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Dodgers aim to rebound against Mets

Jul 5, 2011 - 3:01 PM (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Dodgers were in cruise control for most of Monday night versus the New York Mets until rookie Rubby De La Rosa's no-hit bid was broken up during a three-run sixth inning.

Everything seemed to collapse from there in the 5-2 loss for the Dodgers, as they try to pick up the pieces tonight in the second test of a four-game series from Chavez Ravine. De La Rosa's no-hitter ended on Ruben Tejada's leadoff single in the sixth and he later came around to score on Angel Pagan's double. Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy recorded RBI doubles one out later, sending De La Rosa to his fourth straight loss.

De La Rosa was touched for three runs and five hits over seven innings with five strikeouts and one walk. Scott Elbert allowed two more runs in relief.

"We gave [the sellout crowd] a lot of action in the beginning and excited them, but we couldn't do much after that," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly.

James Loney hit RBI singles in the second and fourth inning to stake De La Rosa to a 2-0 lead, but the Dodgers couldn't avoid their third straight loss and 13th in the past 19 tries. All-Star Matt Kemp scored twice for Los Angeles, which opened a seven-game residency on a sour note and will also host San Diego for three games at Dodger Stadium. Kemp was just selected to start next week's All-Star Game in center field.

Aaron Miles went 1-for-4 and is hitting .451 over his last 23 games since June 4. Miles led all National League players in batting average for the month of June with a .419 clip. In other news, Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier is second to Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino for the National League's 2011 All-Star Game Final Vote roster spot through one day of voting.

"There's three and a half days left -- punch your fingers away," Ethier said on the club's site. "There's East Coast bias out there, so this is a chance for us West Coasters to overcome it. If we need added incentive, there it is, to put a Dodger in the All-Star Game."

Ted Lilly is far from being All-Star worthy and hopes to snap out of his recent funk when he toes the rubber Tuesday night. Lilly has been bothered by an elbow problem and has lost three straight starts, going 1-4 with a 7.01 ERA over his last five trips to the mound. He has allowed at least five earned runs in each of his last three starts and was banged around for six runs and nine hits over 4 2/3 innings of a 6-4 loss at Minnesota last Tuesday.

Lilly did not have any strikeouts or walks and fell to 5-8 in 17 starts to go along with a 4.97 ERA. The veteran left-hander is 3-5 in eight starts at Chavez Ravine this season and will face the Mets for the seventh time in his career. Lilly owns a 2-1 mark and a 3.52 ERA in six games (5 starts) in this series and has held the Mets to a .219 batting average in that time.

The Mets recorded their second consecutive win and eighth in 12 tries with Monday's 5-2 victory. Pagan had two hits, two runs scored and an RBI, while Beltran, Murphy, Jason Bay and Lucas Duda each knocked in a run for New York, which played without star shortstop Jose Reyes for a second straight game because of a strained left hamstring.

Reyes has been out since Saturday's 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees and is expected to test the leg before tonight's game. He is batting .354 with 15 triples and 30 steals, and was voted to start at shortstop for the upcoming All-Star Game at Chase Field in Arizona.

"Now I know my body better, so I don't want to go out there too soon," Reyes said on New York's website. "I don't want that to happen, so that's why I want to take my time, and when I'm ready to play, I'm going to play."

Chris Capuano pitched six innings for the win last night and allowed two runs and six hits with five K's and two walks. Bobby Parnell tossed two scoreless innings of relief and Francisco Rodriguez nailed down his 21st save with a scoreless ninth inning.

New York opened a seven-game road trip on a positive note and will also visit San Francisco for three games on this West Coast trek. Bay, meanwhile, extended his hitting streak to a season-high seven games and is batting .346 over that span for the Mets, who are 11-6 in their last 17 road games and 4-0-1 in the past five road series.

Mike Pelfrey will try to avoid a third straight loss when he gets the call Tuesday for the Mets. Pelfrey has dropped two straight and four of his last five decisions, including Thursday's 5-2 loss at Detroit in which he allowed five runs -- four earned -- on eight hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings. He is now 4-7 in 17 starts this season with a 4.92 ERA.

Pelfrey hasn't enjoyed much success on the road this season, going 1-7 with a 6.75 ERA in 10 away starts. The right-hander has faced the Dodgers three times in his career and owns an 0-1 mark with a 4.80 ERA.

New York won two of three meetings with Los Angeles from May 6-8 at Citi Field and is 7-4 in the past 11 matchups in this series.