Dan Haren Keeps Hot Streak Going in Dodgers Win

The veteran has found his groove at the right time for the club

If Dan Haren is pitching for a post-season rotation spot, he made a great case for himself Wednesday night in a 4-0 win over the Padres at Dodger Stadium.

The right-hander pitched seven innings of shutout ball allowing four hits while striking out five to pick up his fifth win in his last seven starts.

“I didn’t have the greatest stuff today,” Haren said afterward, adding, “I was locating good and I was keeping them off balance. They’re a young aggressive team, so sometimes softer stuff is a little better.”

Haren (13-10) has flat out dealt over the past month. In his last 42 1/3 innings the 33-year-old has a 1.71 ERA, he’s held opposing hitters to a .197 AVG and he's posted 29 strikeouts.

“This really has been more of the season [he’s had] than that little stretch during the season where he had three or four games where he struggled,” Mattingly said after the game.

Haren's toughest inning came in the fourth when Justin Turner’s error allowed Seth Smith to reach base to start the inning. Jedd Gyorko followed with a double. But, Haren bared down and got three straight outs. Yasmani Grandal popped out to second, Rene Rivera struck out and Will Venable grounded out to second.

Venable left the game later with a back strain.

Carl Crawford continues to swing the hottest bat in the National League. The left fielder went 4 for 4 with a franchise-tying three doubles, he also had two RBIs and a run scored. Crawford had his third straight multi-hit game, and he now has a league-leading .434 batting average since August 10th.

“You want to get in a groove and stay in it. This is the time of year where you want to have your swing right. It seems to be coming together for me right now,” Crawford said.

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Matt Kemp’s single to right in the second extended his hitting streak to 16 games. He finished 1 for 4.

Padres starter Ian Kennedy (10-13) took the loss. He went six innings, allowed three runs on 10 hits, he walked one and struck out five.

The Dodgers finished their nine-game homestand 6-3. The club heads to San Francisco for a three-game series starting Friday. 

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