Things we learned from last night's game (7/16/11)

Hiroki Kuroda daydreams about what it would be like to have an offense
Photo credit: Getty Images

Overview: Kuroda solid, Kemp great, rest of team can't get it together. 3-2, Diamondbacks win.

Pros: Hiroki Kuroda overcame a rough couple of innings in the early going (even the outs the D'backs were hitting were hard in the first two innings) to put together another wasted quality start.  Tony Gwynn Jr. got on base three times in four at-bats, and continues to look pretty comfortable as the de facto leadoff hitter.  Scott Elbert came in and pitched two very strong scoreless innings.  Matt Kemp hits the baseball harder than anyone else on the planet.

Cons: Wow, the offense other than Kemp is awful.  Ethier is in a funk right now, hitting .167 in his last 10 games.  Furcal is 3 for 34 since coming off the DL (hat tip to @Joe_Block, who tweeted us in-game with that info).  Uribe was 0 for 3 before being pinch hit for in the 9th by James Loney.  Juan Rivera was 0 for 4, but that's not too surprising considering he was playing against an RHP.

What we learned: Same old story- if the other team can limit the damage Matt Kemp causes, they've got a good chance to win.  Furcal reduces whatever lingering trade value he has with every start, and Kuroda's record this season (now 6-11) has pretty much nothing to do with his ability.  This was a very winnable game that the Dodgers couldn't convert, and the kind of game that illustrates why the team needs to go back to the drawing board.