Things we learned from Last Night's Game (7/22)

Hiroki Kuroda, considering a career move.



Overview: Time to trade Kuroda, if only because he deserves better. Nationals 7 Dodgers 2.

Pros: Despite a rough start to the game, including giving up a two-run homerun to Nationals pitcher John Lannan, Hiroki Kuroda put out yet another quality start. He pitched 6.1 innings and gave up three runs while striking out 7. He's putting together such a solid season that we genuinely feel bad for the guy that his record is 6-12. Hopefully the guy gets traded to a contender (and the Dodgers get back a useful player or two) and ends his season on a high note. We'll be genuinely sorry to see him go, but it's time. In other positives, Kenley Jansen faced 4 batters and struck out all of them. He continues to be a rising star on an otherwise disappointing team.

Cons: Where to start? Let's see, the offense was again abysmal. The Dodgers only scored their two runs because of bad Washington defense. Other than that, they made no real threat of getting back into the game. Even Matt Kemp has slumped lately. He is 3 for his last 19, with 10 strikeouts and no RBI's and 1 walk in that time. Hopefully he pulls out of this soon. Other than that, Guerrier gave up a grand slam in the 9th, the Dodgers managed just 3 hits, and Juan Uribe again went hitless.

What we've learned: It's tough to rag on a guy who's been so good all year, but Kemp's little mini slump just shows that without him hitting at a God-like level, the Dodgers are just as likely to solve the debt-ceiling crisis than score runs.