First time the Dodgers have been swept by the Brewers. First time the Dodgers have been swept at home since 1993, according to PrimeTicket. My friend texted me “What the [redacted] is Billingsley doing?!” I am not sure what is up with Billz performance this year, but it’s not promising. I am assured that he has simply been unlucky, and may back this up with advanced statistics later. However, the Dodgers cannot afford less-than-stellar pitching from Kershaw and Billingsely (and everyone else, really) while the offense is stalled. By the way: the Dodgers have hit into 7 double plays in the last two games. Rally killers, indeed.

Kemp is out for 4 weeks with two Grade 1 hamstring strains. I tweeted Eric Cressey, one of the big names in fitness and baseball training about it, and he had this to say:

@maddzGoesRAWR Hams = tough to beat in-season once tweaked. Smart to take time to get it right. Sue Falsone is great; she’ll get him right.

— Eric Cressey (@EricCressey) June 1, 2012

 

That’s great to hear, but 4 weeks is a long time, especially in the middle of the season. Hopefully the cushion that the Dodgers have amassed so far will hold up until Matt can come back.

The Dodgers head to Colorado tomorrow to face the Rockies.

So, I’m not sure why, but the Brewers are next to impossible for the Dodgers to defeat. The Dodgers put up a run in the first inning, as Matt Kemp scored from first on a Andre Ethier single, but that single would come at a price: Matt Kemp’s hamstring. He apparently re-aggravated his left hamstring. Although this is scary, it could just be that he felt it twinge after sprinting for his life around the bases. He also wasn’t happy about it, as you can see from this here GIF. Kemp has a MRI scheduled tomorrow to check out his hamstring. I’m hoping that it’s just an issue of his hamstring chirping and that he was taken out as a precaution.

Andre Ethier, by the way, is hitting the ball very, very well. He went 3-4 tonight, with one double and two singles. Elian Herrera had a nice two-run RBI single in the 7th, but he also had three strikeouts.

Honestly, I’m not sure what this team needs at this point other than the return of Matt Kemp. I’m not sure the team improves with the return of either Juan Rivera or Juan Uribe, and the jury seems to still be out on whether or not Mark Ellis is going to be returning to the active roster in a timely fashion. Adam Kennedy isn’t doing the team any favors, and it seems inevitable that Dodger fans will soon see the return of everyone’s favorite utility infielder, Aaron Miles (and I love Aaron Miles, I named my car after him. I’m not kidding).

By the way, if you’re on twitter and need your Vin Scully fix, some internet hero has solved your problem. Follow @VinScullyTweet for all of your Vin-related needs. Did you know, for example, that “Uggla” is Swedish for Owl?

The Dodgers are now 32-18.

Thanks to my wonderful mother, I was able to go to tonight’s game and sit relatively close behind home plate. It was a really cool experience. However, apparently the Dodgers did not get the memo, because I would not use the adjective “cool” to describe their performance as they lost 3 – 2 to the Milwaukee Brewers. No, I would describe their performance as “meh”. Aaron Harang did alright, allowing a homerun to Aramis Ramirez, and the bullpen did a decent job as well. The offense, however, was lackluster, and was only able to put up 2 runs. They looked overmatched. While Shaun Marcum is good, he’s not overwhelmingly so, and made it through 7 IP without much trouble at all.

The only thing that really stood out to me was Dee Gordon’s performance, and not in a good way. Despite some improved success in the 8 hole, Dee had three consecutive swinging strikeouts. That high fastball is going to take some getting used to.

You’d think a local boy would get at least a little love, even if he played for another team. However, when that local boy “stole” the NL MVP award away from Matt Kemp and then allegedly tested positive for prohibitive substances, the fans at Dodger Stadium are going to be less that welcoming. The crowd, which was relatively mild if not detached throughout the game, woke up whenever Ryan Braun come up to bat. The Left Field Pavilion also changed “STEROIDS” at him whenever he took the field. Stay classy, guys.

Michael Antonini was called up to the big team after news that Ted Lilly was going on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, but optioned tonight. So, that’s two trips up to the big club where Antonini has been called up and has not played.

Matt Kemp returns tomorrow, after hitting two homeruns in his rehab assignment with AAA Albuquerque. It appears hitting on the moon agrees with Kemp. Hopefully, the Ravine will as well.

Despite losing, the Dodgers still have a league-best record of 32-16.