Developing a Dodgers dynamic duo!

Los Angeles, CA

At Chavez Ravine on Tuesday night it was fireworks early and acrobatics late that led the Dodgers to their NL best 79th win of the season. With the help of a marvelous catch at the wall by Andre Ethier to end the eighth inning, Los Angeles (79-54) held on to beat Arizona (60-73 ) 4-3, and keep their lead over Colorado and San Francisco at 5.5 games. Ethier also gave the Dodgers their go ahead run in the bottom of the seventh taking a 3-1 count for a walk with the bases loaded. Ethier's special catch appeared to save a potential go-ahead home run with a runner on first.

"Troncoso had to come in with a good pitch and I was expecting Allen to get a good swing, so I knew I had to get a good jump if he hit it," Ethier said. "I got aggressive, saw the ball off the bat, got a good jump and stayed with it the whole way."

After crashing into the wall, tumbling down, smiling to center fielder Matt Kemp, and showing that he still held the ball, the inning was over. A much appreciative Ramon Troncoso awaited the right-fielder with a fist pound as he jogged in. "I half-jumped and ran through the wall at the same time," said Ethier. "I checked my body with the wall." That read, that catch, that analysis. That is the kind of play coaches will be showing Little Leaguers around the country. Attentiveness and good hustle have a way of making players shine in the biggest moments. What a catch.

It wasn't all Andre Ethier on this Tuesday night in Tinseltown either. As the Arizona State product was busy taking walks and flashing the leather, another young gun was getting things done. With a loud crack of his bat, Matt Kemp hit a solo-shot over the left center fence to get things rolling in the first inning. It was Kemp's fourth home run (23) in as many games. Matt Kemp has gotten so good so fast as of late, it will be no surprise if he reaches the 30/30 mark by seasons end. His 23 HR's and 87 RBIs (just 1 behind team leader Ethier) are both career highs and at 29 he is just six shy of his career best in stolen bases. To top it off he is batting .316 good for 13th in the Majors and he really looks like he's coming into his own. As if Kemp soaring to new heights wasn't enough, in the sixth inning a small remote-control plane interrupted play for about two minutes. The plane that appeared to be handmade at first went about making acrobatic loops, circling over the field, soaring and diving, before eventually crashing into the barrier of the Diamondbacks dugout. Fittingly as the planes night came to a halt, so did that of Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla, all the tune of M.I.A.'s Paper Airplanes playing throughout the stadium. Reactions to the plane varied with Vin Scully finding it briefly cute but worried about a potential recurring distraction. After its long flight it shared the same fate as Lost Flight 815, ripped in two, as Arizona's Augie Ojeda destroyed it to the dismay of the crowd. "Only in Hollywood," Ojeda said. "It's the first time I've ever seen that. It landed right next to me, so I figured I would put it to an end." It was Air Force night at Dodger Stadium.

For Vicente Padilla making his second start for the Dodgers since coming over from the Texas Rangers, he looked alright. After a shaky first inning in which he walked the first two batters, Padilla corrected his arm angle and pitched well. Padilla was pulled by skipper Joe Torre after 5 1/3 innings, throwing 97 pitches, and giving up only one run on a bases loaded come-backer single that went off his calf. He gave up 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. His left calf was badly bruised and he appeared to be limping heavily throughout the clubhouse after the game. Torre should be able to give him an extra day of rest with the likely return of Huroki Kuroda to the rotation this weekend. Kuroda was placed on the DL after taking a come-backer off his head two weeks ago.

Look for Matt Kemp to be in the running for Player of the Week or possibly even Month, if he continues his sharp play. The center fielder is hitting .391 with six homers, 11 RBIs and four steals in his last 12 games.