2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Bankruptcy Court
(Bud Selig has) turned his back on the Dodgers, treated us differently, and forced us to the point we find ourselves in today. I simply cannot allow the Commissioner to knowingly and intentionally be in a position to expose the Dodgers to financial risk any longer.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Bankruptcy Court
My goal from the outset has been to ensure that the Dodgers are being operated properly now and will be guided appropriately in the future for their millions of fans... The action taken today by Mr. McCourt does nothing but inflict further harm to this historic franchise


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Bankruptcy Court
In the filing,  the Dodgers sought permission to use a $150 million loan from a hedge fund for daily operations, according to a team news release. If approved, this would allow the team to meet its payroll obligations to Ramirez, Andruw Jones, and others. After the filing, the Dodgers told Tom Schieffer that he no longer had any authority in relation to the Dodgers and refused to let him return to work.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Bankruptcy Court
MLB filed their own response to the bankruptcy filing, in which they said that the court should reject McCourt's bid to save his ownership by "threatening the immediate demise of one of baseball's great teams." They also asked the court to consider if McCourt should remain the owner during the proceedings and if Schieffer can remain in his position.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Bankruptcy Court
In the court hearing on June 28, the Dodgers and MLB agreed that the Dodgers could use the hedge fund financing temporarily, pending a July 20 hearing on MLB's request to take over funding of the Dodgers. The language in McCourt's original filing asking for an auction of the television rights was deleted temporarily, though that could come up again in the next hearing.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Bankruptcy Court
As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, McCourt's lawyer served Selig and other top MLB executives with subpoenas, in an attempt to prove that Selig had predetermined that he was going to seize the Dodgers. MLB attorneys responded that allowing McCourt access to MLB documents and executives would turn the hearing into  "a multi-ringed side show of mini-trials on his personal disputes." The Judge sided with MLB and ruled that McCourt could not compel the release of the documents or depose Selig because they weren't relevant to the issue of the bankruptcy.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Bankruptcy Court
After a hearing on July 20, the judge rejected McCourt's further use of the Highbridge loan and ordered McCourt to negotiate a loan with MLB.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Bankruptcy Court
On September 23, the MLB made several requests of the court, to be decided at an October 12 hearing. It asked that the judge order the Dodgers seized and sold. It also threatened to block any attempt to sell TV rights (and perhaps even suspend the team from the league for the 2012 season), and alleged that McCourt's lawyers have no standing as he and they are in violation of MLB rules. The Dodgers in a statement said that MLB was trying to force "an unnecessary and value-destroying distressed sale"  of the team.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Bankruptcy Court
On September 30, Judge Gross ruled that McCourt's lawyers could not attempt discovery by looking into the records of other MLB clubs. However, he did say he expected Selig to testify in person. He set the hearing for the MLB and McCourt's lawyers to provide case for and against the sale of the club in early November, where he would rule on various points involving McCourt, the Dodgers, MLB, and the TV contract.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Sale of the Dodgers
On November 1, 2011 McCourt and MLB issued a joint statement that McCourt had agreed to sell the team, the Stadium and the parking lots. The league hoped to have a new owner in place by opening day, 2012.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Sale of the Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball announced today that they have agreed to a court-supervised process to sell the team and its attendant media rights in a manner designed to realize maximum value for the Dodgers and their owner Frank McCourt.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Sale of the Dodgers
Opening bids on the team were due on January 24, 2012. Several groups of potential owners placed bids on the Dodgers, groups known to have placed bids include:


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Sale of the Dodgers
After the initial round of bidding, the groups backed by Hershiser & Garvey, Claire, Gilbert & King and Mark Cuban did not advance to the next round, where the remaining bidders were  vetted by MLB.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Sale of the Dodgers
On March 27, 2012, it was announced that an agreement had been reached on the sale of the Dodgers between Frank McCourt and Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC, a group of investors fronted by Guggenheim CEO Mark Walter and including former Los Angeles Lakers player Magic Johnson, baseball executive Stan Kasten and film mogul Peter Guber.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Sale of the Dodgers
The total sale price for the Dodgers (which includes Dodger Stadium and surrounding land) exceeded $2 billion, making the sale the largest for a professional sports team in history, exceeding the approximately $1.5 billion purchase of Manchester United F.C. by Malcolm Glazer in 2005.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Sale of the Dodgers
The sale price of the Dodgers was considered to be far higher than what the team was actually worth at the time of sale. Estimates made by Forbes placed the value of the Dodgers at approximately $1.4 billion, and the winning bid was more than 30% higher than the next highest bid.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute, Sale of the Dodgers
On April 13, the sale was approved by the bankruptcy court and on May 1, 2012 the sale officially closed.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season
In the 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, the team was attempting to rebound from its fourth-place National League West finish in 2010. This was the franchise's 54th season in Southern California, since moving from Brooklyn after the 1957 season. The Dodgers struggled in the 1st half of the season but wound up finishing with a winning record thanks to playing good baseball in August and September. They still finished the season in third place. Some positives included pitcher Clayton Kershaw winning the NL Pitching Triple Crown and Cy Young Award, and Outfielder Matt Kemp leading the league in Home Runs and RBI and finishing second for the NL MVP.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Managerial change
After three seasons with the Dodgers, Joe Torre chose to step down and turn the managerial reins over to his hitting coach Don Mattingly for the 2011 season. Torre's 2,326th and final win was the last game of the 2010 season. Mattingly's managerial career actually began in the fall of 2010 when he managed the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League, a team that several Dodger prospects were playing for.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Front office/Coaching staff
On October 7, 2010, the Dodgers announced that they were severing ties with club president Dennis Mannion, who had overseen all club operations for the past year. Owner Frank McCourt would take on a more "direct and active" role with the club.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Front office/Coaching staff
On November 22, 2010, the Dodgers announced their coaching staff for the 2011 season. Returning from Joe Torre's staff were pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and bullpen coach Ken Howell. Jeff Pentland, who had been a secondary hitting coach, was promoted to hitting coach. New staff members included bench coach Trey Hillman, secondary hitting instructor Dave Hansen, first base coach Davey Lopes and third base coach Tim Wallach.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Front office/Coaching staff
Dodgers ownership was thrown into question on December 7, when the Judge in Frank McCourt's divorce case against Jamie McCourt invalidated an agreement that would have given McCourt sole ownership of the Dodgers. McCourt vowed to try some other legal options to keep himself as sole owner of the team.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Front office/Coaching staff
The Dodgers front office lost a key person when vice-president and assistant general manager Kim Ng accepted a position as senior VP for Baseball Operations with Major League Baseball.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Departing players
Veteran catcher Brad Ausmus retired at the end of the 2010 season. At the conclusion of the 2010 season, Rod Barajas, Hiroki Kuroda, Vicente Padilla, Jay Gibbons, Reed Johnson and Jeff Weaver all became free agents. Scott Podsednik also became a free agent, after declining his part of a mutual option, on November 4. On December 2, the Dodgers chose not to tender a contract to former All-Star, Catcher Russell Martin, making him a free agent. General Manager Ned Colletti described this decision as, "one of the toughest decisions I've had to make, maybe ever."


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Departing players
Due to Martin's decreased production the past two seasons and his uncertain recovery from season ending surgery in 2010, the Dodgers felt he was not worth the salary increase he would have received in arbitration. They also released relief pitcher George Sherrill and outfielder Trent Oeltjen. To clear spots on their 40-man roster, the Dodgers traded infielder Chin-lung Hu to the New York Mets for minor league pitcher Michael Antonini and designated reliever Brent Leach for assignment so that he could sign with the Yokohama BayStars of the Japanese Leagues.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Player signings/trades
On October 19, the Dodgers announced that they had re-signed starting pitcher Ted Lilly to a three-year contract. On November 4, Jay Gibbons re-signed with the Dodgers for one-year. On November 15, the Dodgers re-signed starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year, $12 million, contract. On November 19, the Dodgers signed minor league catcher Héctor Giménez and added him to their 40-man roster. On November 26, the Dodgers completed their rebuilding of the starting rotation by signing veteran pitcher Jon Garland.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Player signings/trades
On November 30, the Dodgers signed veteran infielder Juan Uribe to a three-year contract, intending to make him the new second baseman. Soon afterward, the Dodgers traded incumbent second baseman Ryan Theriot to the St. Louis Cardinals for relief pitcher Blake Hawksworth. On December 3, one day after releasing veteran Russell Martin, the Dodgers re-signed Catcher Rod Barajas to a one-year deal. Soon afterward, on December 9, the Dodgers finalized a deal to bring back pitcher Vicente Padilla with a one-year contract.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Offseason, Player signings/trades
Padilla was slated to compete with Garland for the fifth starter spot, and also to possibly pitch out of the bullpen. On December 11, the Dodgers signed outfielder Tony Gwynn, Jr. to a one-year deal. On December 14, the Dodgers signed catcher Dioner Navarro to a contract, to compete with Barajas and A. J. Ellis for time behind the plate. The Dodgers added to the relief corps on December 16 by signing right-handed pitcher Matt Guerrier to a three-year contract. The Dodgers signed outfielder Marcus Thames on January 18.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Spring training
Spring training for the 2011 season officially got under way on February 16, 2011, when the pitchers and catchers reported to Camelback Ranch. One pitcher who did not report, however, was reliever Ronald Belisario. For the third season in a row, Belisario missed his reporting date due to visa problems in his home country. Belisario remained stuck in Venezuela indefinitely, missing the entire season. The Dodgers also made news on the first day of camp by naming Clayton Kershaw as the opening day starting pitcher.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Spring training
The Dodgers pitching depth took a major hit when Vicente Padilla underwent surgery to repair a radial nerve injury and Jon Garland suffered a strained oblique muscle. The spring training injury problems continued with both third baseman Casey Blake and catcher Dioner Navarro suffering injuries that would keep them off the opening day roster.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, Off the field
On April 20, Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that Major League Baseball would appoint a representative to take over all business and day-to-day operations of the Dodgers. The move was likely instigated by media reports that owner Frank McCourt had to arrange a $30 million loan from Fox to cover the teams payroll as well as uncertainty over the teams ownership situation relating to the ongoing divorce litigation. On April 25, Selig appointed former Texas Rangers president Tom Schieffer to be the man in charge of the Dodgers situation.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, Off the field
In June, Frank and Jamie McCourt reached an out-of-court settlement of their divorce case, which was contingent on MLB's approval of the proposed television contract between the Dodgers and FOX, which would have included an ownership stake in Fox Sports Prime Ticket. However, on June 20, Commissioner Selig announced that he was rejecting the proposed deal on the grounds that it was not in the best interests of the Dodgers.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, Off the field
With speculation circulating that McCourt would be unable to meet the payroll at the end of June and that he might then lose the team, on June 27, the Dodgers filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
The Dodgers began the season on March 31 against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw outpitched Giants ace Tim Lincecum, striking out nine batters in seven shutout innings, as the Dodgers won 2–1. After the game, a Giants fan was seriously injured after he was assaulted in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. The incident would provoke increased security at future home games as well as a joint fundraiser by the two teams in support of the man's family.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
Back on the field, the Dodgers took the second game of the series also, as some aggressive baserunning by Matt Kemp and two Giants errors were just enough offense to back a solid start by Chad Billingsley in the 4–3 win. Matt Cain and three relievers combined to shut out the Dodgers 10–0 the following day, as Ted Lilly and Kenley Jansen each gave up four runs in the loss. A big seventh inning, including an RBI triple by Marcus Thames helped Hiroki Kuroda and the Dodgers take the series with a 7–5 victory in the finale.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
The Dodgers began their first roadtrip of the season in Colorado for a two-game series with the Rockies. Troy Tulowitzki hit a home run to key the Rockies 3–0 win in the opener and Billingsley struggled in the second game as the Rockies won 7–5. Tony Gwynn, Jr. singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th as the Dodgers beat his former team, the San Diego Padres 4–2 to start their next series. The game had been suspended due to rain in the top of the ninth and was not finished till the following day.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
Kuroda pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings in the second game of the series as the Dodgers won 4–0. John Ely made a spot start for the Dodgers on April 10 against the Padres, allowing two home runs while the Dodgers offense could only tally four singles in a 7–2 loss. Kershaw continued his dominance over the Giants in his next start, blanking them for 6 2/3 innings while the Dodgers opened a series in San Francisco with a 6–1 victory.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
The victory came with a cost, however, as starting shortstop and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal suffered a broken thumb while stealing third base. He was placed on the disabled list and the team announced that he would need four to six weeks for total recovery. The Dodgers blew a three-run lead in the second game of the series, losing 5–4. Two solo homers by Pablo Sandoval and Mike Fontenot in the sixth inning off Ted Lilly led to a 4–3 defeat in the series finale.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
The Dodgers returned home on April 14 to begin a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Kuroda struggled with his control in the opener as the Dodgers lost 9–5. Jon Garland made his first start of the season the next day, but he was wild and the Dodgers were pounded 11–2. Clayton Kershaw had his first poor outing of the season in game 3 of the series, as the Dodgers lost 9–2 to extend their losing streak to five games. The Dodgers snapped that streak the following day as Billingsley pitched eight shut out innings, while striking out eleven.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
Matt Kemp hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth for the 2–1 win. The Dodgers then began a four-game homestand with the Atlanta Braves. Prior to the first game, the Dodgers called up their 2010 minor league player of the year, Jerry Sands, who doubled in his first at-bat and later picked up his first RBI to back solid pitching from Ted Lilly in the Dodgers 2–1 win. Brandon Beachy outpitched Kuroda in the next game, as the Braves broke open a tight game with an eight-run ninth inning to pull off a 10–1 rout.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
Jon Garland bounced back from his rough debut to pick up the complete-game victory, as Andre Ethier had three hits including a home run and Juan Uribe had four RBI in the Dodgers 6–1 victory. Matt Kemp hit a two-run walk-off home run in the 12th inning as the Dodgers beat the Braves 5–3 to end the series.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
On April 22 the Dodgers opened a six-game road trip by beating the Chicago Cubs 12–2. The next day, the Cubs scored five runs off Matt Guerrier in the bottom of the eighth to come from behind to beat the Dodgers 10–8. In the game, Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 20 games. The Dodgers scored five runs in the first inning to back Kuroda's solid 6 2/3 innings pitched as they won the series finale 7–3 over the Cubs. The Dodgers next traveled to Florida to take on the Marlins.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
They lost the opener after a ninth-inning fielding error by shortstop Jamey Carroll allowed the tying run to score in the ninth inning. A batter later, Omar Infante singled in the winning run off Jonathan Broxton and the Marlins came from behind to win 5–4. On April 26, Ethier extended his hitting streak to 23 games, setting an MLB April record but the Dodgers offense struggled and the team lost to the Marlins 4–2. The Dodgers won the last game of the series 5–4 on an Andre Ethier home run in the 10th inning. Vicente Padilla pitched the bottom of the 10th, for his first save since 2000.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, March/April
The Dodgers returned home on April 29 to begin a three-game series against the Padres. In the opener, solo homers by Uribe and Kemp and a game saving diving catch by Tony Gwynn, Jr. helped the Dodgers pick up a 3–2 with. The Dodgers lost 5–2 the next day as wild pitch by Matt Guerrier and an error by Dioner Navarro let three costly runs score in the 8th to break the tie.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, May
After playing .500 ball in April, the Dodgers were shut out by the Padres to start the month of May 7–0. The Dodgers opened a series with the Cubs on May 2 with a 5–2 victory as doubles by Uribe, Barajas and Sands led the Dodgers offense in support of starter Clayton Kershaw. Two walks in the ninth inning by Jonathan Broxton doomed the Dodgers the following day as they lost 4–1, despite seven strong innings from starter Chad Billingsley, who only allowed one run. Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 29 games, and tied Zack Wheat for second place on the Dodgers franchise list. The Dodgers dropped the final game of the homestand 5–1 to the Cubs as Ethier sat out the game due to a sore elbow.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, May
The Dodgers dropped their third straight on the opener of a road series against the New York Mets, 6–3 as Jason Pridie hit a three-run homer off Kuorda with two outs in the sixth inning. Ethier's hitting streak finally ended on May 7, when he went 0 for 4 against the Mets. He finished with a 30-game hitting streak, second most in Dodgers history behind the 31 game streak by Willie Davis in 1969. The game was doubly disappointing as the Dodgers losing streak hit 4 with a 4–2 loss.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, May
Clayton Kershaw pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and Andre Ethier hit a two-run homer to end the losing streak with a 4–2 win. The Dodgers road woes continued on May 9, when Manager Don Mattingly and third baseman Juan Uribe were both ejected after a bad umpire call in the eighth and the Pirates scored three runs in the next half inning to beat the Dodgers 4–1.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, May
The Dodgers picked up a big win the next day as Matt Kemp broke open a scoreless tie with a three-run homer in the sixth inning and the Dodgers offense took off for a 10–3 win. The Dodgers took the lead in the series on May 11 as they shut out the Pirates 2–0 thanks to an excellent start by Hiroki Kuroda, who struck out eight in seven innings. The Dodgers finale against the Pirates was called off due to rain after two innings with the Dodgers leading 1–0. The game would eventually be made up on September 1.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, May
The team returned home on May 13 to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Clayton Kershaw struck out 11 and the bullpen survived a shaky ninth inning to hold on for a 4–3 win. The next day, Chad Billingsley allowed only hit and one unearned run in eight innings but the Dodgers still lost 1–0 as the offense was completely shut down. The Dodgers offense continued to sputter on May 15, as Ian Kennedy held them to one run in six innings and the Dodgers lost 4–1.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, May
The Milwaukee Brewers came to town for a brief two game series and took the opener from the Dodgers 2–1 as Carlos Gómez robbed Uribe of a home run and Shaun Marcum stifled the Dodgers offense. The Dodgers finally won a game on May 18 as Kuroda and two relievers shut down the Brewers and Matt Kemp's two-run homer in the first provided just enough offense for a 3–0 victory. The San Francisco Giants came to town on May 19 and beat the Dodgers on a three-run home run by Cody Ross in the ninth inning for an 8–5 win. The Dodgers disappointing homestand came to a close when they failed to cash in a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the ninth and fell 3–1 to the Giants. Nate Schierholtz robbed Jamey Carroll of a potential game-winning hit to clinch the game.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, May
The Dodgers opened interleague play with a 6–4 10 inning victory over the Chicago White Sox. However, the next day Jon Garland got lit up for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings as the Dodgers lost 9–2. The White Sox put another hurt on the Dodgers the next day, 8–3 as both Ethier and Barajas left the game with injuries. On May 24, Kenley Jansen unraveled in the ninth inning, allowing three runs with two outs to blow a save 4–3 to the Houston Astros. Jerry Sands hit his first career grand slam home run on May 25 to lift the Dodgers to a 5–4 victory. The Dodgers lost the final game of the series as J. R. Towles hit a walk-off single off Matt Guerrier in the ninth inning.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, May
The Dodgers returned home on May 28 and pinch hitter Dioner Navarro hit a bases-loaded line drive single with no outs in the bottom of the ninth o lift the Dodgers to a 3–2 victory and allow rookie Rubby De La Rosa to pick up his first career victory. The Dodgers offense went back into hibernation mode on the 29th as the Marlins picked up a 6–1 victory. he Dodgers picked up their first series win in more than a month on the 29th, thanks to a dominant performance from Clayton Kershaw.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, May
He pitched his second complete-game shutout of his career, recording 10 strikeouts and also picking up two hits, the same amount the Marlins managed in the game. The Dodgers offense also came alive, for an 8–0 victory. The offense continued against the Rockies on May 30, when James Loney hit a home run and Ethier was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI in the 7–1 win. Matt Kemp and Casey Blake both homered in the Dodgers 8–2 win as the team closed out the month of May with a three-game winning streak, where the offense has been unusually productive.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
The Dodgers brief winning streak came to an end as they were shut out by Ubaldo Jiménez 3–0 to begin June.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
The Dodgers offense apparently didn't make the road trip to Cincinnati to play the Reds on June 3, losing 2–1. The Dodgers erased a five-run deficit in the eighth inning on June 4 and won 11–8 in extra innings. Matt Kemp hit two home runs, including the game tying grand slam in the win. The Dodgers concluded their series with the Reds with a 9–6 win on June 5 as Chad Billingsley picked up the win and also homered and contributed a career-high three RBIs.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
Cliff Lee out pitched Ted Lilly on June 6, striking out 10 in seven innings in the Phillies 3–1 win over the Dodgers. Rookie Rubby De La Rosa made his first Major League start on July 7, allowing one run in five innings, fellow rookie Dee Gordon, had hits in his first three career at-bats and Matt Kemp added the insurance runs with a two-run home run as the Dodgers won 6–2. Cole Hamels shut down the Dodgers the next day as the Phillies held on for a 2–0 win.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
Matt Kemp finished a single away from the cycle, but the Dodgers pitching melted down, allowing five runs in the seventh inning to blow a five-run lead and lose 9–7 to the Colorado Rockies on June 9. Kemp didn't start the following day, but came off the bench to hit his league leading 19th homer to spark a five-run rally in the ninth, but the Dodgers still fell a bit short, losing to the Rockies 6–5.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
On June 11, Aaron Miles and Jamey Carroll combined to go 8 for 9 and Casey Blake had a three-run pinch double to spark the offense but it was spectacular defensive plays by Dee Gordon and Tony Gwynn, Jr. that saved the game for a shaky bullpen as the Dodgers won 11–7. The Dodgers got the best of Ubaldo Jiménez in their second meeting with him, as James Loney hit a grand slam and Matt Kemp and Rod Barajas added solo blasts in the 10–8 win.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
The Dodgers returned home to play the Reds, dropping the opener 6–4 when Dee Gordon committed a costly error in the seventh inning with the game tied, leading to four runs scoring. The Dodgers wasted a fine start by Kershaw on June 15 as the Scott Elbert allowed a go-ahead eighth-inning single to Joey Votto and the Reds won 3–2. Scott Rolen got three hits and drove in three runs as the Reds finished off their sweep of the Dodgers 7–2.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
The slumping Dodgers were subsequently handled by Houston starter Brett Myers, who retired 17 consecutive batters at one point and made only 98 pitches in a 7–3 Astros win. The Dodgers home losing streak hit five when they were shut out by the Astros 7–0 on June 18. The game was doubly frustrating because starting catcher Rod Barajas suffered an ankle strain in the second inning and joined the multitude of Dodgers already on the disabled list. Manager Don Mattingly said after the game, "We're frustrated, that's for sure, but you know what?


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
We don't have time to be frustrated ... This is not the time to feel sorry for ourselves." The Dodgers avoided being swept by the last place Astros with a 1–0 victory on June 19, that ended the five-game losing streak. A solo homer by Dioner Navarro in the bottom of the 8th inning was all the Dodgers offense could muster, but it was enough as Hiroki Kuroda and two relievers pitched a shutout. In the next game, Clayton Kershaw was dominant, striking out 11 in a two-hit shutout of the Detroit Tigers.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
He also hit a two-run eighth-inning single to extended the Dodgers lead in the 4–0 win. Chad Billingsley's turn was next and he also pitched effectively, allowing just one run in 5 1/3 innings as the Dodgers won their third straight, 6–1, over the Tigers. Matt Kemp reached base all five times he came up to bat in the series finale, with three hits (including a triple) and two walks but the Dodgers were done in by four home runs hit by the Tigers off of Ted Lilly in the 7–5 loss.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
The Los Angeles Angels came to town next for the next installment of the Freeway Series. In the opener, the Angels won a sloppy game with baserunning and fielding errors 8–3. "I don't like the way it's going, thats for sure." Manager Don Mattingly said after the Dodgers lost 6–1 in game 2. The Dodgers bounced back to take the series finale 3–2. Clayton Kershaw struck out eleven in the game and pitched his second straight complete game, the first Dodger to do so in 11 years. Tony Gwynn, Jr.'s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth won it for the Dodgers.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
The Dodgers next continued interleague play with a road trip to play the Minnesota Twins. The Dodgers had a season-high 24 hits and 15 runs as they shut out the Twins. The game was the largest margin of victory for the Dodgers since September 2, 2002, and the largest shutout since June 28, 1969. Every member of the Dodgers' starting lineup had at least one hit, one run and one RBI for the first time in LA Dodger history.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, June
The Dodgers couldn't keep the momentum going as Ted Lilly struggled in the next game, and they lost 6–4 to the Twins. The Dodgers finished the month of June by dropping a close one to the Twins, 1–0. Rubby De La Rosa pitched a career-high seven innings, allowing just the one run on six hits, but it was not enough as the Dodgers offense went back into hibernation. The team finished the month ten games under .500 and fell into last place in the National League Western division. Matt Kemp summed up the team's attitude, "We have a lot of time left, we're going to keep playing, keep battling, and we're going to try our best to turn this thing around. We've got faith in ourselves."


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
The Dodgers started the month of July with a 5–0 road win against the Angels. Hiroki Kuroda pitched seven scoreless innings, while allowing only three hits for his first win since mid-May. Clayton Kershaw struck out ten batters on July 2 but was also charged with a season-high seven runs, while Jered Weaver shut down the Dodgers for a 7–1 Angel win. Chad Billingsley pitched a complete game in the final interleague game against the Angels, but a Russell Branyan home run in the seventh inning cost him the game, as the Angels beat the Dodgers 3–1.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
One positive for the Dodgers amidst their increasingly forlorn season was when Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw were selected to represent the team at the All-Star Game. It would be the first all-star appearances for both of them. Andre Ethier was a Final Vote candidate but finished second to Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies. However, Victorino was injured and unable to participate so Ethier was selected to replace him on the All-Star roster, his second consecutive All-Star selection.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
The Dodgers returned home for a Fourth of July matchup with the New York Mets. The game was only the Dodgers second sellout of the season and for five innings Rubby De La Rosa offered hope, as he was working on a no-hitter. However, he gave up three doubles in the sixth and the Dodgers found themselves on the wrong end of  a 5–2 contest. The Dodgers offense continued to sputter the next day as they left 13 men on base in a 6–0 shut out loss to the Mets.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
The Dodgers lost their fifth straight game, when the Mets beat them 5–3 on July 6. "Right now it's a little embarrassing because our team is better than last place..." Matt Kemp said to reporters after the game, "I think we're all disappointed in ourselves at this moment, but we need to just not make excuses, keep playing the game and turn this thing around." Another terrific pitching performance by Clayton Kershaw snapped the losing streak. He pitched eight shutout innings, while striking out nine in the 6–0 victory.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
Kershaw became the first Dodger pitcher with nine or more strikeouts in four consecutive starts since Hideo Nomo in 1996 Chad Billingsley matched Kershaw with eight shutout innings on July 8, Rafael Furcal came up with his first RBI since May 29 in the bottom of the eighth and rookie closer Javy Guerra escaped a bases-loaded situation in the ninth as the Dodgers won their second straight shutout, 1–0, against the San Diego Padres. The next day was another pitching duel.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
Aaron Harang  and Rubby De La Rosa both pitched great games, De La Rosa only allowed one hit in his six innings of work and Harang was working on a no-hitter when he was taken out of the game after six. The Dodgers did not record a hit in the game until Juan Uribe doubled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth off Luke Gregerson. Dioner Navarro then singled him home for the winning run in the Dodgers second straight 1–0 victory over the Padres and their third straight shut out win. Andre Ethier hit two home runs on July 10, to lead the Dodgers to a 4–1 victory, their first series sweep of the season and first four-game winning streak of the season. They climbed out of last place and headed into the all-star break with a  41–51 record.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
During the all-star break, the Dodgers made a trade.. acquiring outfielder Juan Rivera from the Toronto Blue Jays for future considerations. To make room on the roster, they designated often-injured Marcus Thames for assignment. "Juan will be the right-handed counterpart to Tony Gwynn Jr. in left field, and he can fill in at first base", said general manager Ned Colletti. Matt Kemp competed in the Home Run Derby during the All-Star break, but only managed to hit two home runs and did not advance past the first round. Kemp's comment on his performance was, "It's harder than it looks." The National League won the All-Star game 5–1. Kemp reached base twice with a walk and a single, Ethier singled in his only at-bat and Kershaw pitched a scoreless inning on only eight pitches.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
The Dodgers began the second half of the season where they left off, extending their winning streak to five with a 6–4 road victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Clayton Kershaw struck out eight in seven innings, allowing four unearned runs in the seventh thanks to a Juan Uribe error and a Xavier Nady home run. Juan Rivera welcomed himself to his new teammates by hitting a home run on the first pitch he saw as a Dodger. The streak ended the next day as Hiroki Kuroda's bad luck continued.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
He allowed a three-run homer to Brandon Allen, and that was all the Diamondbacks needed as they held on for a 3–2 win, despite Matt Kemp's 24th homer of the season. Ted Lilly struck out nine batters in 6 2/3 innings on July 17, but he also gave up two home runs, including one to Diamondbacks pitcher Daniel Hudson. Hudson, meanwhile pitched a complete game, and the only run the Dodgers scored in the 4–1 defeat was on a wild pitch.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
In the game, Lilly became the first Dodger pitcher since Jeff Weaver in 2005 to allow both 20 homers and 20 steals in a season. The Dodgers next traveled to San Francisco to play the first place Giants. Ryan Vogelsong shut down the Dodgers anemic offense, 5–0, to drop them a season worst 13 1/2 games behind the Giants. It was the Dodgers 10th shutout loss of the season. Hong-Chih Kuo allowed a two-run double to Brandon Belt in the seventh inning to lead the Giants to a 5–3 victory over the Dodgers on July 19.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
With the offense continuing to sputter, ranking next to last in runs scored in the league, the team fired hitting coach Jeff Pentland on July 20. Assistant hitting coach Dave Hansen was promoted to interim hitting coach for the rest of the season. Clayton Kershaw again snapped the Dodgers losing streak, pitching eight shutout innings while striking out 12 to out duel Giants ace Tim Lincecum on July 20. Dioner Navarro's solo homer into McCovey Cove in the seventh was all the Dodger could muster but it was enough in the 1–0 win.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
Kuroda pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed three runs, including a two-run homer to pitcher John Lannan as the Dodgers lost 7–2 to the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on July 23. Rafael Furcal hit a walk-off double to beat the Nationals the next day as the Dodgers came from three runs behind to win 7–6. Chad Billingsley overcame a shaky first inning to retire 21 of the last 22 batters he faced, striking out 10 in seven innings as the Dodgers picked up a rare series win with a 3–1 victory.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
Rookie pitchers Rubby De La Rosa and Javy Guerra led the Dodgers to an 8–5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on July 25. De La Rosa threw a career-high 113 pitches, allowing just three hits and a run in six innings. After the bullpen faltered in the ninth, Guerra came in with the bases loaded and retired the Rockies four and five hitters for the save. The Dodgers won their fourth straight the following day, as Kershaw picked up his 12th win of the season with a 3–2 victory.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
With the trading deadline approaching and much speculation about the possibility of him being traded, Hiroki Kuroda took the mound for the Dodgers on July 27. Kuorda pitched well, allowing only one run in six innings but was saddled with his 13th loss when the Dodgers offense again failed to hit, scoring only 1 run in the 3–1 defeat. Kuroda, despite pitching well all season, became the first Dodger pitcher with back to back 13 loss seasons since Orel Hershiser in 1992 and 1993.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, July
Matt Kemp homered and knocked in five runs in the Dodgers 9–5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 29. Chad Billingsley walked five batters in 5 2/3 innings and they all came around to score as the Dodgers dropped a game to the Diamondbacks 6–4. Meanwhile, Kuroda exercised the "no-trade clause" in his contract to ensure he would remain with the team for the remainder of the season. The Dodgers did make a move though, trading injury prone shortstop Rafael Furcal to the St. Louis Cardinals for minor league outfielder Alex Castellanos. The Dodgers month came to a close when Rubby De La Rosa allowed back-to-back home runs to the Diamondbacks in the second inning and the team limped to a 6–3 defeat, finishing off yet another month with a losing record.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
Clayton Kershaw started August off on the right foot, pitching his fourth complete game of the season and picking up his league leading 13th win in the 6–2 road victory over the San Diego Padres. In his first start since electing not to be traded, Hiroki Kuroda was masterful, pitching seven shutout innings while striking out eight as the Dodgers beat the Padres 1–0 for Kuroda's first win since July 1.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
The news was not all good on the day however, as the team announced that rookie starter Rubby De La Rosa would have to undergo season ending Tommy John surgery. He was 4–5 with a 3.71 ERA for the Dodgers during his 13 appearances (10 starts). Ted Lilly allowed only one run (on a solo homer by Jason Bartlett) in six innings the next day, but it was not enough as Tim Stauffer shut the Dodgers down and the bullpen coughed up a couple more runs in a 3–0 loss to the Padres.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
Chad Billingsley picked up his 10th win on August 5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7–4. This would be the fifth straight season with double digit wins for Billingsley. The Dodgers scored six runs on seven hits in the third inning to open up the lead. Javy Guerra picked up his first four out save for his 10th of the season. On August 6, the Dodger promoted Nathan Eovaldi from the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts to make the start against the Diamondbacks. In his Major League debut, he pitched five innings while allowing only two runs and striking out seven. The Dodgers did just enough offensively to get Eovaldi the win, 5–3. Cody Ransom hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to help the Diamondbacks avoid a sweep and snap Clayton Kershaw's five-game winning streak.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
The Dodgers returned home to play the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers feeble offense managed to pound out 13 hits against Phillies ace Roy Halladay, but only scored three runs and fell short 5–3. The Dodgers lost another pitchers' duel the following day, 2–1, as Cliff Lee shut down the Dodgers for eight innings and hit a home run to lead the Phillies to the win, despite a good start from Ted Lilly. The Dodgers offense finally woke up against Vance Worley in the final game of the series.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
They jumped out to a 6–0 lead early thanks to a  Juan Rivera three-run homer. However, Chad Billingsley couldn't make it out of the fifth and Blake Hawksworth gave up a two-run homer to Ryan Howard as the Dodgers lost 9–8, to be swept by the Phillies and extend their losing streak to four games.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
The Houston Astros, the worst team in the majors, came to Dodger Stadium on August 12, featuring a lineup of mostly recent minor league call-ups. However, the Dodgers still had trouble scoring as Nathan Eovaldi and Bud Norris engaged in a scoreless duel for six innings. The Dodgers finally broke through with a lead off double by Casey Blake in the 10th, followed by a walk-off hit by Matt Kemp for the 1–0 win. Clayton Kershaw picked up his career high 14th win with eight dominate innings against the Astros in a 6–1 Dodger victory.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
Kemp's two-run homer in the 1st set the tone for the offense. The Dodgers completed their sweep of the Astros with a 7–0 shutout victory on August 14. Hiroki Kuroda went seven, striking out six. Kemp hit his 28th homer and rookie Justin Sellers, who was just called up from the minors two days before, hit a three-run blast for his first career homer.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
The Dodgers next went back on the road to face the first place Milwaukee Brewers. Ted Lilly was again sharp, allowing just two hits in seven innings of work, but one of the hits was a solo home run by Ryan Braun. The Brewers added two more solo shots off Dodger relievers in the eighth and won 3–0 as the Dodgers hit into 4 double plays and a triple play and were unable to score against Randy Wolf.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
The Dodgers had another strong pitching performance from their starter the next day, as Chad Billingsley allowed only one run in seven innings of work, but the Dodgers were unable to solve Yovani Gallardo and the game was tied at 1–1 entering the bottom of the ninth. However, relief pitchers Hong-Chih Kuo and Mike MacDougal were unable to record an out in the inning and the Brewers recorded the 2–1 walk-off win on Mark Kotsay's bases loaded pinch-hit single. The Brewers won another pitching duel from the Dodgers the following day 3–1 despite another strong start by rookie Nathan Eovaldi.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
Tony Gwynn, Jr. hit his first home run since July 17, 2010 for the Dodgers lone run of the game. Clayton Kershaw helped the Dodgers avoid a sweep by pitching eight shutout innings to pick up his 15th win as the Dodgers won 5–1 on August 18. Kershaw became the first Dodger pitcher to pick up his 15th win before September since Hideo Nomo in 2003. Hiroki Kuroda finally got some run support, picking up the win in the Dodgers 8–2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on August 19.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
Rod Barajas hit a three-run homer in the third inning as Kuroda allowed two runs in six innings for his seventh consecutive quality start since the all-star break. The Dodgers blew an extra inning lead and lost to the Rockies 7–6 in 13 innings the next day. They had taken the lead in the top of the 12th on a solo homer by Aaron Miles and an inside the park homer by Trent Oeltjen, but rookie closer Javy Guerra blew his first save of the season. A walk-off single by Dexter Fowler in the 13th ended the game.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
Oeltjen's inside the park homer was the 1st by a Dodger since Blake DeWitt on May 6, 2008. James Loney had 4 hits in 4 at-bats on the 21st, including his 6th homer of the season. Chad Billingsley struck out 7 and only allowed 3 hits in 7 2/3 innings, but was victimized by two 2-run homers by Carlos González and Seth Smith and the Dodgers dropped the finale against the Rockies 5–3. With the win, the Rockies broke a 17-game losing streak in Sunday games, a Major League record.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
The Dodgers next started a three-game series on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals. Chris Carpenter blanked the Dodgers through eight innings, but the Dodgers rallied in the ninth as Aaron Miles hit an RBI triple off Fernando Salas to tie the score at one and then Rod Barajas hit a grounder to short that former Dodger Rafael Furcal bobbled to allow Miles to score with the winning run. Kershaw picked up his 16th win the next night, pitching six scoreless innings in the Dodgers 13–2 win over the Cardinals.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
Matt Kemp and Aaron Miles hit solo homers and Rod Barajas hit two homers as the Dodger offense had a rare outburst of power. The Dodgers won the final game of the series 9–4 thanks to a six-run third inning and another effective performance by Hiroki Kuroda. The offensive outburst included the first career home run by A. J. Ellis as the Dodgers picked up their first series sweep of the Cardinals on the road since 1993. The Dodgers also moved ahead in the lifetime series with the Cardinals 1,002 wins to 1,001 for the Cards.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
The Dodgers returned home to open a series against the Colorado Rockies. Ted Lilly allowed only one run (on a first-inning homer by Carlos González) in his seven innings of work, but the Dodgers still trailed 1–0 heading into the bottom of the seventh. However, they managed to score six runs in the seventh to win 6–1. James Loney and Matt Kemp hit back-to-back home runs in the inning. For Kemp it was his 30th of the season, joining Raúl Mondesí as the only Dodger members of the 30–30 club.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
The Dodgers fell behind 4–0 in the second game of the series but battled back with a 5-run sixth to take the lead, only to see Troy Tulowitzki put the Rockies back up with a 2-run homer off struggling reliever Hong-Chih Kuo in the top of the seventh. James Loney hit his second homer in as many days to tie the game in the ninth and Matt Kemp hit his 31st homer, a walk-off shot off Jason Hammel in the 11th. This was the first time Loney had hit home runs in back-to-back days since September 11–12 2007.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
The Dodgers short winning streak was snapped the next day as rookie starter Nathan Eovaldi allowed five runs to score in the top of the first, thanks in part to a defensive miscue by outfielder Trent Oeltjen. The Dodgers did stage a rally, but still fell shot with a 7–6 loss. Clayton Kershaw allowed only one run on six hits for his fifth complete game of the year and 17th win as the Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4–1 on August 29.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, August
James Loney hit his fifth home run in August, after only hitting four the first three months of the season and the Dodgers clinched their first winning month of the season. The Dodgers scored eight runs in the second inning on August 30 as Tim Stauffer walked six and Andre Ethier hit a grand slam home run. The Dodgers sent 13 batters to the plate that inning, the most since May 25, 2009 against the Rockies. The Dodgers finished the month of August with their second sweep of the Padres, the big blow was a two-run homer by Rod Barajas in the second. The Dodgers August record of 17–11 gave them their first winning month since June 2010.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
The Dodgers traveled to Pittsburgh on September 1 to make up a game that had been rained out on May 12 against the Pirates. Dana Eveland, who had spent the season in AAA with the Albuquerque Isotopes was called up to make the start, his first in the Majors since June 2010. He allowed only one run on six hits in eight innings to collect the win.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
Some shaky moments from the bullpen made it close in the end, but the Dodgers prevailed 6–4. Chad Billingsley struggled in the opener of a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves and the Dodgers fell behind 5–0. However, Juan Rivera and James Loney each drove in three runs and Dee Gordon had three hits, scored three runs and stole two bases as the Dodgers came from behind to win 8–6, for their 10th win in the last 11 games.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
The Dodgers scored only two runs the following day but managed to win 2–1 in 10 innings as Dee Gordon hit a standup double to right-center, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly by Juan Rivera. The Dodgers earlier run came on a solo homer by A. J. Ellis in the second inning. With the win, the Dodgers had their first six-game winning streak of the season.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
Kershaw held the Braves scoreless through 6 innings the next day, while striking out 10 and the Dodgers built a 3–0 lead on a three-run homer by Matt Kemp. However, a costly error by Aaron Miles in the seventh allowed the Braves to tie the game and the Braves won a walk-off single by Martín Prado in the bottom of the ninth to avoid the sweep and snap the Dodgers winning streak.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
Hiroki Kuroda gave up three homers in the first inning and four in the game (2 of them to Mike Morse) as the Dodgers fell behind early and never recovered, losing to the Washington Nationals 7–2 on September 6. It was the first time the Dodgers had allowed three homers in the first inning since Fernando Valenzuela did it on June 25, 1988 to the Reds. The last Dodger pitcher to allow four home runs in a game was D. J. Houlton on August 29, 2005.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
The Nationals young phenom Stephen Strasburg made his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery against the Dodgers on September 6. Strasburg pitched five scoreless innings and had a three-run lead when he left the game, however the Dodgers tied the score with 3 runs in the sixth off the Nationals bullpen. Rod Barajas hit a tie-breaking two-run double in the eighth and Javy Guerra worked out of trouble in the ninth to preserve the 7–3 win. Dodger pitchers (Lilly, Guerrier, Kuo, Jansen and Guerra) combined for 17 strikeouts in the game, a season high.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
The Dodgers scheduled game on September 7 against the Nationals was rained out and scheduled as a double header the next day. On their off day the Dodgers learned that Andre Ethier would be shut down for the rest of the season while seeking treatment for his injured knee. Juan Rivera smacked two doubles and drove in four runs and Tony Gwynn, Jr. hit a two-out, two-run double in the top of the ninth as the Dodgers won the first game of their scheduled double-header 7–4. The second game was canceled because of continuing rain.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
The Dodgers traveled west for a series against their rivals, the San Francisco Giants. The first game was the third matchup of the season between Kershaw and Tim Lincecum and like the others it was a great pitching matchup. Linceum allowed only 1 run in his eight innings of work while Kershaw also allowed 1 run (unearned) in eight innings, while striking out nine. The Dodgers pushed across the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth to hand Kershaw his 18th win of the season 2–1.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
The Dodgers managed to get their record back to .500 for the first time since May 2 when they beat the Giants 3–0 on September 10. Dana Eveland, in his second start of the season, limited the Giants to just three hits in seven + innings. The Dodgers long road trip ended on September 11 with an 8–1 loss to the Giants. Kuroda had his shortest outing of the season, lasting only  4 2/3 innings and then the Giants blew the game open with a five-run sixth inning against the Dodger bullpen. Kuroda became the first Dodger pitcher to lose 16 games in a season since Orel Hershiser in 1987.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
Back at Dodger Stadium after the long road trip, the Dodgers lost to the first place Arizona Diamondbacks 7–2, thanks to a five-run sixth inning. The Dodgers prevented Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy from winning his 20th game by scoring four runs of him in the 1st inning but the offense went into hibernation after that and Gerardo Parra hit a home run off Hong-Chih Kuo to tie the game in the 7th inning. Javy Guerra, in his first two-inning outing in the Majors walked in the go-ahead run in the 10th and the Dodgers lost 5–4.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
In the series finale, Kershaw allowed only one hit through five innings but was ejected in the sixth inning after hitting Gerardo Parra with a pitch. The bullpen held on and the Dodgers got just enough runs to win 3–2 and get him his 19th win of the season. The Dodgers were officially eliminated from the National League West race the next day, when they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 6–2. Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf hit a three-run homer off of Dana Eveland for the big blow in the game.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
James Loney hit his first career pinch-hit home run, a three-run blast, in the sixth inning to lead the Dodgers to a 7–2 win over the Pirates the next day. Loney hit another three-run homer the following day, the first Dodger to hit three-run homers in consecutive appearances since Jeff Kent on May 9–10, 2006. The Dodgers won 6–1 and Matt Kemp picked up his 40th stolen base in the game, becoming just the 18th Major Leaguer and first Dodger with at least 30 homers and 40 stolen bases in a season.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
The Dodgers scored six runs in the second inning on September 18, to bludgeon the Pirates 15–1 to get back to .500. James Loney has a career-high five hits and Jerry Sands and Juan Rivera each had four RBI. The Dodgers began their last home series of the season on September 20 against the Giants with the fourth matchup of the season between Kershaw and Lincecum. Kershaw went 7 1/3 innings, allowed one run and struck out six.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
He became the Dodgers first 20-game winner since Ramón Martínez in 1990 and the first pitcher to go 5–0 against the Giants in history, beating Lincecum in 4 of those starts. That win moved the Dodgers record above .500 for the first time since April 29, but it didn't last long as Dana Eveland was roughed up in his next start and the Dodgers lost 8–5 to the Giants. Matt Kemp hit a three-run homer in the losing effort, for his 35th of the season.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
He became the 14th player in Major League history with at least 35 home runs and 35 stolen bases. The Dodgers ended their final home stand of the season with an 8–2 victory over the Giants. Kemp put the exclamation point on his MVP candidacy with a career-high three doubles and a two-run homer and Kuroda allowed only two runs on five hits in seven-plus innings.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
Kemp continued his hot hitting by blasting his 37th home run of the season as the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 2–0. Eugenio Vélez, in a rare start, struck out three times to break the 75-year-old MLB record for most at-bats in a season without a hit (0 for 36) and tied a 102-year-old record for most consecutive at-bats without a hit (0 for 45, counting the previous season). The offense was silenced by Aaron Harang the following night and Chad Billingsley, in his final start of the season, allowed three runs in the fifth inning.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
The Padres held on to beat the Dodgers 3–0. Clayton Kershaw won his 21st game of the season in his final start on September 25 as the Dodgers beat the Padres 6–2. Kershaw clinched the pitching Triple Crown with a 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts. Kemp hit a three-run homer the following night as the Dodgers began their last series of the season with a 4–2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The victory assured the Dodgers of a winning record for the season.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Regular season, September
Hiroki Kuroda, in his final start of the season, pitched six shutout innings and the Dodgers scored five runs in the top of the 10th to lead 6–1 but, with two outs in the bottom of the 10th,  reliever Blake Hawksworth loaded the bases. Javy Guerra came in, walked in a run, and then gave up a walk-off grand slam to Ryan Roberts as the Diamondbacks shocked the Dodgers 7–6. In the final game of the season, Matt Kemp hit his league leading 39th home run and Ted Lilly pitched seven scoreless innings. The Dodgers escaped a poor ninth by reliever Ramón Troncoso and won 7–5 to finish their season at 82–79, third place in the National League West.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Player stats, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in;  BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts; SB = Stolen bases; Avg. = Batting average OBP = On-base percentage; SLG = Slugging; OPS = On-base plus slugging


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Player stats, Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Major League Baseball Draft
The Dodgers selected 50 players in this draft. Of those, seven of them have played Major League Baseball as of the 2019 season.


2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Major League Baseball Draft
The first pick of this draft was left-handed pitcher Chris Reed from Stanford University. He was traded to the Miami Marlins in 2015 and pitched in two games in the majors for them that year, allowing two runs in four innings before announcing his retirement the following season.


2011 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
The 37th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), honored the best in film for 2011.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season
The 2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season was the club's 17th year of existence as well as their 16th season in Major League Soccer and their 16th consecutive year in the top-flight of American soccer. The Galaxy entered the season as the defending MLS Supporters' Shield titleholders.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season
Most notably, the Galaxy became the third straight team to win consecutive Supporters' Shields, after D.C. United (2006–07) and Columbus Crew (2008–09). The Galaxy clinched their fourth Shield on October 8, after Seattle Sounders FC lost 0–2 at home to Philadelphia Union. They also won their third MLS Cup, defeating Houston Dynamo 1–0 in the final.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season
Outside of league play, the Galaxy participated in the CONCACAF Champions League and the U.S. Open Cup, reaching the Quarterfinals in both competitions. Along with these competitive tournaments, the Galaxy played in the friendly-match World Football Challenge, losing to Real Madrid and drawing to Manchester City.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season
Their record in all competitions (yet excluding their Asia-Pacific tour) was 28–9–11, earning 95/144 points from 48 matches.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Preseason
The Galaxy had a busy month in January, mostly with transfers. On January 10, club striker, and Golden Boot-finalist, Edson Buddle left the Galaxy to sign with second division German club, Ingolstadt 04 through the end of the 2012–13 2. Bundesliga season.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Preseason
On January 9, 2010, rumors about David Beckham potentially ending his three and a half year MLS career by signing with Tottenham Hotspur or going on loan with the Premier League club ended. The Galaxy announced that Beckham would be training with Tottenham for two weeks, before joining Los Angeles for the start of pre-season training. The news made it the first time since 2008 that Beckham did not go on an off-season loan to Europe.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Regular season, March
"We just did not play well. None of our guys had a good game. That's pretty obvious..."


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Regular season, March
Bruce Arena, LA Galaxy Head Coach, following the 4–1 defeat to Real Salt Lake.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Regular season, March
The Galaxy opened the MLS regular season with a 0–1 victory over the Sounders at Qwest Field in rainy Seattle on March 15. Second-year midfielder Juninho had the lone goal of the match. Although they were back home at the Home Depot Center for the second match of the season on March 20, the Galaxy once again played in the rain. A rare Southern California rainstorm made for difficult conditions in the 1–1 draw with the New England Revolution.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Regular season, March
Juninho scored the equalizer for the Galaxy, his second goal of the season – which already matched his goal total from his debut 2010 season. The toughest test of the early season came on March 26 – and the Galaxy failed. Traveling to Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah without captain Landon Donovan (who was away on international duty with the USA national team), the Galaxy lost 4–1 to Real Salt Lake. To be fair, Rio Tinto is a difficult venue for any visiting club, as Real hasn't lost at home in nearly two years. The only consolation was seeing Juan Pablo Ángel open his Galaxy goal account in his first start for his new club. Ángel had been suffering from a virus and didn't start the first two matches (though he did come on as a substitute in the second half against the Revolution).


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Regular season, April
The Galaxy rebounded from the loss to Real Salt Lake with a 1–0 victory over the Philadelphia Union at the Home Depot Center on April 2. Donovan Ricketts and Omar Gonzalez saw their first action of the season after recovering from minor injuries. Leonardo headed in a David Beckham free kick in the 33rd minute for the game's only goal. It was the defender's first goal in a Galaxy shirt. A 53rd minute red card for Chris Birchall meant that the Galaxy had to spend the majority of the second half protecting their narrow lead a man down.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Regular season, April
Next up was a 3-games-in-8-days cross-country road trip. To complicate matters, the Galaxy would be without captain Landon Donovan, who did not travel with the club while he nursed a knee injury. The first match of the trip came at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on April 9. Mike Magee nodded in a Beckham corner to give the Galaxy the early lead. But Charlie Davies drew a dubious penalty and converted from the spot himself in the 90th minute to save the draw for D.C. United. The squad traveled to Toronto to take on Toronto FC 4 days later.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Regular season, April
The fans at BMO Field saw a largely unentertaining affair resulting in a scoreless draw. Most notable from a Galaxy perspective was the sending off of Juninho in stoppage time of the 2nd half. Also, Beckham received his 5th yellow card of the season in the 44th minute. These two events meant that the Galaxy would be without 3/4ths of their preferred midfield (Donovan, Beckham, and Juninho) when they finished their trip on April 17 in Bridgeview, Illinois against the Chicago Fire.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Season summary, Regular season, April
Yet it was no problem as the Galaxy won 1–2 behind goals from Chad Barrett and Gonzalez with Miguel López providing the assists on both goals. Although there was one concerning casualty on the Toyota Park field – Leonardo picked up a right knee injury late in the match. It was revealed a couple days later that he tore the ACL and LCL in the knee, and he is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Heading home to LA, the Galaxy had picked up a very respectable 5 points on their travels.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Squad, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Competitions, Major League Soccer, Overall table
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Competitions, Major League Soccer, Western Conference table
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Competitions, CONCACAF Champions League
The Los Angeles Galaxy qualified directly into Group Stage play by winning the Supporters' Shield. The Galaxy played in Group A with Alajuelense of Costa Rica, Morelia of Mexico, and Motagua of Honduras.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Miscellany, Allocation ranking
Los Angeles is in the No. 10 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Miscellany, International roster spots
Los Angeles has 8 international roster spots. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots, which can be traded. Los Angeles dealt one slot to Portland Timbers on November 22, 2010 for use in the 2011 and 2012 seasons then acquired one slot from D.C. United on February 17, 2011 for use in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. There is no limit on the number of international slots on each club's roster. The remaining roster slots must belong to domestic players. For clubs based in the United States, a domestic player is either a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident (green card holder) or the holder of other special status (e.g., refugee or asylum status).


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Miscellany, Future draft pick trades
Future picks acquired: 2012 Supplemental Draft Round 3 pick acquired from Chivas USA. Future picks traded: 2014 SuperDraft Round 4 pick traded to Houston Dynamo. The Galaxy also traded unspecified future considerations to Toronto FC which may or may not include draft pick(s).


2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Miscellany, MLS rights to other players
Los Angeles maintains the MLS rights to Edson Buddle after the player declined a contract offer by the league and signed overseas on a free transfer.


2011 Los Angeles Sparks season
The 2011 WNBA season is the 15th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association.


2011 Los Angeles Sparks season, Transactions, WNBA Draft
The following are the Sparks' selections in the 2011 WNBA Draft.


2011 Los Angeles election
The 2011 elections for elected officials in Los Angeles took place on March 8, 2011. Seven out of the fifteen members of the city council were up for election.


2011 Louisiana Attorney General election
The 2011 Louisiana Attorney General election took place on October 22, 2011 to elect the Attorney General of Louisiana, with a runoff election held on November 19, 2011. Buddy Caldwell, a former Democrat who joined the Republican Party in February 2011, won re-election.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team
The 2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team represented Louisiana Tech University as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Sonny Dykes, the Bulldogs played their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech finished the regular season with an 8–4 overall record and a 6–1 mark in conference play to win the WAC title. The Bulldogs lost the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego against the TCU Horned Frogs, the champions of the Mountain West Conference.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Before the season, Recruiting
After the Spring Game at Joe Aillet Stadium, it was announced that Hunter Lee, Blake Martin, and Vincent Moore would walk on at Louisiana Tech. After playing as a wide receiver and a safety at River Oaks High School in Monroe, Louisiana, Vincent Moore plans to play safety at Louisiana Tech. Hunter Lee will likely tryout for a position at running back after earning District 8-5A MVP honors at Flower Mound High School in 2010.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Before the season, T-Day Spring Game
On May 24, Sonny Dykes dismissed wide receivers Ahmed Paige and Tim Molton from the team due to a violation of team rules.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
The Bulldogs opened the 2011 football season on the road against the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles of Conference USA. The game was the second in a scheduled 4-game football series between the two universities from 2010 to 2014. Southern Miss defeated Louisiana Tech 19–17 in a game that was played during periods of heavy rain and high winds due to Tropical Storm Lee.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Southern Miss scored the game's first touchdown at 11:38 in the first quarter to take a 7–0 lead. After neither team scored the rest of the first half, both teams hit field goals to make the score Southern Miss 10, Louisiana Tech 3 with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. Louisiana Tech tied the game at 10–10 when Lyle Fitte ran back a kickoff return 86 yards for a touchdown as the third quarter ended.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
After USM scored a field goal with 11:42 left in the contest to take a 13–10 lead, Louisiana Tech recovered a fumbled punt by Southern Miss at the USM 3-yard line. Lennon Creer scored Tech's sole offensive touchdown of the night on a 1-yard carry to give Tech a 17–13 lead with 9:43 left in the game. Southern Miss took a 19–17 lead after hitting field goals of 42 yards and 49 yards. Southern Miss went on to win the game after time expired with Louisiana Tech's offense in Southern Miss territory.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Louisiana Tech's offense had 244 total yards in the game with Lennon Creer running 17 times for 53 yards and 1 touchdown. True freshman Nick Isham went completed 20 passes on 36 attempts for 176 yards and kicked two punts for 77 yards in his first collegiate football start. Tech's defense held Southern Miss to 379 total yards and allowed one touchdown and four field goals in the contest. Tech's special teams personnel blocked a field goal in the first quarter, scored a kickoff return TD in the third quarter, and recovered a fumbled punt by USM in the fourth quarter.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Arkansas
Louisiana Tech opened their home schedule at Joe Aillet Stadium by hosting the University of Central Arkansas Bears for the third meeting between the two schools and the first since 2007. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the UCA Bears 48–42 in overtime. Louisiana Tech took an early 7–0 lead after a 42-yard touchdown pass from Nick Isham to Quinton Patton. After UCA kicked a 39-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7–3, Isham completed a 72-yard touchdown pass to Patton to extend the Louisiana Tech to 14–3 over Central Arkansas.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Arkansas
Near the end of the first quarter, UCA quarterback Nathan Dick completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jessie Grandy to cut the Tech lead to 14–10. In the second quarter, Tech running back Lennon Creer ran for a 5-yard touchdown and UCA's Dominiqu Croom caught a 3-yard touchdown from Nathan Dick to make the halftime score Louisiana Tech 21, Central Arkansas 17.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Arkansas
The third quarter started with a 35-yard field goal by UCA to cut the lead to 21–20 Louisiana Tech. Tech answered with a 4-yard touchdown run by Ray Holley and a 12-yard touchdown run by Lennon Creer to extend Tech's lead to 35–20 with 4:55 left in the third quarter. Nathan Dick threw two touchdown passes of 43 and 56 yards respectively and connected on a two-point conversion attempt to tie the ball game at 35–35 with 14:10 left in the fourth quarter.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Arkansas
With 2:08 left in the game, Jerrel McKnight recovered a fumble by Lennon Creer and ran 73 yards for a touchdown to give Central Arkansas its first lead of the night, 42–35. Ray Holley scored his second rushing touchdown in the game on a seven-yard carry to cap a seven-play, 72-yard drive in 1 minute, 10 seconds to tie the contest at 42–42.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Arkansas
The game went into overtime after the fourth quarter ended with the game tied at 42–42. UCA received the ball first in the overtime period and had a 39-yard field goal blocked by Adrian Cole. Louisiana Tech went on to score on a 1-yard touchdown run by Lennon Creer to give Louisiana Tech a 48–42 victory over Central Arkansas in the first overtime game for Louisiana Tech since their September 8, 2007 home game against the Hawaii Warriors.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Central Arkansas
Nick Isham completed 22 of 37 passes for 318 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Lennon Creer had 32 carries for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns while Ray Holley ran the ball 9 times for 49 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wide receiver Quinton Patton caught 8 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns. Patton's 211 yard performance is tied for 10th place for the most receiving yards in a single game by a Louisiana Tech player.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Houston
Louisiana Tech hosted the Houston Cougars in their second home game of the 2011 football season. The matchup between Louisiana Tech and the University of Houston is the first game in a scheduled four-game football series that will run from 2011 to 2014. The Houston Cougars defeated the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 35–34 after Houston scored 28 unanswered points to complete the biggest comeback in their program's history.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Houston
Louisiana Tech took a 7–0 lead after Lennon Creer scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 11:12 left in the first quarter. Tech extended their lead over Houston to 10–0 after Matt Nelson kicked a 30-yard field goal with 10:10 left in the second quarter. Houston scored its first points of the night with 7:21 left in the second quarter when Case Keenum connected with Michael Hayes for a 54-yard touchdown to cut Louisiana Tech's lead to 10–7. Louisiana Tech answered with a 2-yard touchdown run by Ray Holley and a 47-yard field goal by Nelson to take the 20–7 lead at halftime.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Houston
Both teams traded punts to open the third quarter. With 6:47 left in the third quarter, Louisiana Tech QB Nick Isham completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Patton to increase Tech's lead to 27–7. After Quinn Giles intercepted a pass by Case Keenum, Ray Holley scored his second rushing touchdown in the game on a 7-yard TD run to bring the Louisiana Tech lead to 34–7 with 5:11 left in the third quarter.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Houston
Houston began their comeback when Keenum completed a 50-yard touchdown pass with 4:27 left in the third quarter to make the score Louisiana Tech 34, Houston 14. Bryce Beall ran for a 2-yard touchdown to cut the Tech lead to 34–21 with 12:53 left in the fourth quarter. After Houston recovered a fumble by Tech's Ray Holley, Houston completed an 80-yard drive down the field with a 4-yard touchdown run by Beall to make the score 34–28 Louisiana Tech with 7:25 remaining in the game. Houston took its first lead of the night after Keenum threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to make the score Houston 35–34 with 1:36 remaining in the game. Houston went on to win the game after Tech turned the ball over on downs in the last minute of the game.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Houston
Louisiana Tech generated 444 yards on offense on 98 plays. Lennon Creer and Ray Holley combined for 47 carries, 161 yards, and three touchdowns on the ground, as Louisiana Tech ran 66 rushing plays in the game which is tied for the 2nd-most carries by a Bulldog team in the history of the program. Quinton Patton caught five passes for 82 yards and one touchdown for the evening and was later named to the Fred Biletnikoff Award Watch List after the game as a result of his play through the first three games of the 2011 college football season. The crowd of 24,628 at Joe Aillet Stadium for the Louisiana Tech vs. Houston marked the sixth-largest crowd for a Louisiana Tech football game at Joe Aillet Stadium.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Mississippi State
Louisiana Tech traveled to Starkville, Mississippi to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs in their second road game of the 2011 football season. This meeting marked the first meeting between the two schools since the 2008 season opener at Ruston and only the second meeting since 1996. The Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated Louisiana Tech 26–20 in overtime.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Mississippi State
Mississippi State took a 7–0 lead after Chad Bumphis returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown with 9:20 left in the first quarter. Louisiana Tech cut the lead to 7–3 after Matt Nelson made a 43-yard field goal with 5:49 left in the first quarter. At the 14:17 mark in the second quarter, Louisiana Tech took a 10–7 lead when Lennon Creer scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown to cap off an 11-play, 80-yard drive. Mississippi State retook the lead after Vick Ballard scored an 11-yard rushing touchdown with 8:45 remaining in the second quarter to make the score 14–10 Mississippi State. Mississippi State added a field goal to take a 17–10 lead going into halftime.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Mississippi State
After both teams traded punts to open the second half, Louisiana Tech tied the game at 17–17 after QB Nick Isham completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Patton with 8:25 left in the third quarter. Mississippi State regained the lead after Depasquale hit a 24-yard field goal to take a 20–17 lead with 5:21 left in the third quarter. With 8:42 left in the game, Louisiana Tech tied the game 20–20 when Matt Nelson hit his second field goal of the game. The score of the game remained tied at 20–20 when the fourth quarter ended. Overtime began with Louisiana Tech on offense. Tech's drive ended with no points scored after Nick Isham threw an interception to Mississippi State's Nickoe Whitley. Mississippi State won the game 26–20 on its offensive possession in overtime after Chris Relf threw a 17-yard touchdown pass.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Mississippi State
The Mississippi State game marked the second overtime game for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs for the 2011 football season. This is also the second time in program history that Louisiana Tech has played two overtime games in one season. The six-point loss to Mississippi State was the third close loss of the year for Louisiana Tech, as their first three losses of the 2011 season were by a combined nine points.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
Louisiana Tech hosted the Hawaii Warriors in their third home game and the first WAC conference game of the 2011 football season. This meeting marked the final game between the two schools as members of the Western Athletic Conference, since Hawaii will leave the WAC and join the Mountain West Conference after the end of the 2011–2012 season. The Hawaii Warriors defeated Louisiana Tech 44–26 before a crowd of 25,212, the fourth largest crowd in the history of a Tech football game at Joe Aillet Stadium.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
Louisiana Tech took a 6–0 lead over Hawaii after Nick Isham completed a two-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Patton with 8:40 left in the first quarter. Hawaii responded with three touchdown passes by Bryant Moniz to Royce Pollard in the remainder of the first half to take a 21–6 lead over Louisiana Tech at halftime.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
Louisiana Tech cut Hawaii's lead to 20–13 when Nick Isham connected with Taulib Ikharo on a 7-yard touchdown pass with 13:37 left in the third quarter. With 9:29 left in the third quarter, Bryant Moniz threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Craig Stutzmann to extend Hawaii's lead to 27–13. Hawaii's defense scored 14 points off a 49-yard interception return and a 16-yard fumble recovery to increase Hawaii's lead to 41–13 with 7:46 left in the third quarter. Lennon Creer ran for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the Hawaii lead to 41–20 with 6:40 left in the third quarter.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
Hawaii added a field goal at the 3:01 mark in the third quarter in take a 44–20 lead. Nick Isham ran for a 4-yard touchdown to make the game score Hawaii 44–26 at the 7:55 mark in the fourth quarter. Louisiana Tech went on to lose the game to Hawaii by a score of 44–26.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
Louisiana Tech's 2011 record fell to 1–4 overall and 0–1 in the WAC while Hawaii improved its record to 3–2 overall and 1–0 in the WAC.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Idaho
Louisiana Tech traveled to Moscow, Idaho to face the Idaho Vandals in their second conference game of the year. The Bulldogs defeated the Idaho Vandals 24–11 to end their three-game losing streak.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Idaho
After a scoreless first quarter, Louisiana Tech took a 3–0 lead in the game after Matt Nelson kicked a 23-yard field goal with 14:56 left in the second quarter. Tech's lead was cut to 3–2 after Idaho scored a safety when Andre Ferguson tackled Louisiana Tech's Lennon Creer in Tech's endzone at the 12:27 mark in the second quarter. Louisiana Tech increased the lead to 10–2 after Jay Dudley intercepted a pass by Idaho's Brain Reader and completed a 53-yard return for a touchdown with 4:47 left in the second quarter.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Idaho
Idaho scored on a 43-yard field goal with 2:57 left in the second quarter to make the score Louisiana Tech 10–5. Louisiana Tech scored fourteen points in the third quarter as a result of a 6-yard touchdown pass to David Gru and a 1-yard touchdown run by Nick Isham to increase their lead to 24–5. Idaho's Justin Veltung returned a punt by Tech's Ryan Allen for an 81-yard touchdown with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter to make the final score 24–11 Louisiana Tech.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Idaho
Hunter Lee received a majority of the carries for Louisiana Tech in place of Lennon Creer and rushed 28 times for 134 yards. Nick Isham was 25/39 for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 passing). Ryan Allen was named the WAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his punting performance against Idaho. He punted the ball ten times for an average for 48 yards, including 6 downed balls inside the opponent's 20-yard line.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Utah State
After a bye week after the Idaho game, Louisiana Tech played Utah State at Logan, Utah. Louisiana Tech's 24–17 victory over Utah State marked their second straight victory this season and the first time that Louisiana Tech has won four consecutive WAC road games since joining the conference in 2001. The game also featured a quarterback change for Louisiana Tech when Colby Cameron substituted for Nick Isham late in the third quarter.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Utah State
Louisiana Tech took the first lead of the game after Lennon Creer ran for a 3-yard touchdown to make the score Louisiana Tech 7–0 at the 8:22 mark in the first quarter. Utah State responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Robert Turpin to tie the game at 7–7 with 3:20 left in the first quarter. Utah State took a 10–7 lead after Josh Thompson hit a 43-yard field goal with 7:57 left in the second quarter.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Utah State
Louisiana Tech retook the lead from Utah State with 11:36 left in the third quarter after Terry Carter intercepted a pass by Chuckie Keeton and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14–10 for Louisiana Tech. Utah State captured the lead again after Chuckie Keeton scored on a 29-yard touchdown run with 7:41 left in the third quarter to make the score 17–14 Utah State. The Bulldogs took a 21–17 lead after Hunter Lee scored an 8-yard touchdown run with 10:14 left in the fourth quarter. Matt Nelson connected on a 24-yard field goal with 2:46 left in the game to make the final score 24–17 Louisiana Tech.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Utah State
Colby Cameron came into the game for Louisiana Tech late in the third quarter after Nick Isham struggled for most of the game at quarterback. This was the first game in which Cameron completed a pass since September 18, 2010 against Navy. Adrian Cole was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week, and Ryan Allen was named the WAC Special Teams Player of the Week for their performances against Utah State.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, San Jose State
Louisiana Tech hosted the San Jose State Spartans at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana for their annual Homecoming game. Louisiana Tech defeated the Spartans 38–38 to win their third consecutive game this season and improved their record to 4–4 (3–1 in conference play) for the 2011 season. Colby Cameron started at quarterback for Louisiana Tech in place of the injured Nick Isham.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, San Jose State
Louisiana Tech took the first lead with 8:59 left in the third quarter when Matt Nelson hit a 25-yard field goal to make the score 3–0. San Jose State took a 7–3 lead at the 6:50 mark in the first quarter when Brandon Rutley ran for a 1-yard touchdown. Louisiana Tech retook the lead at the 10:31 mark in the second quarter when Richie Casey ran for a 21-yard touchdown to make the score 10–7 in favor of the Bulldogs.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, San Jose State
With 8:29 remaining in the second quarter, San Jose State took a 14–10 lead after Matt Faulkner threw a 60-yard touchdown to Noel Grigsby. Louisiana Tech took a 17–14 lead at the 7:20 mark in the second quarter after Colby Cameron threw a 90-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Patton. Tech scored another touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Cameron to Quinton Patton to extend the lead to 24–14 going into the half.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, San Jose State
The Bulldogs started the second half with a 1-yard touchdown run by Lennon Creer to take a 31–14 lead with 11:15 left in the third quarter. Jay Dudley intercepted a pass by Matt Faulkner and returned it for a 36-yard touchdown to make the score 38–14 for Louisiana Tech. Dudley's interception return for a touchdown marked the second INT return for a touchdown in the last three games. San Jose State scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 43 seconds left in the third quarter to trim Louisiana Tech's lead to 38–22. San Jose State would score another touchdown with a 20-yard touchdown reception to Ryan Otten to make the final score Louisiana Tech 38–28.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, San Jose State
In his first start in 2011, Colby Cameron was 17/27 for 237 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Lennon Creer ran the ball 31 times for 112 yards, and 1 touchdown. Quinton Patton had 5 receptions for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 90-yard touchdown pass from Cameron to Patton was the fifth-longest reception in Louisiana Tech history and the longest touchdown of the 2011 season for Louisiana Tech. Tech's defense held San Jose State to a season-low 12 yards rushing and forced five turnovers, including four interceptions.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Fresno State
Louisiana Tech traveled to Fresno, California to face the Fresno State Bulldogs. With Fresno State moving to the Mountain West Conference after the 2011–12 season, this game was probably the final meeting between the two teams for the foreseeable future. Louisiana Tech defeated Fresno State 41–21 to win their fourth consecutive game and improve the season record to 5–4 (4–1 in WAC play).


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Fresno State
Louisiana Tech took a 7–0 lead at the 10:01 mark in the first quarter when Colby Cameron threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Patton. Tech extended the lead to 14–0 when Cameron threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Patton with 4:40 left in the first quarter. Matt Nelson hit a 26-yard field goal to increase LA Tech's lead to 17–0 with 14:19 remaining in the second quarter. Fresno State scored a touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Derek Carr to Victor Dean to cut Louisiana Tech's lead to 17–7 with 9:40 left in the second quarter.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Fresno State
Louisiana Tech responded with a 53-yard rushing touchdown by Lennon Creer and a 75-yard touchdown pass from Colby Cameron to Myles White to make the score Louisiana Tech 31–7 with 5:23 left in the second quarter. Matt Nelson hit a 40-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter to make the score Louisiana Tech 34–7.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Fresno State
Louisiana Tech extended their lead to 41–7 at the 10:26 mark in the third quarter after Colby Cameron threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Richie Casey. Fresno State cut the lead to 41–14 when Derek Carr threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Saunders with 7:03 remaining in the third quarter. Fresno State scored one more touchdown at the 6:14 mark in the fourth quarter when Derek Carr threw a 24-yard pass to Devon White to make the final score of the game Louisiana Tech 41, Fresno State 21.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Fresno State
Colby Cameron was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week after his performance in the Fresno State game. Cameron was 19/33 for 376 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Lennon Creer had 17 carries for 116 yards and one touchdown. Quinton Patton had 6 receptions for 97 yards and 2 TDs, and Myles White had 2 catches for 130 yards, and 1 TD.


2011 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, TCU
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs accepted an invitation to the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl after defeating New Mexico State and winning the WAC Championship in their regular season finale on November 25.


2011 Louisiana elections
Louisiana's 2011 state elections were held on October 22, 2011, with runoff elections held on November 19. All statewide elected offices were up, as well as all seats in the Louisiana State Legislature.


2011 Louisiana elections, Statewide offices, Governor
Incumbent Governor Bobby Jindal, a Republican, ran for a second term, and faced only token opposition. He was expected to win by a wide margin, and ended up winning with nearly 66% of the vote.


2011 Louisiana elections, Statewide offices, Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne was elected in a 2010 special election, and was elected to a full term. His opponent was Republican Billy Nungesser Jr., the Plaquemines Parish president.


2011 Louisiana elections, Statewide offices, Attorney General
Incumbent Attorney General Buddy Caldwell was elected as a Democrat in 2007, but switched parties in early 2011. Former Congressman Joseph Cao, also a Republican, filed to run against Caldwell, but dropped out of the race shortly after, leaving Caldwell unopposed.


2011 Louisiana elections, Statewide offices, Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry
Incumbent Commissioner Michael G. Strain, a Republican, was first elected in 2007. He faced Democrat Jamie LaBranche, an arborist and horticulturist, and Reform Party candidate Belinda "B" Alexandrenko, a three-time gubernatorial candidate. He was re-elected with 66.5% of the vote.


2011 Louisiana elections, Statewide offices, Commissioner of Insurance
Incumbent Commissioner Jim Donelon, a Republican, was first elected in a 2006 special election. His opponent was Democrat Donald C. Hodge, an attorney, who he defeated by a 2 to 1 margin.


2011 Louisiana elections, Statewide offices, Secretary of State
Incumbent Secretary of State Tom Schedler, a Republican, was appointed to the position following Jay Dardenne's election as Lieutenant Governor. He faced Louisiana House of Representatives Speaker Jim Tucker, also a Republican, who he narrowly defeated.


2011 Louisiana elections, Statewide offices, State Treasurer
Incumbent Treasurer John Neely Kennedy, a Republican, was first elected in 1999. He was unopposed.


2011 Louisiana elections, State Legislature, Louisiana Senate
Prior to the election, Republicans held 22 seats in the Louisiana Senate, while Democrats held 17. In the jungle primary, the Republicans gained a net of two Senate seats, giving them 24 seats to the Democrats' 15 seats. All four runoffs were intraparty runoffs.


2011 Louisiana elections, State Legislature, Louisiana House of Representatives
Prior to the election, the Louisiana House of Representatives consisted of 57 Republicans, 46 Democrats, 2 Independents, and one vacancy. After the jungle primary the House makeup stood at 54 Republicans, 40 Democrats, 1 Independent, and 10 to be determined in runoff elections. In the runoffs not featuring two candidates of the same party, 5 Democrats, 4 Republicans and one Independent candidate were elected, so after the runoff elections the House makeup stood at 58 Republicans, 45 Democrats and 2 Independents.


2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election
The 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on October 22 with 10 candidates competing in a nonpartisan blanket primary. Incumbent Republican Bobby Jindal was elected to a second term as governor of Louisiana. Since he received an outright majority of the vote in the blanket primary, a runoff election that would have occurred on November 19 was unnecessary. As of 2021, this is the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Louisiana, and also the last time a runoff was not required.


2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election, Background
Elections in Louisiana, with the exception of U.S. presidential elections (and congressional races beginning in 2008 and ending after the 2010 midterm election), follow a variation of the open primary system called the jungle primary. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot; voters need not limit themselves to the candidates of one party. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off election is then held between the top two candidates, who may in fact be members of the same party. This scenario occurred in the 7th District congressional race in 1996, when Democrats Chris John and Hunter Lundy made the runoff for the open seat, and in 1999, when Republicans Suzanne Haik Terrell and Woody Jenkins made the runoff for Commissioner of Elections.