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Loney homers, helps Dodgers snap lengthy skid

Sep 24, 2007 - 1:34 AM By Bob Huhn PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PHOENIX (Ticker) - In their final regular season home game the Arizona Diamondbacks had a chance to extend their lead in the National League West, but the Los Angeles Dodgers had other ideas.

Rookie James Loney had three hits including a two-run home run as the Dodgers snapped a season-high seven-game skid with a 7-1 victory over the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Despite the loss Arizona (88-68) still holds a 2 1/2 game lead over the San Diego Padres (85-69), who lost to the Colorado Rockies 7-3. The Diamondbacks have six games left on their schedule. All six are on the road, with three at Pittsburgh and three at Colorado.

"Each game will get more and more important," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "We are going into Pittsburgh and hopefully we can do some damage there. Then we go into Colorado who is as good as anyone in baseball right now, so it will be nice to do well in Pittsburgh and see where we are at."

Chad Billingsley (12-5), who now has won five of his last six decisions, went 5 2/3 innings allowing just the one run on five hits. The 22-year old righthander walked four but struck out six.

"I started kind of shaky but I was able to come back after that first inning," Billingsley said. "This year has been a learning experience. I feel so much more comfortable out there and right now my confidence level so much higher and that makes a real difference."

The Dodgers opened the scoring in the first inning when Tony Abreu connected for his second home run of the season off Diamondbacks' starter Edgar Gonzalez for a 1-0 lead.

The Diamondbacks came right back in the bottom of the frame to tie it at 1-1 on RBI single by Mark Reynolds that scored rookie Chris Young.

Los Angeles took the lead in the fourth after Loney and Russell Martin hit back-to-back singles to start the inning, and each advanced on a wild pitch. Andre Either's sacrifice fly scored Looney, and Andy LaRoche chased Gonzalez from the game with an RBI single to center to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.

The 24-year old Gonzalez (8-3) who has been used as a starter and out of the bullpen this Suffered a blister on his right index finger and lasted only 3 1/3 innings allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out two.

"The finger bothered me a lot," Gonzalez said. "I stayed in but I had trouble with my location because of it. I wanted to help my team but it is so hard to throw like that."

The Dodgers padded their lead in the fifth when, with a man on first Loney hit a shot into the right field bullpen off reliever Juan Cruz for a 5-1 advantage.

Los Angeles then tacked on two more runs in the eighth as Chin-Lung Hu drove in a run with a single. With runners on first-and-second, Juan Pierre reached on a infield single and rookie Delwyn Young scored on a throwing error by shortstop Stephen Drew for a 7-1 lead.

"The team played good today up and down the lineup," Los Angeles manager Grady Little said. "Chad was tremendous today. He has come along way. He is a much more composed pitcher who stays within himself much more then he did last year."