The biggest problem for the Phillies over the past couple months has been a lack of offensive production and consistency, so it was nice to see them score six runs in the series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. Unfortunately, the pitching, which has been the consistent stalwart all season, was abysmal, giving up eight runs to one of the worst run scoring teams in the league. Yes, the Dodgers have been a better offensive team since acquiring Casey Blake and Manny Ramirez, but are still not considered an offensive force to be reckoned with. The Boys In Blue came into Monday’s game riding a two game losing streak, to the Giants!

As a team, the Dodgers have scored 498 runs this year. That is 24 in the majors, better than only the Padres, Giants, and Nationals in the National League. And yet, the Phillies gave up eight runs to a team that scored 12 runs the whole series against San Francisco.

This team seriously makes me nauseous from all the back and forth inconsistency. One night they can’t score a single run, but only give up two runs. The next day they’ll score 20 runs! The next day they give up eight runs to a team that has lost their last two series.

Second year starter Kyle Kendrick was the victim of the shelling from the Dodgers, giving up seven runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings. The outing bumped up his ERA .37 points to 4.74.

Kendrick made it through the first two innings OK, but imploded in the third inning, giving up a two-run homerun to Blake and a two-run double to Ramirez. First baseman James Loney added three RBIs of his own as the Dodgers were able to stave off a late run by the Phillies, winning 8-6.

Phillies’ first baseman Ryan Howard knocked in two runs for his 100 RBI of the year, tying him with Houston’s Carlos Lee for the league lead. Howard is tied with Arizona’s Adam Dunn for the lead league in homeruns with 32.

The Phillies were only able to score three runs off Los Angeles starter Derek Lowe, who was coming off one of the worst starts in his career in which he gave up eight runs and 13 hits over 3 1-3 innings in a 9-6 loss at St. Louis last Wednesday.

The Phillies scored two runs in the seventh and one run in the ninth, but it was not enough as Jonathan Broxton notched his eighth save of the year.

They look to rebound Tuesday with Cole Hamels (9-8, 3.35) on the mound against 20-year old rookie Clayton Kershaw (2-3, 3.71).