Inside The Cage: The Dodgers Weekly Review

Clayton Kershaw pitches against the Rockies Photo by David Zalubowski/AP

Losing a series to open up a new month is not what any team wants. But that's exactly what happened to the Los Angeles Dodgers. By losing today, the Boys in Blue are now in the red, with having lost three of their first five games to open up July.

Clayton Kershaw was on the mound, July 4th, in Colorado, and was his usual dominant self. He lost another no-hitter in the third, when DJ LeMahieu singled; which just happened to be the Rockies' first base hit off of Kershaw in 13 innings.

But, it wouldn't matter as the Dodgers brought a little bit of fireworks(oh, c'mon, you knew a pun was coming) of their own to sunny Coors Field.

There wouldn't be much run-support needed, as Clayton extended his scoreless-innings streak to 36. While he was busy shutting down the Rockies offense, striking out eight while only allowing one walk, the bats were brought back to life.

Yasiel Puig homered in the first inning to dead center, giving the Dodgers an immediate 2-0 lead, as Dee Gordon lead off with a beautiful swinging bunt. After Hanley Ramirez had doubled, Andre Ethier tripled with two out, and the offense had closed out the inning with a 3-0 lead for Clayton Kershaw.

After kind-of cruising for four innings, Rockies' starting pitcher, Jair Jurrjens got himself into a little bit of a pickle in the fifth, with a lead off single to Gordon and hitting Ramirez on the hand. No x-rays were taken as he was removed from the game for precautionary reasons only, assured Dodgers skipper, Don Mattingly.

Stache Van Slick was able to bring upon furious vengeance with a homerun to left field. After that, the flood gates pretty much opened and the Dodgers were able to route the Rockies, in a nail-biter, 9-0.

After the game, Rockies center fielder, Drew Stubbs was interviewed and had this to say about the dominant left-hander: "I think his slider right now, to me, is the best pitch in the game for anybody. He's throwing it harder this year than I've ever seen before," he continued. "It's 87 to 90 mph and the arm slot it comes out of, it looks like a fastball then just disappears. It's just a really tough pitch to lay off of when it's down and in to a right-hander."

The general consensus? He really had his ju-ju going on Independence Day.

Dan Haren, who was on the hill Saturday afternoon, lost his very own no-hitter and shutout in the bottom of the first inning. After the Dodgers were able to give him a 2-0 lead, just as they did Kershaw, Haren was greeted with a single by Rockies' second baseman, Josh Rutledge. He was able to score on a fielder's choice by Nolan Arenado followed by Wilin Rosario cashing in Cory Dickerson.

Since the end of the first inning, Rockies' Jorge De La Rosa was on cruise control(not my twitter account), through his six inning s of work.

Dan Haren had himself a pretty horrible game, allowing eight earned runs to cross the plate. The bright side? He struck out eight while walking none.

With the long ball Haren served up to Dickerson in the 5th, he has now given up 17 homeruns on the season.

It wasn't until the top of the 7th where the Dodgers were finally able to make things happen; a ground-rule double by AJ Ellis, a walk to Miguel Rojas and a sharp single by newcomer, Clint Robinson and -- WHAM -- the Dodgers found themselves back in the game.

Failing to get anyone out, Nick Masset took himself out of the game with an apparent foot injury, leaving fellow reliever Boone Logan to try and mop up mid-batter. But to no avail, as Logan was relieved himself after walking the bases loaded.

At this point, Rockies relievers have yet to record a single out.

Adam Ottavino was brought in and immediately gave the Rockies a sigh of relief as he forced Juan Uribe to ground into a run-scoring double play. He, then, was able to strike out AJ Ellis, ending the threat.

Before it was all said in done, the Dodgers almost managed to tie it up, but the Rockies bullpen was able to stop the bleeding and end whatever rally they were trying to mount, with a final score of 7-8.

Perhaps the Dodgers should've saved a couple of runs and hits for today, from yesterday's blowout.

Dan Haren earned his 5th loss of the season while De La Rose notched his 9th win. July 8th's probables are: Josh Beckett for the Dodgers, as he tries for his 6th win and Rockies' Yohan Flande will be trying for his first.

First pitch is at 1:10pm PT.

Inside The Cage: Are The Dodgers Good, Or Just Plain Lucky?

Dodgers Left Fielder Matt Kemp and Right Fielder Yasiel Puig

The Dodgers might not go on another historic run as they did last year, going 42-8 in the final months of the 2013 season. But, going 14-7 after losing the series against the Chicago White Sox does mean that this club is heading in the right direction. And since losing the series against the White Sox to open up my birthday month, the worst they've done is split a series with a still-dangerous Reds team. If they can manage to split the last series of said handsome guy’s birth month, I’d say they’re still the team to beat in the NL West.

That might not be saying much, but let’s face it, teams like the Padres and Diamondbacks give the Dodgers the most problems.

The Dodgers have other pressing issues at hand as well, not just trying to win against underachieving teams. The first issue that comes to mind: Center Field. Andre Ethier is a solid fielder, just not a TRUE Center Fielder, and the minor league play and lack of communication of OF Scott Van Slyke last night is proof that you can’t-- shouldn't just throw anyone out there.

Maybe it’s time to start thinking about bringing up the talented Mr. Rip-- I mean, Joc Pederson? Possibly, but injuring his shoulder while trying to make a play in the field derailed the thought-train before pulling out of the station.

The outfield situation is steadily resolving itself, with the recent resurgence of Matt Kemp transitioning to Left Field without mishaps like the last few that cost him his Center Fielders job. Yasiel Puig continues to keep a firm grasp on his Right Field position, as well. I know, he’s been struggling at the plate as of late, but in reality, there’s no one I’d rather have playing Right Field for the Dodgers with the exception of Giancarlo Stanton. Even then, I’d throw him over to Left Field as he doesn't have a cannon for an arm like Puig does. I digress.

Now, assuming the Dodgers can win this series, or even come out with a split, they have a chance to take the division lead over arch-rival San Francisco, if they’re lucky. Of course, that all boils down to whether or not the Giants continue losing as they have been, and in baseball, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Will the Dodgers finally start playing up to the standards set by the entire baseball community, or will they have to keep depending on luck? I guess only time will tell. As for today, former Cy Young winner Zack Greinke takes the mound this afternoon to try for his 10th win of the season, against the Cardinals 8-game winner, Lance Lynn. It won’t be a walk in the park for these Los Angeles Dodgers, as it always feels like October when playing against these St. Louis Cardinals. Who knows, maybe they’ll get lucky.

UPDATE: Zack Greinke was untouchable in 7 innings as the Dodgers were able to pound the Cardinals 8-game winner, Lance Lynn, with a final score of 1-9. They can take the series with a win today with staff-ace Clayton Kershaw on the mound today.