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PHOENIX (AP) -
Dan Haren
wasn't feeling his best Saturday night.
Try convincing the
Los Angeles Dodgers
of that.
Haren threw seven scoreless innings and
Conor Jackson
homered as the
Arizona Diamondbacks
beat the
Los Angeles Dodgers
3-2.
Haren (9-5) scattered four hits, struck out seven, walked two and allowed only two runners to reach second base just three
days after throwing two innings during Tuesday's All-Star Game.
And all of that came on a day when he was fighting a slight stomach virus.
''I didn't have much energy all day,'' Haren said. ''Through the course of the year you're not going to feel perfect every
time.''
The right-hander has surrendered two or fewer runs in eight of his last nine starts. He has struck out 59, walked 13 and posted
a 1.29 ERA in 63 innings over that span.
''It hasn't been the same recipe all the way through,'' Haren said. ''I get a feel for the game when I'm out there and go
with whatever is working.''
Haren lowered his ERA to 2.58.
''He's been phenomenal for the better part of two months,'' said Arizona manager
Bob Melvin
. ''I'm not sure there's a better pitcher in baseball right now.''
Chad Tracy
and
Stephen Drew
also drove in runs for the Diamondbacks, who snapped a brief two-game losing skid and moved one game in front of the Dodgers
in the NL West.
''This was about as big as it's going to get for this time of year,'' Jackson said.
Jeff Kent
homered to lead off the ninth for Los Angeles, which has lost four of its last six overall and 12 of its last 18 against Arizona.
''The most important thing, no matter what happens tomorrow, is we play games either team can win,'' said Dodgers manager
Joe Torre
. ''It doesn't matter what tomorrow's score is. If the score of the first two games is any indicator, these two clubs belong
on the same field.''
After Kent homered,
Brandon Lyon
retired
Nomar Garciaparra
on a fly to deep center.
James Loney
singled and scored on
Delwyn Young
's double to center to pull the Dodgers within 3-2.
Lyon retired Blake Dewitt on a grounder to short and walked pinch-hitter
Andruw Jones
before recording his 20th save when
Matt Kemp
flew out to right.
Jackson gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead two batters into the game when he homered just to the right of the left-field bullpen
off
Chad Billingsley
(9-9).
Orlando Hudson
and Tracy followed with consecutive doubles to make it 2-0.
Chris Young
walked and scored on a single to center by Drew to put Arizona ahead 3-0.
''It's good for us to get some runs for him (Haren) because he's about a lock to go seven or eight innings every time,'' Jackson
said.
Billingsley allowed three runs on seven hits over 5 2-3 innings with three walks and five strikeouts. The right-hander has
lasted fewer than six innings in two of his last three starts.
''Pretty much the whole game except the last two innings I was just battling with my timing,'' Billingsley said. ''Everything
was just off. I was pretty much battling myself the whole game.''
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