Dodgers' hot bullpen stops Phillies cold

LOS ANGELES - The Phillies left Dodger Stadium yesterday afternoon with a sense of where they stand compared to teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the National League West.

"We definitely can play with them," manager Charlie Manuel said after a 5-4 loss. "I know they beat us two of three, but we can play with them. They beat us Monday. We beat them Tuesday. But we were right there with them today. They got the big hit at the right time, and they held us."

"I think we can play with anybody in this league," said Ryan Howard, who went 2 for 3 with a home run to center field in the second inning. "I think everybody in here believes that."

But while they may be able to play with anybody, can they beat them on a consistent basis?

Or are they short?

The Dodgers thrashed the Phillies on Monday, 10-3. The Phillies returned the favor on Tuesday, 15-3.

But the Dodgers pitched a little better and won yesterday.

Phillies rookie Kyle Kendrick (4-1) took his first loss in the big leagues. In 51/3 innings, he allowed seven hits, five runs and two home runs. He threw a 1-2 fastball over the middle of the plate in the fourth inning that Andre Ethier crushed to right field for a three-run home run that gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. Kendrick threw a 2-1 slider to Luis Gonzalez in the sixth inning that he hit to right field for a homer that put the Dodgers up by 5-4.

"You can't win all of them. It would be nice," Kendrick said. "A couple of pitches left up and they didn't miss them. They hit them well."

The Phillies touched Chad Billingsley for four runs in five innings. But Rudy Seanez, Joe Beimel, Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito each threw a scoreless inning in relief - Saito allowed the only hit against the Phillies in the final four innings, Greg Dobbs' pinch-hit single to right - to silence the visitors.

"Good pitching beats good hitting," said Phillies centerfielder Aaron Rowand, who went 1 for 3 with a double and an RBI. "We battled. I don't think they're that much better than us. We played them tough. They kicked our [tail]. We kicked their [tail]. And then we came up a little short in a close one.

"We need to get good pitching. Kyle has done a great job all season long of giving us an opportunity to win. He gave up a big home run today but didn't get flustered. We just faced a tough pitcher today that we were trying to scratch out some runs against. We came up short.

"They have a good bullpen, too. That's why they're in first place. It doesn't matter how good your offense is. If you have good pitching, you're going to be good because you always have a chance to win a game."

Case in point: the San Diego Padres, whom the Phillies play in a four-game series beginning tonight at Petco Park.

The Padres entered yesterday with a 3.13 earned run average, the best in baseball. But they also hit just .242 as a team, the worst average in baseball.

Despite their lack of offensive punch, they entered yesterday just one game behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

Yes, this week's seven-game road trip just seems to get tougher.

"San Diego is a great team, too," Howard said. "They've got a lot of pitching. We've got Chris Young the first day, and the last time I checked he's an all-star. We've got Jake Peavy at the end of the series. We've got our hands full. . . . This game is crazy. You'll get 26 hits one night and the next day you'll scuffle a bit. Right now, we just have to try to put it behind us and go to San Diego and right the ship."