single in the eighth brought the Dodgers within a run, and they loaded the bases with two outs before closer Joel Hanrahan came on. He got Matt Kemp to fly out and end the inning before finishing for his sixth save.
Redding (9-8) held the Dodgers in check for six innings, allowing three solo homers among eight hits.
Maddux (6-11) allowed two earned runs and four overall on eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. In the third inning, a rare defensive lapse by Maddux led to a run.
With runners on first and third and one out, Maddux fielded Milledge's comebacker and threw to second in an attempt to start a double play. The throw sailed high, landing in the glove of second baseman Jeff Kent backing up the play. Kent's throw to first was too late to catch Lastings Milledge, and Willie Harris came home to score the tying run before Ronnie Belliard's RBI single gave Washington a 3-2 lead.
Washington added a run on another Dodger miscue in the fourth, when Emilio Bonifacio scored from second on an error by Kent.
Ryan Zimmerman gave the Nationals a cushion with his own solo shot in the seventh, homering for the first time since May 17.
James Loney and Blake homered in the second and Washington got a run back in the bottom half when Milledge singled, stole second and then came home on a pair of groundouts.
Andre Ethier homered in the fifth for Los Angeles.
Notes:@ Los Angeles recalled IF Blake DeWitt from Triple-A Las Vegas and designated IF Pablo Ozuna for assignment before the game. ... Ethier's 17 homers lead the Dodgers.