Diamondbacks Lay the Wood to the Dodgers

The Dodgers opened their series in Arizona by giving James McDonald his first career start. It didn't work out as well as they had hoped, as McDonald lasted just two and a third innings before being chased during L.A.'s 9-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.

 McDonald had not given up a single run in his 13-plus innings of relief work last season, but that all came to an end in the third, when Arizona's Chris Young opened the inning with a solo shot to left field. Things unraveled from there, as McDonald then walked two batters and hit a third with a pitch to load the bases with one out.

After walking in a run, McDonald gave up a two-run single to Conor Jackson, before being pulled after giving up a total of four earned runs.

If McDonald's arm wasn't bad enough, his bat hurt just as much in the top of the second.

With runners on first and second and one out, McDonald took his turn at the plate. He showed bunt for the first couple of pitches, but then, facing a 3-1 count, he swung away - right into an inning-ending double play.

Casey Blake cranked a two-run homer in the seventh, and Manny Ramirez had an RBI-single in the eighth to cut the lead to 6-4. But a three-run bottom half of the inning sealed it for the D'Backs.

"I fell behind hitters, walked guys. You can't do that, obviously," McDonald said afterwards. "I felt like I didn't give my team a good chance to win."

It's hard to put all of the blame on McDonald for the loss, but then again, it's hard to win when your starting pitcher doesn't last more than two and a third innings, either.