Hiroki Kuroda must wonder if his teammates are trying to get him traded. Some bat boys feel more love.

Kuroda the Cursed ventured Saturday into Phoenix, making what could be one his final starts as a Dodger, and it looked a lot like most of his other starts this season.

He pitched very well, received precious little run support, and lost.

This time it was to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who rode a three-run homer by Brandon Allen in the second inning to a 3-2 victory over the Dodgers, ending their season-high five-game winning streak.

In the third, he gave up a leadoff double to Stephen Drew, who was thrown out foolishly trying to stretch it into a triple. And after that, Kuroda was lights out, never allowing another hit and retiring 12 of his final 13 batters.

It left his ERA at 3.13, which would be a career low, but with a 6-11 record.

Matt Kemp hit his nightly home run in the second -- a solo shot that left him with 24 on the season -- and a single and three Ian Kennedy walks scored one more in the fifth, but that was it for the Dodgers' inept offense.

Not that it’s anything new for Kuroda. In nine of his 19 starts this season, the Dodgers have scored two or fewer runs.

Kuroda is the one semi-prize the Dodgers can offer a team if they decide to become sellers at the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline. Kuroda has a no-trade clause, although the way the Dodgers continue to support him, he may seriously consider approving a trade.

Kuroda struck out seven, did not walk a batter and retired his last nine Diamondbacks. And lost.

Kennedy (10-3) gave up five hits and three walks in his seven innings, which proved just enough. David Hernandez pitched the ninth to earn the save.

ALSO:

How long can the Dodgers wait for Rafael Furcal and Juan Uribe?

Who are the three greatest shortstops in Dodgers history?

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Hiroki Kuroda. Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Images

I mean, other than 2014 in the case of Uribe.

These are currently the Dodgers' table-setters, though the crumbs they're leaving behind couldn't nourish a rat.

Both were having a miserable season anyway, but they've approached nonexistence since returning from the disabled list.

Uribe came back from a strained hip flexor June 6 and has hit .189 with one home run and seven RBIs since. Sadly, his average isn't much off the .220 he was hitting before the injury.

And that production looks almost lofty compared with Furcal, who has hit .097 without an extra-base hit since returning July 3 from his latest injury. The injury-prone Furcal is batting .175 on the season.

Last season, Furcal was an All-Star. Last season, Uribe had a career year in leading the Giants to their unexpected World Series title.

This season, Furcal has missed 68 of the Dodgers' 95 games and has struggled to find anything close to a rhythm. This season, Uribe is threatening to become Ned Colletti's biggest free-agent bust since Andruw Jones.

Furcal is in the last year of his contract and has prospect Dee Gordon waiting in the wings. The Dodgers have a $12-million option on him for next season they won't touch.

Uribe is a different problem, signed for two more years. A three-year deal for Uribe was trouble from the outset, but the problem was that there were precious few free-agent power options on the market and that drove his price up.

Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles have performed well in the infield without power, but Uribe is running out of time for this season if the Dodgers are even going to entertain the thought of a miraculous comeback.

RELATED:

Matt Kemp leads Dodgers to 6-4 win over Arizona

Third baseman Casey Blake doesn't know when he'll return

Even for this year's Dodgers, getting to the playoffs is not beyond belief

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Infielder Rafael Furcal (15) and Juan Uribe leave the field after retiring the side in an exhibition game this spring. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

The amazing turnaround of Matt Kemp continues, curbed neither by the All-Star break, ghosts of 2010 nor struggling teammates.

Kemp, who was mired in what would qualify as a mini-slump for him this season -- 0-for-13, no homers in his last 12 games -- started the second half looking much like the player from the first half.

Kemp warmed up by throwing a runner out at the plate, then hit a two-run homer and singled in two more.

The way the Dodgers’ offense has gone this season, all four runs batted in were meaningful, the Dodgers holding on for a 6-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Friday for their season-high fifth consecutive victory.

It’s their longest winning streak since they won nine straight from May 9-18, 2010.

In 2010, of course, Kemp had trouble on the field, on the bases, at the plate and with the coaching staff.

This season, however, he has been all the Dodgers could have hoped for -- even a little more.

With Clayton Kershaw dominating the Diamondbacks before allowing four unearned runs in the seventh inning, Kemp again led the offense.

The home run was his 23rd of the season -- that's second in the National League. The four RBIs left him with 71, third in the NL. He’s also third in stolen bases (27) and sixth in batting average (.315).

Kemp often gets little offensive assistance from teammates, but a new one made his presence felt immediately.

Juan Rivera, acquired from the Blue Jays during the All-Star break, drilled the first pitch he saw as a Dodger for a home run in the secon inning off Joe Saunders (6-8), his former teammate with the Angels. Two innings later, Rivera singled and scored on a Dioner Navarro hit.

The way Kershaw (10-4) controlled the Diamondbacks for six innings, it appeared two runs might be plenty. Then Kemp added his four RBIs, and it briefly appeared to be a rare Dodgers laugher.

But a fielding error by Juan Uribe opened the door for Arizona in the seventh. The Diamondbacks, who have not been shut out at home this season, got one run on a single by Miguel Montero before Xavier Nady crushed a three-run home run.

Since the runs were unearned, Kershaw lowered his ERA to 2.88. He has won his last five decisions against Arizona.

Hong-Chih Kuo got the first two outs and walked one before turning the ninth inning over to Javy Guerra, who promptly gave up a single. With runners on the corners, Guerra caught rookie Brandon Allen looking at a third strike to end the game.

RELATED:

Dodgers-Diamondbacks box score

Third baseman Casey Blake doesn't know when he'll return

Even for this year's Dodgers, getting to the playoffs is not beyond belief

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Dodgers catcher Dioner Navarro tags out Arizona's Willie Bloomquist after a throw from center fielder Matt Kemp in the first inning Friday night in Phoenix. Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Images

Continuing our poll of the greatest Dodgers at each position with shortstops.

Remember to vote for three.

You had to have been the main starter at a position for at least three seasons to be listed on the poll.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt asked Friday that a judge reduce the financial support he must pay his ex-wife Jamie, saying the amount of money he paid her last year is more than he will make this year.

"I simply cannot afford to support [her] lifestyle any longer," McCourt wrote in a filing with the Los Angeles Superior Court.

He asked that Jamie McCourt be ordered to pay all costs associated with the couple's seven homes -- perhaps by renting some or all -- or that the properties be sold immediately. The court set an Aug. 10 hearing date.

Frank McCourt said his income this year would be $5 million. In accordance with court orders, Frank McCourt said he paid Jamie McCourt $7.76 million over the past year, to cover temporary spousal support and to maintain the couple's seven homes. In comparison, Frank McCourt said he spent $600,642 on "my own personal expenses and lodging."

[UPDATED 3:39 p.m.: The statement from Ryan Kirkpatrick, an attorney for Frank McCourt:

"Jamie McCourt continues to live a lifestyle that simply is not sustainable. She has seven homes which Frank pays for, and despite many requests, she has refused to sell or rent any of them. No one needs seven houses. Beyond covering her home expenses, Frank has been paying her $225,000 a month to support her unrestrained style of living. Today's request by Frank simply reflects economic reality."

The statement from Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesman for Jamie McCourt:

"Frank's hypocrisy and deceit know no bounds. It's inexplicable that Frank has single-handedly destroyed the value of the Dodgers in the nearly two years since Jamie was last involved with the team. If Frank's personal financial situation is really so dire, why doesn't he just sell his half of the Dodger assets?"]

Frank McCourt said he receives "no salary from the Los Angeles Dodgers" but is paid through Blue Land Co., the McCourt entity to which the Dodgers pay $14 million per year in rent. According to the filing, McCourt gets $5 million from that rent payment, with almost $4 million toward mortgage payments and about $5 million toward various McCourt entities. The last figure includes a total of $2.2 million for annual salaries to 12 employees of the McCourt Group, including vice presidents -- and sons -- Drew and Travis McCourt.

The filing also noted that Major League Baseball had capped rent payments at $14 million, despite an agreement between two McCourt entities that the rental fee would be $16.5 million last year and $17.2 million this year.

"Furthermore, LA Real Estate LLC [the renting entity] cannot afford to pay any more in rent, particularly now that it is in bankruptcy," McCourt wrote.

In April, Commissioner Bud Selig ordered an investigation into the finances of the Dodgers "and related entities." The latest McCourt organizational chart lists 27 entities, including the charities Think Cure and Dodgers Dream Foundation. Five of those entities were included in the bankruptcy filing.

According to the filing, McCourt has incurred legal bills of $9.38 million over the last 12 months, not including any bankruptcy-related work. Of that total, $3.44 million remains unpaid.

MORE:

Dodgers ownership situation

Tony Gwynn Jr. will remain Dodgers' primary left fielder

Players' union and Stow family part of unsecured creditors' panel in Dodgers' bankruptcy case

-- Bill Shaikin

 Photo: Jamie McCourt. Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times.

Frank McCourt's legacy is forever cemented. No matter what happens from here on out, he'll always be the man who took the Dodgers into bankruptcy.

His list of controversial decisions is long and labyrinthine, but one of his earliest was deciding to move the Dodgers out of their historic spring training home in Vero Beach, Fla., to become just another team in Phoenix.

Not just move out, but take the name Dodgertown with him. After 61 years, he refused to allow Dodgertown to be called Dodgertown.

Indian River County has been trying to make a go of the deserted complex for the last three years. It's plan to lease it to Minor League Baseball and rename it the "Vero Beach Sports Village" was supposed to be the answer. Alas, that now seems doomed.

Columnist Ray McNulty of the Treasure Coast Newspapers reports that MiLB is currently mired in a silly financial dispute with the county and is ready to bail on a failed experiment.

McCourt stuck the county with a white elephant, and there is no pleasant solution in sight. Dodgertown is quickly becoming a memory. Wrote McNulty, a former Dodgers beat writer for the Orange County Register:

"Truth is, other than not wanting to see their tax dollars wasted, nobody here really cares anymore. Dodgertown died when the Dodgers left. So did any good reason to go there.

"Without spring training, the complex is nothing more than a publicly owned, privately operated, pay-to-play park that local residents can't use."

You'll be stunned to know that McNulty is no fan of McCourt -- calling him soulless. The spurned can be that way, but it's a growing legion.

The charm and uniqueness of Dodgertown was lost on McCourt. But as it turned out, so were the Dodgers.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Very strange situation.

Six games to determine whether the Dodgers become sellers or buyers at the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline. Odd in itself, an entire season’s perspective able to go either way because of a handful of games in July.

Making it stranger is the repercussions of either scenario not appearing all that significant.

If the Dodgers sweep through Arizona and San Francisco to become buyers, just what are they supposed to buy? I mean, with the team in bankruptcy court and all. It’s not like they’re going to add a significant player (read: contract).

And if they decide to become sellers, just exactly what to they have of interest to dangle?

The name most mentioned is Hiroki Kuroda, who would be a swell addition to a contending team in need of a good starter. Only Kuroda has a no-trade clause in his contract and I can’t see him approving a trade unless it’s to a glamour franchise like the Yankees or Red Sox. Why would he? He seems to like it here and there’s always the possibility of him returning for another season.

Other vets don’t look too enticing. Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal are having a disabled list contest. Juan Uribe and Ted Lilly are too expensive. Jamey Carroll, Aaron Miles and Rod Barajas are not going to bring much or save much.

The Dodgers should be willing to deal James Loney, but despite his turnaround, his run production isn’t going to have teams lining up with intriguing prospects.

They’re not going to deal young stars Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw, but probably would have to listen if teams came hard after Andre Ethier. He’s making $9.5 million this season, with one more year of arbitration before he can become a free agent. Still, it would have to be an impressive offer. The Dodgers already have one outfield position they can’t fill.

Their major prospects -- Rubby De La Rosa, Dee Gordon, Jerry Sands -- are so few it makes no sense to deal them.

So the only thing they would likely accomplish by becoming sellers at the trading deadline is to dump salary. Everybody excited about saving Frank McCourt some extra cash?

General Manager Ned Colletti said he’s undecided whether to become buyer or seller and will used the month’s final days to make his determination. Any other year, and this is a fairly big deal. This year, not so much.

Ownership is in limbo and the franchise is without direction. If MLB wins temporary team control July 20, the Dodgers might have more funds available to acquire someone, but still hard to fathom it taking a sub-.500 team further into debt.

The team is adrift with no one at the helm. It’s a sad, wasted season and selling off a veteran or two ultimately does little but help McCourt. Very strange.

RELATED:

Ownership situation is team's biggest second-half story

Kirk Gibson's passion spills over to his Diamondback players

Players union, Stowe family part of unsecured creditors' panel in bankrupty case

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: All-Star pitcher Clayton Kershaw (right) seems untouchable in trade talks, but All-Star outfielder Andre Ethier might be a different story. Credit: Denis Poroy / Reuters

Frank McCourt (pictured above) wants the Bankruptcy Court to approve a loan in which the Dodgers owner has "a substantial personal financial stake," attorneys for Major League Baseball wrote in a court filing late Thursday.

The league has offered its own loan to finance the Dodgers through the bankruptcy process. By approving the loan arranged by McCourt, the league argues, the Dodgers would be subject to "almost $15 million more in financing costs" while the Dodgers owner "personally benefitted" from the deal. The amount by which the league alleges McCourt would benefit is redacted from the filing.

"Clearly, Mr. McCourt has not allowed these bankruptcy cases to change the practice of using the [Dodgers] as his personal piggy bank," the filing read.

The language immediately preceding that sentence alluded to another action by McCourt "at the very same time" he was negotiating the loan in question. The language describing that action also is redacted.

The filing also blacks out the exact amount the league claims McCourt has taken "in direct and indirect payments to him, his family, and affiliated entities from the Dodgers." That amount is close to $200 million, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it publicly. The league also said McCourt had failed to disclose or seek approval of several financial transactions, as required by league rules.

McCourt's attorneys have said the Dodgers cannot be financed by the league during bankruptcy because MLB could use that leverage toward the ouster of McCourt. In response, the league said the court would retain oversight of the operation of the Dodgers.

In the filing, MLB also claimed that Commissioner Bud Selig had received an "extraordinary number of complaints" from fans of the Dodgers and other clubs following the beating of Bryan Stow in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day.

"The incident highlighted the apparent deficiencies in security provided by the [Dodgers], which compromised the safety of fans and patrons," the filing read.

The filing also said that Selig appointed a trustee to oversee the Dodgers because of "among other things, the revelations of Mr. McCourt's mismanagement of the Dodgers, the resulting liquidity crisis facing the Dodgers, the ensuing loss of public confidence in the team, and the potential harm all of the foregoing would cause."

RELATED:

Ownership situation is team's biggest second-half story

Kirk Gibson's passion spills over to his Diamondback players

Players union, Stowe family part of unsecured creditors' panel in bankrupty case

-- Bill Shaikin

Photo credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

The Dodgers could negotiate a new television contract with Fox before repaying a loan to Major League Baseball, a league official said in a bankruptcy court filing Thursday.

The court is scheduled to decide next week whether MLB or Dodgers owner Frank McCourt should provide financing to run the team during the bankruptcy process.

The MLB loan would not need to be repaid until Nov. 30, 2012, after the conclusion of an exclusive negotiating window between the Dodgers and Fox, according to the declaration of John McHale Jr., an MLB executive vice president.

McHale also said that the loan would be unsecured. He reiterated the league's previous offer of lower interest and fees.

Under terms included in the Dodgers' initial bankruptcy papers, the loan arranged by McCourt would have to be repaid no later than June 27, 2012, one year following the bankruptcy filing. That loan would be secured by Dodgers property, among other assets. The terms of the loan are subject to change.

McCourt's attorneys have said he should not be compelled to accept a loan from a league that they say is intent on forcing him out of ownership. They say the court should auction the Dodgers' cable television rights as soon as possible so that creditors can be repaid promptly.

[UPDATED 6:54 p.m.: "We look forward to seeking court approval of the Highbridge facility (the loan arranged by McCourt) at the hearing on July 20, which remains in the Dodgers' best interest," said Steve Sugerman, a spokesman for McCourt.]

The league also asked Thursday for court permission to file its objections to McCourt's plan under seal, claiming the league would include "sensitive commercial information" about the Dodgers' finances that could "harm the [Dodgers'] economic interests."

-- Bill Shaikin

Continuing our poll of the greatest Dodgers at each position with third basemen.

Remember to vote for three.

You had to have been the main starter at a position for at least three seasons to be listed on the poll.