PHILADELPHIA — All that was missing was the Wolf Pack.
Randy Wolf dominated his former team, James Loney homered and drove in four runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-2 Wednesday night.
Wolf (2-1) allowed one run and three hits, striking out eight in six sharp innings in his second career start against the Phillies. Wolf spent his first eight years in Philadelphia, leaving after the 2006 season. His fan club called itself the Wolf Pack and used to sit in the bleachers wearing masks when he pitched.
“There’s a lot of moments here, that’s for sure,” Wolf said.
Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez hit solo homers for the Phillies, who got another poor outing from Jamie Moyer (3-3).
The 46-year-old Moyer still needs one victory to become the oldest pitcher to reach 250 wins. He allowed seven runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings, while his ERA rose to 8.15.
“I don’t really feel frustrated,” Moyer said. “I’m not making pitches I’d like to make. Every mistake I make has gotten hit hard. I guess I have to be mistake-free.”
The Dodgers, who have the best record in the NL at 23-12, won for the second time in six games without suspended slugger Manny Ramirez.
Moyer breezed through the first three innings, allowing just one hit. But the Dodgers got five runs off him in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead.
Rafael Furcal doubled to start the inning and Orlando Hudson lined an RBI double to left. After a one-out walk to Russell Martin, Loney hit a three-run drive to right for his first homer this season.
“It feels good,” Loney said. “Sometimes we all struggle at the same time. But the guys swung the bats well. Hopefully we’ll keep it up.”
Matt Kemp and Casey Blake followed Loney’s shot with consecutive singles. Wolf then dropped a perfect sacrifice that allowed Kemp to race home from second base. Kemp’s headfirst dive beat second baseman Chase Utley’s throw to the plate.
“Kemp gave us a big lift with his aggressiveness on the base paths,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “That’s how we need to be.”
The Dodgers chased Moyer in the fifth. Loney had an RBI single and Blake’s sacrifice fly made it 7-1. Blake hit a two-run homer off Clay Condrey in the ninth.
Despite his recent struggles, Moyer walked off the mound to a nice hand from fans. He’s 0-2 with a 13.87 ERA in his last three starts. Moyer was 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA last season, so the Phillies ignored his age and rewarded him with a $13 million, two-year contract.
“I don’t think he’s right,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “His command comes and goes. He has a hard time getting a feel for where he wants the ball to go. I’ve seen him go through stretches like this. I know how bad he wants to do good.”
Rollins, batting fifth instead of his usual leadoff spot for the second straight game, lined a solo shot for a 1-0 lead in the second. He was 2 for 17 before connecting for the second time this season.
The only down side for Wolf was his pitch count. He threw 113 pitches.
“I didn’t think I was very efficient,” Wolf said. “I ran some deep counts. That’s a tough lineup. You’ve got to be careful out there. They’re dangerous.”<
Notes: The Phillies hired former Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach Bryan Price to be a minor league pitching consultant. Price served the last three seasons with Arizona. … Torre said he will join Manuel’s coaching staff for the All-Star game. … The Dodgers had lost seven straight in Philadelphia, including the 2008 NL championship series. Their previous win here was Aug. 23, 2007. … Los Angeles improved to 9-9 on the road. … Rollins, Utley and Shane Victorino are in a combined 7-for-64 slump.
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