Ferrari has raised the bar again in 2016 despite a winless campaign

LOS ANGELES -- What better way for Scott Kazmir to put his first-inning struggles behind him than pretending to pitch an inning before the game begins.It worked Saturday night. Kazmir survived the first and pitched six scoreless innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 6-1 for their eighth straight home victory.It was good to get out of that first inning unharmed. It didnt work with the first batter like I wanted, but I was able to get through the first inning and get into a groove, said Kazmir, who hit Charlie Blackmon, the first batter he faced, but stranded him on second base.Kazmir, who gave up four first-inning runs in his previous start, threw 25 warmup pitches before the national anthem, his usual warmup routine. Then a batter then stepped in, and Kazmir threw three simulated at-bats -- righty, lefty, righty.It seemed to lock me in a little bit and get me prepared for that first inning, Kazmir said. Its more just seeing that guy in the box. You get on certain pitches, you get that release point where you want to start pitches. Stuff like that.Trayce Thompson and Adrian Gonzalez drove in two runs each for the Dodgers, and Justin Turner had three hits and scored twice.I think guys are just starting to come around, Thompson said. (Turner), I think it all starts with him. Whenever he has a good game, we usually have a pretty good game as an offense.Kazmir (7-3) extended his unbeaten streak to 10 starts by holding the Rockies to a single and two doubles. He struck out 10 without walking a batter.Since May 9, Kazmir is 5-0 with a 3.61 ERA. He has struck out 65 in 57 1/3 innings during the stretch.Bud Norris and four relievers led L.A. to a 5-0 win in the opening game of the series on Friday night.Weve gotten exactly what weve needed, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. You win with starting pitching. You sustain winning with it. These guys have come out and pitched well and set the tone for us. And for the offense to respond like they have, some good things are happening.Nolan Arenado led off the ninth inning with a solo home run to left field off reliever Chris Hatcher for the Rockies only run.Prior to the homer, Arenado had gone 0 for 7 with six strikeouts in the first two games of the series. He came into the series with a 12-game hitting streak.Rockies starter Chad Bettis (6-6) lost for the first time in five starts, giving up four runs on six hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked one.The Rockies lost their third straight and had not gotten a baserunner to third base in the series until Arenados homer.We had a stretch there where we were scoring eight runs a game, Arenado said. We knew that wouldnt last very long.These guys have pitched well. Bud Norris, we havent really seen him, and Kazmir today was throwing well. He was throwing harder than the last time we saw him. He pitched a good game. Obviously, we shouldve had better at-batsColorado has scored one or fewer runs in six of its last nine games at Dodger Stadium, dating back to May 17, 2015, scoring 17 runs during that span.STEAKING SHORTSTOPDodgers SS Corey Seager lined the first pitch he saw Friday night into left field for a single, extending his NL-leading hitting streak to 15 games. Seager went 1 for 4 and scored twice.I was talking to some of the coaches about Corey, and it doesnt even seem like its any kind of hitting streak or that hes playing any better than he was earlier, Roberts said. This is what he does. I dont even see him as hot.TRAINERS ROOMRockies: LHP Jake McGee (sprained MCL, left knee) was activated from the DL and pitched 2/3 of an inning in the seventh. ... 2B D.J. LeMahieu returned to the lineup after being limited to a pair of pinch-hit appearances the last six games. ... RHP Tyler Chatwood threw a bullpen session Saturday and could be back here very soon, manager Walt Weiss said. OF Gerald Parra (ankle) continues to struggle running and is not expected back until after the All-Star break.Dodgers: OF Yasiel Puig was back in the Dodgers lineup after being removed Friday night after tweaking something in his left shoulder on a home-plate slide. ... RHP Brandon McCarthy (Tommy John surgery) will be activated off the 60-day DL and is scheduled to start Sunday. ... 2B Chase Utley was not in the Dodgers lineup, taking a routine day off. ... Hyun-Jin Ryu made his eighth rehab start on Friday night, giving up two runs and five hits in five innings (72 pitches). Roberts said Ryu, who is 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA over the eight starts, reached 90 mph and averaged 86 mph on Friday night.NEXT UP:Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (5-3, 4.83) earned his first major league victory on May 13 against the New York Mets and is 2/3 with a 4.65 ERA in seven road outings this year.Dodgers: McCarthy makes his 2016 debut after being sidelined more than 14 months recovering from Tommy John surgery. McCarthy made four starts for the Dodgers in 2015, going 3-0 with a 5.87 ERA. In five career starts vs. Colorado, McCarthy is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA and 20 strikeouts against three walks. Joel Payamps Jersey . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Arizona Diamondbacks Gear . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. https://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.us/1358l-zac-gallen-jersey-diamondbacks.html . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Chad Moeller Jersey . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Mark Grace Jersey . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Sebastian Vettel insists Ferrari has raised the bar again in 2016 despite a winless campaign, one he thinks will provide the foundation for future success.Vettel and Ferrari came into the season hoping to challenge Mercedes for the title but, with three races remaining, look likely to settle for third behind Red Bull. Much of the pre-season optimism came from Vettel claiming three victories in his first season with the team last year.The German admits Ferrari has not been good enough this year.I agree on the fact that we didnt get the results, cant excuse that, but I think theres a lot of work going in at the factory, a lot of things have changed fundamentally since the day that I joined, I think to the better, he said. Unfortunately in Formula One it doesnt happen with a mouse click, to have the results on the track.Of course its always the results that people have in their heads and youll be measured based on your latest results, which is fair enough, its part of the game. Its the same for other people as well, no different to us, I dont think it should be.Its clear that we have very high ambitionns and targets, and if we dont meet them then of course we are disappointed as well.dddddddddddd As I said we are putting a lot of effort and work in to try and change that.Despite the teams failings this year Vettel is certain Ferrari can raise the bar again in 2017 -- something he believes it has done this season.The level has been fairly high the day I joined but I think we raised the bar again. We are trying to raise it even more for next year, trying to connect everyone and try to work as a team, because we have a lot of people, we have a lot of intelligent, clever, smart people and try to get them together to work on one project.Our understanding of this years car and the cars weve recently built has become a lot better, which should help us again in the future hopefully, but Im fairly confident on that point. How much with the rule changes obviously all depends on what other people are doing, what they are thinking, if somebody comes out with a clever idea or not. ' ' '