17 out of the last 18. That's how many games the Dodgers have now won. That's a franchise best, people. They haven't had a stretch this good since 1899, when Kenny Lofton was 19 years old, and the Dodgers were not the Dodgers, but rather the "Superbas". WTF kind of a name is that? Thank god someone had the sense to change it.

Also changed tonight was Chad Billingsley's control. In 7 shutout innings he walked only one and struck out 9, a complete 180 from what he's been doing so far this season. Before this start, he'd walked 47 in 61.1 IP, including 6 in his last start alone. That wasn't gonna get it done. There was some grumbling in the media that the kid might lose his spot in the rotation if he didn't start throwing strikes. Well, this guarantees we keep sending him out there every fifth day. I mean, would you rather have Aaron Sele going out there? I sure as hell wouldn't. The Dodgers kept him fresh for his seldom used long relief role by letting him toss the 9th tonight, where he finished the game in 7 pitches.

The Dodgers keep getting superb pitching, clutch hitting, and flawless defense and they keep winning. We now have a 3.5 game lead in the NL West, and get ready for the stretch run of September. After tomorrow's finale with the Fish, we go on a 9 game road-trip agains the Giants, Padres and D-Backs. That'll be an important one, as we'll find out if the Dodgers can hold their division lead on the road, where they're 6 games under .500. But as of right now, it doens't look like anything can stop the Dodgers.