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 "I was pretty excited to be back out there today," Billingsley said
after pitching six strong innings in the Phillies' 7-2 win over Los
Angeles at Dodger Stadium. "Being in a familiar atmosphere, there
were a lot of emotions."
Left fielder Jeff Francoeur homered and had three RBIs, and center
fielder Ben Revere drove in two more runs for the Phillies (29-57),
who won for only the second time in the past nine games. They are
11-32 on the road.
Since the 2010 season, though, Philadelphia has a 12-7 record at
Dodger Stadium.
Billingsley (1-2) pitched for the Dodgers from 2003-2014 and was an
All-Star in 2009 before Tommy John surgery ended his run.
He blanked Los Angeles until catcher Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run
homer, his 14th long ball this season, with two outs in the sixth
inning. Those were the only runs Billingsley gave up. He struck out
three, allowed six hits and one walk and hit a batter.
For Billingsley, plagued by arm troubles the past three years, it
was only his second start since coming off the disabled list July 2
after recovering from a right shoulder strain.
"It's been a long road," he said.
However, the journey couldn't have been any sweeter than winning in
his old home park.
"It was nice to get the first win," said Billingsley, who hadn't
earned a major league victory since beating the San Diego Padres on
April 10, 2013. "I was able to go out there and just pitch and make
pitches when I needed to. The guys swung the bats well. We put up
seven runs pretty early, and I was just trying to not mess it up."
Relievers Luis Garcia, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon each worked a
hitless inning for the Phillies.
Dodgers starter Brett Anderson surrendered four runs (three earned)
on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks in five innings. The
loss ended a three-game winning streak for Anderson (5-5), who had
never faced the Phillies until Tuesday.
"I put us in a hole, and we weren't able to dig ourselves out of
it," he said.
Los Angeles (47-38) lost for the second time in three games.
Shortstop Freddy Galvis put Philadelphia on the board with an
infield single that brought home Revere for a 1-0 lead in the first
inning.
The Phillies added three more runs in the third. Francoeur lined a
two-run double into the gap in left-center, scoring third baseman
Maikel Franco and first baseman Darin Ruf, and a groundout by right
fielder Domonic Brown plated Francoeur for a 4-0 advantage.
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Revere, whose stolen base in the second allowed him to reach 20 for
the fifth consecutive season, hit a two-run single in the sixth to
give Philadelphia a comfortable six-run cushion.
Francoeur capped the Phillies' scoring with a solo home run off
reliever Juan Nicasio in the seventh. It was Francoeur's sixth homer
of the season.
"We got some good hitting," said Francoeur, who is batting .353 with
three home runs and 12 RBIs in 13 games against National League West
opponents this season. "I think the one thing we did, too, was get
some extra-bases hits, which is important. To me, that's how you
score runs and win ballgames. Luckily, we were able to do that."
The Dodgers loaded the bases in the second inning with one out, but
Billingsley forced shortstop Jimmy Rollins, a former Phillies star,
to ground out, then struck out Anderson to end the threat.
"We gave him a couple of free outs, let him off the hook early and
then he settled in and did a good job until the home run," said Los
Angeles first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who went 1-for-4.
NOTES: The Phillies designated RHP Kevin Correia for assignment and
recalled RHP Severino Gonzalez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Correia
was 0-3 with a 6.56 ERA in five starts with Philadelphia. The club
also promoted RHP Hector Neris to fill the spot of RHP Sean
O'Sullivan, who was outrighted to Lehigh Valley after Monday night's
10-7 loss to the Dodgers. O'Sullivan, winless in his last nine
starts, allowed seven runs (six earned) in 5 1/3 innings Monday. ...
The Dodgers recalled LHP Ian Thomas from Triple-A Oklahoma City and
optioned LHP Eric Surkamp to Oklahoma City. Thomas threw two
scoreless innings Tuesday. ... Phillies LHP Adam Morgan (1-1, 2.13
ERA) will face Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (5-6, 3.08 ERA) on
Wednesday. ... A crowd of 46,614 attended the game.
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