Dodgers' win streak comes to historic end

LOS ANGELES -- Chris Capuano was asked what it felt like to see the reliever the Dodgers had on the mound in the ninth inning Friday night.

"Terrible," he said.

The reliever was utility man Skip Schumaker. And if utility men are pitching -- even Schumaker, with a second scoreless inning and 0.00 ERA this year -- the Dodgers are losing big.

But this was a hideous loss of historic proportions, a 16-1 pulverization by the Phillies for the most lopsided home loss by a Dodgers team since 1947 in Brooklyn (19-2 to the Giants) and the largest margin of defeat since 2001 (20-1 to the Cubs). The 16 runs allowed were the Dodgers' most since 2003 in Houston.

For more urgent matters, it obliterated the Dodgers' six-game win streak and again exposed the lack of a long man in the bullpen, which (if you count Schumaker) had to pick up 5 1/3 innings after Capuano left.

Capuano, sharp last time out on short rest, brought a streak of 11 scoreless innings into this game. But on normal rest he lasted only 3 2/3 innings, allowing 10 hits.

The Phillies unleashed a 21-hit attack, the most the Dodgers have allowed since 2007, and they included three by winning pitcher John Lannan. Michael Young (who had four hits) and John Mayberry Jr. homered. Delmon Young had six RBIs.

"The problem was I wasn't locating enough to get ahead, so they were in hitters counts and I had to come to the zone with usually bad results," said Capuano.

Capuano also was the victim of several defensive misplays and more than his share of bad luck. Of seven runs charged, five were earned.

"It seemed like they had his number tonight," said manager Don Mattingly. "Nothing really went right tonight."

Capuano, who stepped up for the club to pitch on three days' rest in Sunday's win in San Diego, was booed by Dodger Stadium fans as he left the mound.

"It was tough. I didn't do anything well," said Capuano. "I didn't make pitches, I failed to cover first base, a big error on my part, and I missed a sign hitting.

"I just hate to be the one to stop our momentum. It was frustrating. Giving up runs early, the only saving grace is they keep them there and save the bullpen. I didn't do that. Sometimes, thins spiral away from you."

Mattingly said he felt bad for extending and sacrificing relievers Peter Moylan and Matt Guerrier.

"But at the end of the day ..." he said, "it ends up being a loss. One like this, a game you lose in the ninth inning hurts a lot worse. Those linger. Here you take a beating and you come back ready to play tomorrow."

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel offered the flip side to that observation.

"I don't need to say a whole lot," he said. "You have big games like that and it's a big lifter and everything. But also when you lose, you've got to be careful not to talk a whole lot because the other team gets mad and they might rare up and beat you tomorrow. That's having respect for the game."

The Dodgers' run came on a rare walk to Yasiel Puig with two outs in the sixth inning and a pinch-hit double by Scott Van Slyke, activated from the disabled list before the game while Luis Cruz was designated for assignment. Hanley Ramirez followed with a single that extended his hitting streak to 10 games, but Van Slyke was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Delmon Young.

Until then, the Dodgers offense had been contained by Lannan to three hits. In addition to an infield single to Jerry Hairston in the third inning and a single to center by Andre Ethier in the fifth, there was a fourth-inning liner off the right-field wall by Puig, who gave a home-run bat flip and started a trot only to be held to a single by Young.

Capuano opened the game with Michael Young and Chase Utley shooting singles back through the box.

"I should have gotten my glove on them," he said.

Then he walked Jimmy Rollins to load the bases with no outs. Domonic Brown hit a possible double-play all to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, but Capuano didn't break off the mound aggressively and was late covering first as Young scored.

Delmon Young then singled to left, scoring Utley. Mayberry hit what could have been another double-play grounder, but beat Ramirez's throw to first as Brown took third, and he scored on Ben Revere's line single past Ramirez.

Capuano's problems resumed in the second inning when Lannan led off with a broken-bat single. A double-play grounder by Michael Young only set the stage for a two-out rally -- a double by Utley, an RBI single by Rollins (with Puig's late throw home allowing Rollins to take second), Gonzalez's eighth fielding error putting runners on the corners, then both scoring on Delmon Young's double.

Capuano got through the third inning easily, but Michael Young led off the fourth with a home run to left. Moylan, pressed into long relief duty, allowed five runs in two innings, including a two-run homer by Mayberry. Philadelphia scored three more runs off Guerrier and one run off Brandon League.