Twins' woes continue in 15-0 loss to Dodgers
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Matt Kemp and the Los Angeles Dodgers were hardly distracted by the team's latest trouble off the field.
Kemp had four hits, including his NL-leading 22nd home run, and Los Angeles had a little fun after a tough day by routing the skidding Minnesota Twins 15-0 Monday night.
Chad Billingsley cruised through six innings, combining with three relievers on Los Angeles' seventh shutout of the season. Casey Blake had a home run among his three hits for the Dodgers, who filed for bankruptcy protection earlier in the day.
"We've been dealing with it pretty much all season," said outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr., who finished with four hits. "It goes away for a month and then something comes up. Guys know they've got a job to do and baseball's hard enough as it is without those other worries. Guys pay no attention to it."
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Billingsley (7-6) allowed four hits and struck out four to win his second straight interleague start, backed by an offense that set season highs for runs and hits (25). For the first time in Los Angeles Dodgers history, every starter in the lineup had at least one hit, an RBI and a run scored.
"We got murdered," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Everything we threw up there, pretty much from the beginning, found holes and were hits. We missed some plays early in the game that cost us a little bit. But more than anything, (25) hits. That's a lot of hitting going on. And not a lot of swings on our side were very good."
The 25 hits allowed by the Twins set a club record for a nine-inning game.
Minnesota starter Nick Blackburn (6-6) lasted 4 1-3 innings, allowing eight runs - seven earned - and 13 hits as the Twins dropped their sixth straight game after an encouraging start to June.
It hasn't been an easy month for Los Angeles, either.
The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court Monday, blaming Major League Baseball for refusing to approve a multibillion-dollar TV deal that owner Frank McCourt was counting on to keep the troubled franchise afloat.
On the field, Los Angeles was coming off a 4-8 homestand that saw the team sink further in the NL West standings. But the Dodgers got a reprieve from their troubles for one night.
"It was nice, for sure," manager Don Mattingly said. "Just kind of living a day-to-day world more than anything else."
Every starter had a hit before the end of the fifth inning and the Dodgers scored in four of the first five frames against Blackburn.
"I wish we could have more days like that," Kemp said.
Kemp continued a torrid month, even by his lofty 2011 standards.
He's hit .395 in June with nine homers, 22 RBIs and seven stolen bases. He connected off Twins reliever Phil Dumatrait in the sixth with a home run high off the black batter's eye in center field.
"We're not really that worried too much about what else is going on other than playing baseball," Kemp said. "Our job is to go out here every day and win games, and try to win games. We can't worry really about too much."
Ex-Twins minor leaguer Trent Oeltjen went 4 for 4, including his first home run of the season, while falling a double short of the cycle.
The run support was a welcome sight for Billingsley, who had allowed 18 earned runs in 19 innings over four June starts. Two consecutive starts against AL Central teams have served him well, though.
He yielded one run and struck out five in beating Detroit last week. The Twins didn't have a runner reach second until the sixth when Joe Mauer doubled to left, but Alexi Casilla was thrown out at home to end the inning.
NOTES: Twins CF Denard Span (concussion) has progressed to agility drills and running outside, but he's still not taking batting practice, only hitting in the cages inside. Span must pass a series of tests required by Major League Baseball before he can return. ... Dodgers RHP Matt Guerrier caught up with some of his friends and former teammates in the Twins bullpen before the game. "Probably more weird just going out and pitching against the guys," Guerrier said, "but it's just fun to be back."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
