Dodgers were unfazed, unleashing a six-run third i

CHICAGO -- Reactions from players to the seizure of Dodgers business operations by MLB vary, but the recurring theme was established by manager Don Mattingly from his first Spring Training speech.Call it counterintuitive, but three days after the blockbuster announcement by Commissioner Bud Selig, the Dodgers have their first three-game win streak of the season, with Juan Uribe's four RBIs leading to a 12-2 whipping of the Cubs Friday at Wrigley Field."I know I said it the other day, but I don't think anything is different for us," said Mattingly. "We still have to win games." The Dodgers ignored other excuses on Friday. After the team's midnight arrival from Los Angeles, the day game was delayed at the start for 74 minutes by rain, then was played in cold and windy conditions."A couple of us have big decisions coming up, where to play and how to play and what we're doing the next couple years. Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys You want to make sure the team is headed in the right direction. It's a concern to be in the right spot at the right time. And the players need to step up and do our job we were hired to do."
The Dodgers were unfazed, unleashing a six-run third inning that included a two-out RBI single by Uribe, who also slugged his second home run in as many games in the fourth inning and added a sacrifice fly in the sixth for four RBIs. Uribe is 10-for-22 during a six-game hitting streak."We've been pretty good," said Mattingly. "I thought about this before the game. MLB Jerseys Three months from now, nobody will think about us getting in late [a midnight arrival], if you lose the game it's a loss." Chad Billingsley, who allowed one earned run in 6 1/3 innings, said the ownership turmoil isn't a distraction. "Personally, I'm not," Billingsley said when asked if he's been affected by the controversy. "It's pretty much everywhere you look,Rosetta Stone French, but I have no control over it. It doesn't affect me. I just get ready for my next start." Of course, Billingsley just signed a three-year, $35 million contract. He continued to deliver on the investment with the Dodgers' sixth consecutive quality start, a string he started with eight scoreless innings against St. Louis on April 17. However, Andre Ethier, whose single during a six-run third inning extended his hitting streak to 19 games, said he's watching developments intently because he has a free agency decision to make in the winter.
Every Dodgers starter had at least one RBI or run scored. Cubs pitchers helped plenty with a staggering 10 walks."I don't think the players were looking around and panicking too much," Ethier said. "We know the players we have, we know what they're capable of doing. We can put up some runs. Uribe is a big key there, backing up me and Matty. If we get him going and get Loney a little bit going, we should be fine." Billingsley pitched with the comfort of a 6-0 lead in the third inning, expanded to 8-0 in the fourth. Cheap MLB Jerseys From China Marcus Thames slugged a two-run pinch-homer his second this year in the ninth for the Dodgers. "The guy knows how to pitch for sure and, like most veteran guys, knows how to pitch with a lead," Cubs manager Mike Quade said of Billingsley. Billingsley lost his no-hitter with one out in the fourth, his shutout on an unearned run and finally faltered with one out in the seventh, when he allowed four consecutive singles. The final one was an infield hit by Starlin Castro, whose head-first slide into first upended Billingsley, who was covering. Earlier in the game, Billingsley took a line drive by Castro off his "butt cheek," but said it didn't bother his pitching.