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Nationals hand skidding Dodgers sixth straight loss

Aug 28, 2008 - 4:06 AM By Rich Dubroff PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Much like their ability to get clutch hits lately, the Los Angeles Dodgers are failing to capitalize on a golden opportunity to make this season a memorable one.

Tim Redding allowed three runs in six innings, outpitching Greg Maddux to lead the Washington Nationals to a 5-4 win over the slumping Dodgers on Wednesday.

It was the sixth straight loss for Los Angeles (65-68), which continues to trail National League West-leading Arizona (68-65) by three games after the Diamondbacks lost for their fourth consecutive game earlier in the day.

The slide is the Dodgers' longest of the season. In addition, their eight-game losing streak on the road is the team's longest since June 2005.

"We're going through a bad time right now, but I certainly don't buy that we're not any good," Dodger manager Joe Torre said.

Despite the slide, the Dodgers have lost only one game in the standings to Arizona.

"To me, I look at it as a missed opportunity," Torre said. "Sure, we could be farther behind, but we could be ahead."

In regards to missed opportunities, Torre could have easily been talking about his team's ability to hit in the clutch.

Los Angeles continued its struggles with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-9 until Casey Blake run-scoring bloop RBI single in the eighth actually improved its average in such situations to .077 (3-for-39) over the last three games.

"I'm getting real tired of it, as is everybody," Blake said. "You play this game long enough and you know teams are going to hit skids like this. It's just part of the game. But it's still frustrating to go through it."

Redding (9-8) yielded all three of his runs on solo homers, but was still good enough to beat Maddux (6-11), who surrendered four runs - two earned - in his second straight loss since joining the Dodgers on August 19.

"I didn't beat Maddux," Redding said. "We beat the Dodgers."

Maddux, who failed in his attempt to tie Roger Clemens for eighth place on the all-time win list with 354 victories, pitched 5 1/3 innings. He permitted four runs and eight hits, walking one while also hitting a batter.

Trailing 2-1 in the third, the Nationals scored twice, with Willie Harris and Cristian Guzman leading off the frame with a pair of singles. After Ryan Zimmerman moved Harris to third with a grounder, Lastings Milledge bounced back to Maddux, who threw wildly to second, allowing Harris to score.

'I'm not happy with the outcome," Maddux said. "I'd like that throw back."

Ronnie Belliard singled to score Zimmerman and give the Nationals the lead.

Washington plated another unearned run in the fourth. After Emilio Bonifacio singled with one out, Redding moved him over with a sacrifice bunt before Bonifacio scored from second when second baseman Jeff Kent was unable to corral Harris' grounder.

Los Angeles moved to within 4-3 on a solo homer from Andre Ethier in the fifth, but Zimmerman returned the favor with a solo shot in the seventh - his eighth - to add an insurance run.

Blake's eighth-inning single scored Manny Ramirez to move to the Dodgers to within 5-4, but closer Joel Hanrahan retired Matt Kemp to end the eighth and worked around a two-out single by Ramirez in the ninth to post his sixth save.