Closer Javy Guerra was well rested on Sunday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but that didn't help him stop his recent slide.
Guerra had four days' rest before his outing on Sunday, when he entered with a 3-2 lead. Guerra allowed a walk and two hits, including a game-tying double by Tony Campana in the bottom of the ninth.
The game might have ended with a Cubs win but David DeJesus was thrown out at the plate on a terrific relay throw by Mark Ellis.
It was the fourth game in which Guerra has allowed at least a run in his last five outings, and it was his third blown save of the season.
When Guerra struggled on the last home stand, manager Don Mattingly was reluctant to remove the pitcher, who now has a 5.84 ERA on the season, from the closer role. Kenley Jansen, who normally pitches in the eighth inning, has a 2.70 ERA with a bullpen-best 27 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings.
"You can sit there and question all you want. Our ballclub has confidence in Javy," Mattingly said last week. "The game will tell us what to do with him. If he has trouble there, we'll put him in a different spot."
But given that Guerra has allowed six runs and 12 hits in four innings over his last five appearances, it might be time for a change.
NOTES, QUOTES
Kemp's starting streak ends, but playing streak hits 393
--CF Matt Kemp was scratched from the starting lineup on Sunday with a tight left hamstring, snapping a string of 123 consecutive starts. Kemp did appear as a pinch hitter, extending his streak to 393 games played, the longest active streak in baseball.
--IF/OF Jerry Hairston Jr. left Sunday's game with a strained left hamstring. Hairston felt something while running to first base on a single in the second inning, then immediately grabbed his left hamstring upon reaching the base.
--3B Juan Uribe was held out of the starting lineup for a fifth straight game on Sunday with a sore left wrist. Uribe will be examined by a specialist in Los Angeles on Monday.
--RHP Ronald Belisario pitched a scoreless inning against the Cubs on Saturday, including one strikeout, in his first major league appearance since Oct. 1, 2010. Belisario was suspended for the first 25 games for violating baseball's drug policy.
--C A.J. Ellis has reached base via hit or walk in a career-high 18 consecutive games.
BY THE NUMBERS: 3 -- Blown saves by Javy Guerra after allowing a run in the ninth inning on Sunday against the Cubs,
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I hate this place." -- CF Matt Kemp laughed about Wrigley Field on Saturday after hitting a 400-foot fly ball to the base of the center field wall, just shy of a home run.
ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
--IF/OF Jerry Hairston Jr. (left hamstring strain) left the May 6 game in Chicago in the second inning.
--3B Juan Uribe (sore left wrist) did not play May 1-2. He appeared as a pinch hitter May 4. Uribe was set to be examined by a specialist in Los Angeles on Monday.
--RHP Matt Guerrier (right elbow tendinitis) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 19.
--2B Ivan De Jesus Jr. (torn left oblique) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26.
--RHP Blake Hawksworth (arthroscopic right elbow surgeries in January 2012 and February 2012) went on the 60-day disabled list March 27.
--RHP Rubby De La Rosa (Tommy John surgery in August 2011) went on the 60-day disabled list March 26.
