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Dodgers get 25 hits in rout of Twins

Jun 28, 2011 - 5:50 AM Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Trent Oeltjen was one of three Los Angeles batters to record four hits, and the Dodgers totaled 25 hits to tie a record in a 15-0 rout of the Minnesota Twins in the first of a three-game interleague series.

The 25 hits ties a Los Angeles record, also set by the Dodgers on May 19, 2006 against the Angels.

Chad Billingsley tossed six shutout innings, but he didn't have to be nearly that good. Billingsley (7-6) allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out four in the Dodgers' second straight win after a three-game slide.

Oeltjen went 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored in a game that saw every Los Angeles starter record at least one hit, one RBI and a run scored. That's the first time it's happened in LA Dodgers history.

Matt Kemp had four hits, including a homer, and knocked in two runs. Tony Gwynn Jr. also had four hits. It was the biggest shutout for the Dodgers since June 28, 1969, a 19-0 triumph at San Diego. That was Don Drysdale's final career shutout and second-to-last career victory.

"That was fun to watch the guys hit today. I was just going out there trying to be aggressive and trying not to walk guys," said Billingsley. "With the guys swinging the bats that well, you just want to get them back up there."

Nick Blackburn (6-6) was touched for eight runs -- seven earned -- on a season-high 12 hits allowed in just 4 1/3 innings for the Twins.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka had two of the Twins' four hits as Minnesota dropped its sixth consecutive contest.

Gwynn led off the game with a single, stole second and advanced to third on Casey Blake's groundout before scoring on a fielding error by Nishioka on an Andre Ethier grounder to short. Ethier then came home when Kemp laced a double off the right-center field fence to give the Dodgers an early two-run advantage.

That was all the offense they needed, but they kept the offense coming.

Los Angeles added a run in the third on three consecutive two-out singles by Ethier, Kemp and James Loney.

Oeltjen led off the fourth with his first home run of the year and Gwynn later smacked a two-out single, stole second and crossed the plate when Blake pulled a ball through the left side of the infield to make it a 5-0 game.

Three straight one-out singles by Juan Uribe, Oeltjen and A.J. Ellis in the fifth plated a run and knocked Blackburn off the mound.

Anthony Swarzak entered the game and had the same result when Dee Gordon hit a ball right back up the middle for a fourth straight single, bringing home Oeltjen. After a Gwynn strikeout, Blake legged out an infield single to load the bases, and Swarzak's next pitch skipped off the plate and to the backstop, allowing Ellis to score on the wild pitch.

The Dodgers continued their onslaught in the sixth with Uribe's RBI single and Oeltjen's sacrifice fly.

Blake and Kemp both blasted solo shots in the seventh inning, and an RBI double by Gordon, a run-scoring single by Gwynn and a sac fly by pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro in the eighth made it 15-0.

Minnesota only had a runner advance further than first base once in the game and that was in the sixth. Alexi Casilla worked a two-out walk and Joe Mauer followed by slapping a double into the left-field corner. Casilla rounded third to try and score the Twins' first run, but Gordon's relay throw home was placed right at the plate as Casilla slid home. Ellis had the plate blocked and put down the tag, ending the inning and keeping Minnesota off the board.

"That was embarrassing. We didn't hit. We played shoddy defense," said Twins third baseman Danny Valencia. "Today was bad. There's really nothing else to say. That was bad and depressing."

Game Notes

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was named the National League Player of the Week on Monday for the period ending June 26...Loney has hit safely in eight of his last nine games. In six of those games he has recorded multiple hits...Oeltjen was a double short of the cycle and Kemp was a triple shy of the feat...The Dodgers originally had 24 hits, but an official scoring change took away an error and gave Ethier a hit...Earlier in the day, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to maintain control of the team.