pro Dodgers only thread

[milagros317]

This thread is only for comments from Dodgers fans or that are sympathetic to the Dodgers.

Last night the Dodgers rallied for a run in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs to tie the Mets, 7-7. :D It ended at that score after 10 innings, no need to play a spring training game to conclusion.

[isabeau]

is this a positive enough comment? i'll root for the dodgers this year for my friend mils but i'll need to start watching them so i know who is who . i always pick out a few players to be my favorites. and since i used to be a die hard cubs fan til they traded sammy sosa, i will shift my die hard fan feelings for the dodgers this year. and believe me i'm a loyal fan , i stayed with the cubbies for years even when they sucked. just like their fans.

so GO DODGERS and mils you will have to keep me informed as to who is who you can do that on msn when we talk..

isabeau

[milagros317]

Yes, Isabeau, it's positive enough, and thank you. :twohugs:

New Dodgers this year include Lofton, Furcal, and Garciapara.

[PokeyinMich]

Now Mils, I am supportive, but some version of the Dodgers is playing some version of the Tigers so, our first head to head, lol. Good luck!

[milagros317]

The Dodgers squeaked by, 3-2, with another 9th inning rally. :D

[PokeyinMich]

As Pokey tips his hat to the victor...... :bowing:

[leafstk]

Since the Expos are gone, I might as well cheer for the Dodgers..... I hope Gagne returns to form this season :D :rotate:

[milagros317]

I hope Gagne returns to form this season :D :rotate:

As my grandmother used to say, "From your lips to God's ears." :D

[ticklingfeet4fu]

Milagros, just thought you would like to know that Sadira and I are going to try to take in a Dodger game this year when we are in California. We will PM you specifics. We are also going to try to be in New York when the Dodgers are in town to face the Mets in September. But we will have to see about that later this year. :wavingguy

[milagros317]

I'm glad to hear that. I have tickets to all four games that the Dodgers will play in Shea Stadium, and would be happy to see you again and meet Sadira. :D

[milagros317]

Today the Dodgers beat the Nationals, 11-5. :D

[Knox The Hatter]

Mil, did you post this thread because you feel that, perhaps, you're just a little bit...under siege? :tickle:

[milagros317]

Well, there are other Dodger fans here, like Tickleshotel. :D

[kurchatovium]

I miss Tommy Lasorda. :cry1: However being a Los Angeles native I always root for the Dodgers. :D

[milagros317]

Tommy is still working for the Dodgers as a Vice President. :D

[kurchatovium]

Yea I loved him as the coach though. Dont get to see him much as VP. :D

[Knox The Hatter]

Mil, did you post this thread because you feel that, perhaps, you're just a little bit...under siege? :tickle:

I mean, 'under siege' is apt phraseology...that's what the Dodger pitching staff's gonna be this year...

[milagros317]

We shall see. At present, their record is 0-0. :D

[milagros317]

In a spring training game in Vero Beach today, the Dodgers beat the Braves, 3-2. :D

[ticklingfeet4fu]

In a spring training game in Vero Beach today, the Dodgers beat the Braves, 3-2. :DI will sleep better knowing that little tid-bit. :imouttahe :p

[milagros317]

I will certainly sleep better, seriously. :D

[TICKLESRWAY2FUN]

sorry, i can not give a positive thought on them. i have an 80 year old father who still carries a grudge against them for leaving brooklyn and i was taught as a kid to despise them and root against them in everything they did for deserting the best place in the world. i would have been a dodger fan if they had not left, so i had to settle to be a mets fan. oh well lol

[Angel_2]

I am a Mets fan first and formost BUT I think the Dodgers will do very well this season. I like the team and they are my pick to win the NL West.

[milagros317]

In Port St. Lucie today, the Dodgers beat the Mets, 12-3. :D

[ticklingfeet4fu]

In Port St. Lucie today, the Dodgers beat the Mets, 12-3. :D
Yep!!! You guys won. I am so happy for you. That means we will kick your butts this entire season. Mets will win the season series 7 games to zero. :smilestar

[milagros317]

I doubt it. :D

[ticklingfeet4fu]

I doubt it. :D
Only because you are pro-Dodgers. I told you last year your team stunk and you didn't listen to me and I was right. So we will see. :p

[milagros317]

If they stay healthy, I see the Dodgers at 92-70 at the end of the season. :D

[ticklingfeet4fu]

If they stay healthy, I see the Dodgers at 92-70 at the end of the season. :D
The operative word here Milagros is IF!!! You can if anything. If my aunt had nuts she'd be my uncle. If were a fifth we would all be drunk. If anything you want. If the Dodgers won 8 more games last year they would have went to the playoffs. See what if can do for you Milagros??? :jester:

[milagros317]

If you saw yesterday's score, it was Dodgers 12, Mets 3. :D

[ticklingfeet4fu]

If you saw yesterday's score, it was Dodgers 12, Mets 3. :DI hope they lose the rest of their pre-season games 12-3. As long as when the season starts they are winning those games 3-2. :cool:

[milagros317]

Today, the Dodgers beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2. :D :D

[milagros317]

Today, the Dodgers scored one run in the bottom of the 9th to tie, and one more run in the bottom of the 10th to win today, beating the Nationals, 4-3. :D

[ticklingfeet4fu]

Today, the Dodgers scored one run in the bottom of the 9th to tie, and one more run in the bottom of the 10th to win today, beating the Nationals, 4-3. :D
Wow!!! :bowing: And a trip to the World Series is upcoming in 2041!!! :wowzer:

[Angel_2]

I know the Mets will be good this year. As for LA well your team dose have some good players and I still think that LA will win the NL West but only b/c its so weak.

[milagros317]

Wow!!! :bowing: And a trip to the World Series is upcoming in 2041!!! :wowzer:

Maybe in 2006. :D

[milagros317]

Last night (Tuesday, 04/04/06) the Dodgers got their first victory of this season. The score was 5-4 over the Braves, and came while closer Eric Gagne is serving his suspension from last season.

It was Grady Little's first victory as Dodger manager. :D

[ticklingfeet4fu]

Last night (Tuesday, 04/04/06) the Dodgers got their first victory of this season. The score was 5-4 over the Braves, and came while closer Eric Gagne is serving his suspension from last season.

It was Grady Little's first victory as Dodger manager. :DI am printing up your World Series tickets Milagros. We can go together. Of course the World Series will probably be in Atlanta or Houston or somewhere stupid like that. But they will be printed with your name on it. :D

[milagros317]

Anytime something good happens for the Dodgers, I may well post it in this thread. Feel free to respond if you want to. :D

[milagros317]

The Dodgers beat the Phillies last night, 5-3. :D

Unfortunately, Eric Gagne had surgery on his pitching elbow. :( :xlime:

[ticklingfeet4fu]

Anytime something good happens for the Dodgers, I may well post it in this thread. Feel free to respond if you want to. :DSince you said feel free, I will. Dodgers stink. :p

[milagros317]

Such a nasty comment from a man whose team hasn't won the World Series since 1986. :eek:

[ticklingfeet4fu]

Such a nasty comment from a man whose team hasn't won the World Series since 1986. :eek:You have to know I win the World Series every year in my mind. :p :D

[milagros317]

So do I, but for a different team than you do. :p

[PokeyinMich]

The Dodgers beat the Phillies last night, 5-3. :D

Unfortunately, Eric Gagne had surgery on his pitching elbow. :( :xlime:


Newspaper says he is expected back from 6 to 8 weeks for the Dodgers.

[milagros317]

Which is better than season-ending surgery, but still not good.

[leafstk]

Damn, that is nasty news about Gagne :(

[milagros317]

Yeah, his second surgery on his pitching arm in two years. :(

[milagros317]

In the second game of a doubleheader, the Dodgers beat the Phillies 6-2. :D

[milagros317]

The Dodgers beat the Pirates today, 8-3. :D :D

[General Zod]

Is there no stopping the Dodgers? :veryhappy :veryhappy

[milagros317]

I sure hope not. :D

[milagros317]

The Dodgers beat the Pirates today, 13-5. :D

[milagros317]

Last night, Kenny Lofton got his first RBI as a Dodger as the Dodgers beat the hated jints, 3-1. :D :D

[milagros317]

Last night the Dodgers and Cubs were tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th. With 2 outs, Kenny Lofton worked a walk, stole 2nd base, and scored on J. D. Drew's single to win the game. :D :D

[natural tickler]

Last night the Dodgers and Cubs were tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th. With 2 outs, Kenny Lofton worked a walk, stole 2nd base, and scored on J. D. Drew's single to win the game. :D :D


I find it strange that you only post scores when it is in the favor of the Dodgers. We never hear from you after a loss, in which they did the day before, 4-1 :D

[milagros317]

This is a pro Dodgers only thread, and here one should only post good news and favorable comments about the Dodgers. :D

You are welcome to start a pro Cubs thread, NT. :p

[natural tickler]

This is a pro Dodgers only thread, and here one should only post good news and favorable comments about the Dodgers. :D

You are welcome to start a pro Cubs thread, NT. :p


LMAO

it's cool, they got us last night. But tonight, is a different story

[milagros317]

If the Cubs should win tonight in Dodger Stadium, you can be sure that I won't post about it here tomorrow. :D

[ticklingfeet4fu]

But I will post it. The Cubs ( as sorry a team as they are, right Natural? ) beat the Dodgers 5-4. Sorry Milagros!!! If I started a pro-Mets only thread everyone would tear it to shreds. :D

[milagros317]

Only positive things about the Dodgers are supposed to be in this thread. While I can't stop anybody from posting what they want to, I myself will only post good news and favorable opinions about the Dodgers here.

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[milagros317]

Last night, the Dodgers beat Arizona 6-3 behind six innings of excellent pitching by Odalis Perez and 3 RBI by J. D. Drew. :D :D

[milagros317]

This afternoon, the Dodgers beat Arizona 6-4 to win the weekend series, two game to one. :D :D

The Dodgers batted around in the first inning, scoring 4 runs. J.D. Drew had a solo HR in the 6th inning. :D

[milagros317]

Last night, with the Dodgers trailing 2-1 in the top of the 9th inning, Nomar Garciapara hit a grand slam to give the Dodgers a 5-2 lead. One more run was scored, so it ended as a glorious 6-2 victory. :D :D

[milagros317]

J. Seo and three relievers combined for a two-hit shutout in San Diego last night, as the Dodgers won, 3-0. :D :D

J.D. Drew had two RBI.

[milagros317]

Tomko pitched well last night as the Dodgers won again in San Diego, 4-2. Garciaparra had a home run and a sac fly. :D :D

[milagros317]

Finally, there is some good news about the Dodgers to report. :D

After blowing a 3-0 lead, the Dodgers came to bat last night in the bottom of the 9th with the score tied 3-3. Furcal hit an infield single. Cruz bunted him over to second base, one out. Then Garciaparra hit an RBI single to end the game: Dodgers 4, Brewers 3. :D :D

[milagros317]

Saturday night's game: Dodgers 5, Brewers 4

For the second day in a row, the Dodgers came to bat in the bottom of the 9th in a tie game. For the second day in a row, Nomar Garciaparra came to bat with one out and a runner on second base. (This time it wass Kenny Lofton, who doubled.) For the second day in a row, Garciaparra hit a game winning RBI single. :D :D

[milagros317]

Sunday's game: Dodgers 10, Brewers 2

Aaron Sele pitched 6 2/3 solid innings in his National League debut, Russell Martin hit his first major league home run, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-2 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

Olmedo Saenz and Rafael Furcal each hit two-run homers and Jeff Kent also drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who have won three straight following a five-game losing streak.

[natural tickler]

The name Furcal is a enemy for life. Because of his wrecklessness running into first base, he took out our best player, which may have ruined our season. If I have the chance to get close to furcal, I'm gonna break his legs

Its bad enough he spurned us, but then take out our best guy????

the hit is on

[milagros317]

When I'm in LA next month, I will try to warn him about certain crazed Cubs fanatics out to get him.

[milagros317]

Tuesday's game: Dodgers 12, Astros 7

Jeff Kent hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBI to lift the Dodgers over the Houston Astros 12-7 for their fourth straight win.

Kent's second homer of the season capped the Dodgers' six-run eighth inning. Nomar Garciaparra and J.D. Drew also homered against Houston starter Andy Pettitte, who allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings.

"It was a great win because everyone got involved," Garciaparra said. "We did some little things that created big things."

Takashi Saito (3-2) pitched a perfect eighth inning for the victory.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Wednesday's game Dodgers 9, Astros 6

The offense is finally coming around for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Brett Tomko has been solid every five days. Now, if there was only something manager Grady Little could do about that bullpen of his.

Tomko allowed just one infield hit over six scoreless innings, and the Dodgers held on Wednesday night for a 9-6 victory over the Houston Astros that extended their winning streak to five games.

"We feel pretty good about winning five in a row, but we know that the best part of our season is still to come," Little said after the Dodgers handed the defending NL champions their sixth straight loss. "We like the way we're swinging the bats right now, but we've got a few things to iron out in the bullpen."

Jeff Kent and Rafael Furcal hit three-run homers and Nomar Garciaparra added a solo drive for the Dodgers, whose winning streak comes after a five-game skid. They have scored 31 runs their last three games, two more than they had in their previous seven.

Tim Hamulack relieved Tomko in the seventh and gave up three runs, two on a double by pinch-hitter Eric Bruntlett and the other on a broken-bat infield hit by Willy Taveras. Lance Berkman hit his 12th homer in the ninth, a three-run shot off Franquelis Osoria. But Danys Baez came on and struck out Morgan Ensberg and Preston Wilson to end it.

Wilson's slow bouncer to third baseman Bill Mueller with two out in the fourth was Houston's only hit against Tomko (4-1), who struck out three and walked three. He was lifted after 104 pitches.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Friday's game: Dodgers 6, hated jints 1

The Evil One is finding that the Babe's 714 is a tough mark to match. He's also learning that at age 41 his defense is a far cry from his Gold Glove days of old.

The San Francisco slugger is still sitting at 713 home runs, one shy of tying Babe Ruth for second place on the career list after the Giants' 6-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night in which a sellout crowd of 42,885 showed up hoping to witness history.

Instead, Bonds went 0-for-3 with an intentional walk in his fourth straight homerless game and blew a play in the outfield, too.

Manager Felipe Alou planned to sit down with his star player to discuss several things: Bonds' status for Saturday's day game, why he didn't run out a popup in the eighth, and what happened in left field on a miscommunication with center fielder Steve Finley.

"I'm going to talk with him," Alou said, smiling.

It seemed the perfect night to make history, what with the archrival Dodgers in town after the hated jints threw a belated 75th birthday bash for his godfather, Willie Mays, and also celebrated Alou's 71st birthday. There was all kinds of atmosphere -- a full moon appeared off in the distance beyond right field and McCovey Cove in the early innings.

But Kenny Lofton hit a two-run single in the Dodgers' three-run third off Matt Morris (2-4) and singled in another run in the fifth for a season-high three RBI. Nomar Garciaparra had three hits and drove in a run for the sixth straight game.

Brad Penny pitched five scoreless innings as the Dodgers won for the sixth time in seven games since a season-long five-game skid. Penny came out because of stiffness in his back.

"I don't care who hits a home run, Bonds or whoever," said Penny, who doesn't expect to miss a start because of his back. "I don't think about that at all. It's his personal stats."

The hated jints did get a homer from Pedro Feliz for their only run. Bonds last homered Sunday night at Philadelphia, hitting a 450-foot shot to right for his fifth of the season.

The 41-year-old Bonds was intentionally walked in the first, popped out to shortstop in the third, lined out to right leading off the sixth and reached in the eighth on a fielder's choice when second baseman Jeff Kent dropped his popup.

Kent threw to second for a forceout, and the Dodgers nearly doubled up Bonds, who had turned back toward the dugout before running to first and barely beating the relay throw.

There was speculation Kent dropped the ball on purpose. He clashed with Bonds when they were teammates here and even scuffled in the dugout.

"That's the question of the day," Kent said. "I don't give away my secrets. I'm the wrong guy to ask."

It was an electric, playoff-like atmosphere for "Orange Friday" -- and this night thousands of fans sported orange wigs with a black stripe down the middle. They stood for each Bonds at-bat, something the crowd didn't always do during the previous series against the Cubs.

"Pitch to Barry!" one man hollered at Dodgers reliever Joe Beimel in the sixth.

The left fielder -- a Gold Glover at the position in his prime -- took only a few steps toward left-center on Willy Aybar's RBI double in the sixth, apparently convinced Finley had it covered even though it was clearly Bonds' play to make. Bonds had words with Finley afterward.

"We know he has a lack of range," Alou said. "It didn't lose the game for us tonight. But we know he lacks range. We know the reason. He didn't play last year. He's not 100 percent in shape right now, and he's going to be 42. I don't know many 42-year-olds who have good range."

Finley said he thought he saw Bonds put up his glove and slowed up, calling it "an honest mistake."

"I should have gone hard all the way," Finley said.

Bonds is eager to pass Ruth and rid himself of the fanfare that has surrounded the chase. It has to be a distraction.

"I don't try to think about it," Bonds said recently. "But that moment I will think about it."

Penny (3-1), who has allowed three homers to Bonds, gave up two hits, struck out three and walked three for his second straight victory following a four-start losing streak.

Alou hoped to have Bonds in the starting lineup for Saturday's day game after the slugger said earlier this week he wanted to play every game through the weekend. He started Thursday's day game after a night game against Chicago -- not always his practice in recent seasons.

"I don't know," Alou said after the game. "I won't write the lineup early. I'm going to take my time tomorrow."

The Dodgers aren't about to let Bonds beat them. Los Angeles has allowed the third-most home runs to Bonds of any team with 62, behind San Diego's 82 and 63 by the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals.

Dodgers skipper Grady Little said Los Angeles would be picky about when to pitch to him.

"We know there's not another Barry Bonds coming up after him," Little said.

Penny intentionally walked Bonds with two outs in the first and Omar Vizquel on second. Fans waved orange and yellow rubber chickens from all directions.

Morris, in his first season with the hated jints following nine with St. Louis, lost his fourth straight decision. He is winless in six outings since starting the year with two victories.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Sunday's game: Dodgers 6, hated jints 3

The Evil One (also known as Barry Bonds) remained stalled at 713 and one from tying Babe Ruth as the hated jints concluded a seven-game homestand with a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

All those kayaks in McCovey Cove hoping for a historic souvenir left empty-handed from this homestand.

The Dodgers broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth on a two-base throwing error by reliever Steve Kline (1-1) in which the ball went off Omar Vizquel's glove and into shallow left as the shortstop covered third, allowing two runs to score.

Bonds went 0-for-2 with two walks. He drew his 17th intentional walk of the season in the first, grounded out to the pitcher to end the third in a six-pitch at-bat, walked again in the sixth and popped out to third in the eighth before Jason Ellison replaced him in left field to start the ninth.

The way things are going for Bonds at the plate, he might just as well cut his throat--he was hitless in the entire three game series against the Dodgers.

On Monday, the hated jints start a three-game series at Houston, followed by a weekend interleague matchup against the Athletics in which manager Felipe Alou hopes Bonds will play all three games as designated hitter.

Houston has given up 37 of Bonds' home runs. The slugger didn't play in last Monday's makeup game at home with the Astros after the cross-country flight from Philadelphia.

And Alou wasn't sure whether Bonds would play Monday's series opener after six straight games that included two day games after night games.

Bonds is hitless in his last 15 at-bats with seven walks since his seventh-inning single Tuesday night against former teammate Scott Eyre of the Chicago Cubs.

Jeff Kent broke a 1-1 tie with a solo home run to left in the sixth -- but had the ball thrown back onto the field by his former fans who booed him at every opportunity. It was his second homer in as many games and sixth of the season. Olmedo Saenz hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to drive in the Dodgers' first run.

Jae Seo seemed like a legitimate candidate to become the 420th different pitcher to surrender a home run to Bonds considering the right-hander came into his seventh start of the year having given up eight homers in 33 innings -- and pitched Sunday on the heels of his shortest 2006 outing of 3 1-3 innings last Tuesday against the Astros.

Nomar Garciaparra extended his hitting streak to nine games with an RBI single in the eighth, the eighth straight game he's driven in a run. Rafael Furcal singled in a run in the ninth.

Mike Matheny blooped a tying RBI single off Odalis Perez (4-1) -- pitching in relief for the first time since Sept. 30, 2001, with Atlanta -- in the seventh. Perez has two career relief victories. Joe Beimel pitched two innings for his first career save.

Ray Durham, who returned from a hamstring injury Friday night, hit a solo home run leading off the ninth for the Giants.

Jason Schmidt didn't allow a hit until Kenny Lofton's single to left-center leading off the fourth, but failed to earn a decision after winning his previous three starts. He walked Jose Cruz Jr. in the second after not walking a batter in 23 straight innings since April 28 against Arizona -- going two starts without issuing a free pass.

Bonds batted third in the order for the second straight day in a move Alou plans to stick with indefinitely.

The chants of "Barry! Barry!" immediately changed to boos after he took three straight balls in the first, then catcher Russell Martin stuck out his glove calling for the intentional walk.

Bonds stepped into the batter's box with one out in the sixth and Randy Winn on first following a leadoff single and walked on five pitches -- with some fans on their feet and yelling "Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!"

Alou, who turned 71 on Friday, said the craziness surrounding Bonds isn't getting to him at all. He's not sure what to expect in Houston -- but realizes the media frenzy will follow the team to Texas.

"I like this, man. I like a lot of people," he said. "I like controversy. I like storms. Any time we have hurricanes in Florida, I wish I were there. I'm not the eye, but I am the mouth of the storm. Look around and I'm the guy who has to answer a lot of this stuff."

Los Angeles has allowed the third-most home runs to Bonds of any team with 62, behind San Diego's 82 and 63 by the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Monday's game: Dodgers 5, Rockheads 4.

Tomko came up with a quality start in Denver, where he'd never won a game, and the Dodgers scored 3 in the 7th to go ahead for good. :D :D

[milagros317]

Wednesday's game: Dodgers 3, Rockheads 2

A warm day at Coors Field helped out Brad Penny and his sore back.

Penny allowed one run in six strong innings and Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-run single, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

Penny (4-1) left after five innings in his last start because of a stiff back but didn't seem to have any lingering effects, hitting the mid-90s with his fastball and keeping the Rockies off-balance with a looping curveball. The right-hander gave up three runs or less for the ninth time in as many starts this season, helping the Dodgers to their ninth win in 12 games.

"Penny was outstanding. He gave us a very good effort out there and we couldn't ask for more," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "He's not 100 percent, but you certainly can't tell that once he gets out there on the mound and loosens up and starts throwing. When he stops moving around that's when it bothers him a little bit, but today it wasn't bothering him as much as the previous game."

Jason Jennings (2-4) matched Penny most of the way before giving up three runs in the seventh inning for his fourth loss in five starts.

The right-hander was hit for a pair of one-out singles to Ramon Martinez and Russell Martin and then pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz tied the game with an RBI single to left. Jennings struck out Rafael Furcal for the second out and walked Jose Cruz Jr. to load the bases, and Garciaparra put the Dodgers up 3-1 with a hard single to left.

"Jason pitched great, he pitched a great ballgame," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "Four groundballs in the inning and they get three runs. Jason is controlling what he can control."

Colorado, which has lost six of eight, didn't give Jennings much support, getting a run in the sixth inning on Miguel Ojeda's RBI single.

The Rockies cut the Dodgers' lead to 3-2 in the eighth, when Matt Holliday, who doubled off Joe Beimel with one out, scored on third baseman Oscar Robles' throwing error. Danys Baez got Ojeda to hit into a double play to end the inning and then gave up a single to Cory Sullivan and hit Garrett Atkins in the ninth before getting Todd Helton to fly out for his ninth save in 14 chances.

"We had men on base. We weren't able to get the big hit," Hurdle said.

Penny didn't give the Rockies many chances before that.

He struck out Brad Hawpe with runners on second and third to end the first inning and then got consecutive groundouts to end the third after Sullivan doubled. The Rockies had a pair of singles off Penny in the fourth and fifth innings before breaking through in the sixth, when Jason Smith hit a two-out single, stole second and scored on Ojeda's single to left.

Penny was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh after allowing six hits, hitting two batters and striking out seven.

"Both starting pitchers did great today," Garciaparra said. "Our team did a good job go out there and battle and produce runs -- we knew the way he was throwing it was going to be tough."

Jennings was just as good through six innings, allowing a pair of singles in the second and another in the fifth, before running into trouble in the seventh. He allowed three runs and seven hits, which is normally good enough to win at Coors Field. Instead, it ended up being his first loss in seven career starts against the Dodgers at Coors Field.

"Losing games like this are hard to take," said Jennings, who had his home scoreless streak snapped at 16 innings on Saenz's single in the seventh. "Most of the time you win games when you pitch like today. This was a tough one."

:D :D

[milagros317]

Friday's game: Dodgers 16, Angels 3

Dodgers get 25 hits!

Andre Ethier spent an off day at Disneyland with his wife. He made a return trip to Fantasyland against the Los Angeles Angels.

Ethier highlighted his first career five-hit game with a homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers rapped out 25 hits in a 16-3 win in the opener of the teams' interleague series Friday night.

"You don't realize what's really going on," he said. "You're just going up there focusing on the task at hand. Some say the ball seems big. It still seems small, but you're just able to put a good swing on it and have confidence up there doing it."

Russell Martin added three hits and drove in three runs -- both career highs -- for the Dodgers, who improved to 10-2 with him in the starting lineup. He and Ethier each made their major league debuts four days apart earlier this month.

"He always has to show me up, do a little better than I do, but I'll get him back," Martin joked.

Ethier had an RBI single in the Dodgers' nine-run sixth inning, finished with three RBIs and scored four runs playing in front of four family members. He added his first major league assist in the ninth.

"We weren't able to get ahead of him on some counts," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "When we did, he fought one ball off for a base hit early. He stays inside the ball well and he obviously drives the ball well the other way."

Ethier was promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas because of injuries in the Dodgers' outfield, leaving his future in Los Angeles uncertain.

"It's a great opportunity to be here doing this and you got to take advantage of it and force the issue as best you can," he said.

Aaron Sele (2-0) gave up two runs and six hits in six innings, struck out three and walked one against his old team.

"We've had a team that's been capable of scoring a lot of runs and it was just a matter of it happening," he said.

Making his first career start against his former team, Jeff Weaver (1-7) allowed four runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings, struck out two and walked two in losing his fifth straight.

"It's one of those things where you make the right adjustments, you feel good and make your pitches and get the ground balls you're looking for, and then you get singled to death," Weaver said. "At least the ball was kept in the yard. Now the next step is just finding some gloves for those groundballs to go to."

As if that wasn't insult enough, Jose Cruz Jr. singled off the back of Weaver's upper left thigh in the bottom of the first.

Weaver's continued struggles could cost him his starting spot. He met with Scioscia, pitching coach Bud Black and the catchers Tuesday to discuss his penchant for overthrowing every hitter.

"Personnel changes are a last resort, but we'll contemplate it if it looks like we're not going in the right direction," Scioscia said.

The Dodgers sent 15 batters to the plate in the sixth, when they extended their lead to 13-2. They had nine hits in the inning and still managed to leave the bases loaded.

The Angels' only highlight came in the first on Vladimir Guerrero's two-run homer. The loss was their 15th in 20 games.

"There are some holes in our lineup, and that's obvious right now with some guys out," Scioscia said. "Every team has those issues, though, and our depth is something that's biting us right now. Obviously, these last three weeks have been very, very tough on us, but we're going to move in the right direction."

The Dodgers scored runs with two outs in the second, third and fourth innings to take a 3-2 lead. Martin's bases-loaded RBI single in the fifth made it 4-2.

Angels reliever Esteban Yan loaded the bases with one out in the sixth and then hit Jeff Kent, forcing in Rafael Furcal with the first of the Dodgers' nine runs.

Willy Aybar followed with a two-run double down the right-field line. Ethier, Martin and pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz had RBI singles to make it 10-2.

Furcal hit a two-run triple and Nomar Garciaparra finished off the big inning with a two-out RBI single that increased the Dodgers' lead to 13-2. Ethier homered in the seventh off Brendan Donnelly.

:D :D

[Doubledutch]

Isn't this forum great? Here, you can have your own blog.

[milagros317]

Saturday's game: Dodgers 8, Angels 4

Pinch-hitter J.D. Drew's 150th career homer leading off the seventh drove in the go-ahead run, and the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for an 8-4 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Angels on Saturday.

The Dodgers won by scoring seven runs in their final three at-bats.

The win was the 11th in 14 games for the Dodgers, who moved a season-best three games over .500. The loss was the fourth straight and 16th in 21 games for the Angels, who dropped a season-high nine games below .500.

Drew, batting for winner Joe Beimel, hit a 1-2 pitch from Scot Shields (1-3) into the right-field bullpen to snap a 4-4 tie. It was Drew's eighth homer of the season and the third pinch-hit homer of his career.

Beimel (1-0) earned his first big league victory since 2003 by striking out the side in the seventh. Juan Rivera reached first on a wild pitch with two outs while swinging at strike three, but Beimel picked him off first to end the inning.

The Dodgers got three insurance runs off Jason Bulger in the eighth on Russell Martin's fielder's choice grounder, a wild pitch and Rafael Furcal's RBI single -- his third hit of the game.

The Angels led 4-1 before Willy Aybar tied it in the sixth by hitting a three-run homer, golfing an 0-2 pitch from Kevin Gregg into the lower right-field seats following leadoff singles by Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent.

The Angels, pummeled 16-3 by the Dodgers on Friday night, took a 3-0 lead off Brett Tomko in the first on doubles by Adam Kennedy and Rivera and a two-run homer by Dallas McPherson -- his first RBI of the season.

Kenny Lofton singled, took third on a double by Garciaparra and scored on Kent's grounder in the bottom of the first.

The Angels made it 4-1 in the fourth on a two-out, RBI single by Chone Figgins.

Both starters gave up four runs in six innings. Gregg allowed seven hits while walking one and striking out a career-high seven, while Tomko gave up 10 hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

Kennedy led off the third with his second double, but Tomko pitched out of trouble by retiring the next three batters. Tomko gave up singles to the first two batters in the sixth before striking out Jose Molina and Gregg and getting Figgins on a popup to first.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Sunday's game: Dodgers 7, Angels 0

SWEEP!!

Derek Lowe allowed three hits in seven shutout innings for his first win since April 13, Andre Ethier hit a three-run homer, and the Dodgers beat the Angels 7-0 Sunday to complete a sweep of the three-game interleague series.

Lowe (2-3) threw 118 pitches before being lifted for a pinch hitter. The 32-year-old right-hander walked three, struck out seven and didn't allow a hit after Garret Anderson's single in the third, retiring 13 of the last 15 batters he faced.

Lowe gave up two earned runs or less in seven of his previous nine starts, but had only one win to show for his efforts. He went six straight outings without a victory -- two losses and four no-decisions.

Rookie Jonathan Broxton worked the final two innings to complete the shutout.

The win was the fourth straight and 12th in 15 games for the Dodgers, who moved four games over .500 for the first time since last June. They outscored the Angels 31-7 in the series after being outscored 29-11 while losing five of six to their local rivals last season.

The Angels have lost five straight and 17 of 22 to drop a season-high 10 games below .500.

Ethier had played in 13 big league games before going 5-for-5 in a 16-3 victory over the Angels on Friday night. The rookie went 7-of-13 in the series with two homers, six runs scored and six RBI.

The Dodgers scored all the runs they would need off Ervin Santana (4-2) in the first. Kenny Lofton hit a one-out single and scored on Nomar Garciaparra's double. Santana struck out J.D. Drew and walked Jeff Kent before Willy Aybar hit an RBI single. Ethier followed by driving a 2-2 pitch into the right-field pavilion for his third homer.

Santana was lifted for a pinch hitter after allowing five hits and five runs in four innings. He settled down after the Dodgers' five-run first, allowing only one baserunner after that, but it was too late.

Garciaparra hit a two-run double off J.C. Romero in the seventh to make it 7-0.

The Angels loaded the bases in the first before Robb Quinlan grounded to third on Lowe's 30th pitch of the inning. They also had runners at first and third with one out in the third before Dallas McPherson grounded into a double play.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Monday's game: Dodgers 6, Rockheads 1

SEO wins first ever matchup of two Korean starting pitchers

The matchup between the former high school teammates was televised live in their home country.

Jae Seo and Byung-Hyun Kim became the first Korean-born starting pitchers to meet in a major league game and the significance of the event wasn't lost on either of them.

Seo outpitched Kim with seven stellar innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers converted an error by Todd Helton into two unearned runs to beat the Colorado Rockies 6-1 on Monday night for their fifth straight victory.

"To Korean fans, certain fans root for me and some for B-K. So it really didn't matter to them who won the game." Seo said through a translator. "It's just the fact that it's the first time Korean pitchers are throwing on the same field at the major league level. That became a really big issue in Korea, and I'm really proud. I'm proud of Korean players who play in the major leagues."

Seo (2-2) allowed an unearned run and six hits. The right-hander was coming off three straight no-decisions, and had allowed only one run over six innings in two of those starts. He is 3-0 with a 3.24 ERA in four career starts against the Rockies.

Seo allowed the first four batters in the Rockies' third inning to reach base, but escaped the inning unscathed by getting Brad Hawpe to ground into a double play.

"We had a couple of shots at Seo early and weren't able to take advantage of them," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "After that he settled in. He challenged our discipline at the plate, threw a lot of strikes with his off-speed stuff and was very effective."

Seo was a year ahead of Kim in high school. Each said the other was better back then. Both pitched well Monday, but Kim had a more restless night than Seo.

"I dreamed last night that somebody pointed a knife at my neck," Kim said. "I told (Korean-born teammate) Sunny Kim, and he said `Be careful today.' I pitched OK tonight, but I had bad luck."

Kim (2-2) gave up three runs -- one earned -- and six hits in six innings. The right-hander, best remembered for the game-tying home runs he gave up to Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius of the Yankees in Games 4 and 5 of the 2001 World Series while pitching for Arizona, held the Dodgers to a run and four hits over seven innings last Tuesday at Coors Field in a 5-1 victory.

The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the third on a bloop RBI single by Olmedo Saenz and a run-scoring groundout by J.D. Drew. Both runs were unearned -- the result of the error by Helton. The three-time Gold Glove first baseman charged Rafael Furcal's slow bouncer with one out and tossed the ball behind Kim as the pitcher got to the bag.

"I just didn't get the ball out of my glove cleanly and I didn't get a firm grasp on it," Helton said. "Furcal was flying there, but I probably had a little more time than I thought. It wasn't a very good play on my part."

Jeff Kent made it 3-1 in the sixth with an RBI double after Drew lined a leadoff single off Kim's glove. Helton prevented two more runs from scoring that inning with a diving stop of Seo's hard-hit grounder behind the bag.

Scott Dohmann walked all three batters he faced in the seventh before he was replaced by former Dodgers lefty Tom Martin, who turned Drew's comebacker into a 1-2-3 double play. Kent was intentionally walked, and Martin forced home a run with a walk to Willy Aybar.

The Dodgers added two runs in the eighth on an RBI single by pinch-hitter Ramon Martinez and Drew's second run-scoring groundout.

Hurdle tweaked his lineup, putting Jamey Carroll in the leadoff spot. Center fielder Cory Sullivan, who started 37 of Colorado's first 45 games in the one hole, was dropped to seventh in the order for the first time this season.

Carroll reached on a first-inning fielding error by Aybar at third base, and Garrett Atkins followed with a line single to center that was trapped by a diving Jose Cruz Jr. Carroll hit the second base bag awkwardly and sprained his right ankle, but stayed in the game and scored one out later on Holliday's sacrifice fly.

Carroll played one more inning in the field before the ankle injury forced him out. X-rays were negative.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Tuesday's game: Dodgers 8, Rockheads 1

Penny again pitches well.

The Los Angeles Dodgers aren't just beating teams lately, they're humiliating them.

Kenny Lofton hit a two-run triple, J.D. Drew tripled home another run and the Dodgers extended their winning streak to a season-high six games with an 8-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

Only twice in their last 16 games have the Dodgers scored fewer than five runs. They are averaging 7.1 runs during that stretch, and have outscored their opponents 45-9 over their last five games.

"It's nice to know that we're going to put up some runs out there," starter Brad Penny said. "You knew Jeff Kent and Rafael Furcal were going to come around and start hitting the ball, because they're too good not to. Our defense is playing real good right now. We're not making the stupid mistakes we were earlier, and we're not making the stupid mistakes as pitchers that we were earlier when the team wasn't hitting."

Penny (5-1) allowed five hits over five scoreless innings and struck out five, helping the Dodgers win for the 14th time in 17 games. The right-hander threw 104 pitches and was replaced by Tim Hamulack, who gave up a leadoff home run to Garrett Atkins in the sixth.

"It's nice to have the good numbers, but I'd like to have more innings," Penny said. "Guys have been fouling off a lot of pitches right now and I've been getting into deep pitch counts, but I'm pleased with the way things are going."

Jason Jennings (2-5) was charged with six runs -- five earned -- and 11 hits in six-plus innings. The right-hander has lost his last three starts against the Dodgers, including a 3-2 decision last Wednesday, when he took a shutout into the seventh and gave up three runs.

"I was facing Penny in back-to-back starts, and he's been hot all year. So I didn't really expect us to go out and score five or six runs," Jennings said. "If we don't score we don't win. And if I don't pitch good, we don't win. So it's a bad combination right now."

Jennings, the 2002 NL rookie of the year, has only one victory in his last eight starts overall -- a shutout against Houston. He has received no more than two runs of support in any of his last four losses.

"His record says he's 2-5, but he's pitched a lot better than that. And that's what he needs to focus on and hold onto," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We always talk about controlling things that are in your control. And what he can control is how he pitches. He can't control how many runs we're going to score. That's a trap that young players fall into and one he's got to stay away from."

Hurdle gave Jennings every opportunity to pick up a win, letting him pitch into the seventh. But right fielder Brad Hawpe dropped Lofton's flyball on the warning track for a two-base error and Nomar Garciaparra chased Jennings with an RBI double on his 113th pitch, increasing the Dodgers' lead to 5-1.

"I don't want to have only two wins in the middle of May," Jennings said. "I think I've pitched well enough to have four or five right now. I want to start contributing a little bit more than I am right now."

Drew opened the scoring in the first with an RBI triple into the right field corner and came home on Willy Aybar's double over Hawpe's head. Colorado has given up 38 runs in the first inning, more than they have in any other. Jennings has surrendered 10 first-inning runs in his 10 starts.

The Dodgers made it 4-0 in the second with Lofton's fifth triple of the season and 103rd of his career. It came after Jennings gave up singles to Penny and Furcal and threw a wild pitch to Lofton that allowed both runners to advance.

Both triples by Los Angeles were on grounders between first baseman Todd Helton and the bag, but the three-time Gold Glove winner had no chance on either. The Dodgers already have 16 triples, just five fewer than all last season.

Rookie Russell Martin was 3-for-4 with an RBI double in the eighth against Sun-Woo Kim, who hit Aybar with a pitch leading off the inning. Furcal drove in the final run with a sacrifice fly.

"This team's greatest strength is the frame of mind that they're coming to the park with every day," manager Grady Little said. "Recently, I've seen everyone's faces when they walk in the door. They come to the park knowing they've got a chance to win a game. That's a big stepping stone in any season for any ballclub. That hasn't been the case all season, but it's starting to look like that every day."

:D :D

[milagros317]

Wednesday's game: Dodges 7, Rockheads 1

Sele excellent as Dodgers with 7th in a row

Aaron Sele began the season in the minor leagues, with no guarantee he'd be pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He's pitching for them now as a key member of their rotation.

Sele worked seven shutout innings, Jeff Kent and Rafael Furcal had three hits each, and the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 7-1 Wednesday night for their seventh straight victory.

The win enabled the Dodgers to sweep a six-game homestand for the first time since May 1994, when they accomplished the feat against Houston and San Diego.

They won three from the Angels and three from the Rockies this time, giving them 11 wins in their last 12 games at Dodger Stadium. They outscored the Angels 31-7 and the Rockies 21-3.

"We're playing good baseball right now and getting good results," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "You go through a lot of peaks and valleys during the season. Right now, we're at the top of one of our peaks. We'll try to keep it going as long as we can."

Sele (3-0) allowed three hits while walking one and striking out five before being relieved by Jonathan Broxton to start the eighth.

Sele, who signed a minor league contract during the offseason, has made four solid starts since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas, allowing five runs in 26 2/3 innings.

The 35-year-old right-hander was a member of the AL All-Star team while pitching for Texas in 1998 and Seattle in 2000, but has mostly struggled since then, going 30-36 for the Angels during the past four seasons.

He underwent surgery to repair a rotator cuff in October 2002.

"I've got the same basic pitches," he said. "I feel like I'm mixing pitches like I used to. I'm trying to keep the ball down and let guys put it in play. We've got a great defense. I'm doing what I always did."

Sele was 6-12 with a 5.66 ERA for the Mariners last season.

"He was very efficient and he hit his spots," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "He stayed down in the zone and stayed away from the middle of the plate. It just goes to show you that you don't have to blow up a radar gun to be able to get outs at the major league level."

The Dodgers raised their record to 15-3 since a five-game losing streak dropped them a season-high five games below .500. They're now a season-high seven games over .500 and trail the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks by a half-game.

They scored all their runs in this game with two outs.

"That's the one thing you've got to really stay away from. Once you get two outs, you've got to bury them," losing pitcher Aaron Cook said. "But I didn't make quite enough quality pitches. My game plan is to go out there and make them put the ball in play. More times than not, they hit it to somebody. But tonight they found the holes."

The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead off Cook (5-4) in the third on consecutive two-out singles by Kenny Lofton, Nomar Garciaparra, J.D. Drew and Kent.

Kent hit another two-out, RBI single in the fifth to drive in Furcal and make it 3-0.

Jose Cruz Jr. hit a run-scoring single and rookie Russell Martin followed with a three-run double off Jose Mesa in the seventh. Three of the runs were charged to Tom Martin.

"Right now, everything's coming together -- good pitching, good hitting," Furcal said. "We're doing the little stuff to help us win."

Cook allowed nine hits and three runs in six innings while walking two and striking out four. The loss snapped a personal four-game winning streak, and was just the second for Cook in his last 12 road decisions.

The Rockies scored an unearned off Broxton in the eighth when Clint Barmes reached on an error by shortstop Furcal and later scored on a single by Cory Sullivan.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Saturday's game: Dodgers 3, Nationals 1

Lowe and Garciaparra star as Dodgers win


Derek Lowe allowed one run over seven innings to win his second straight start and Nomar Garciaparra singled in the deciding run in the eighth inning Saturday to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-1 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Lowe (3-3) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out three, the latest in a spate of impressive outings that has helped the Dodgers win seven of their last eight. He prevailed in a pitcher's duel that spoiled the return of Nationals starter Shawn Hill from Tommy John surgery and snapped Washington's season-high four-game winning streak.

Hill, making his first start in two years, allowed five hits and one run over seven innings, with two walks and three strikeouts. The game was tied 1-1 when he left, but the Dodgers put together a rally in the eighth against relievers Mike Stanton (1-5) and Gary Majewski.

Rafael Furcal led off the inning with a one-hopper off Stanton that ate up third baseman Ryan Zimmerman for a single. Kenny Lofton bunted and beat a high throw to first for a hit. Majewski replaced Stanton, and Garciaparra, raising his average to .432 with runners in scoring position, lined a single to left to score Furcal.

The Dodgers added an insurance run in the ninth. Andre Ethier led off the inning with a single and scored on a throwing error by Damian Jackson, who had moved from center field to shortstop at the start of the inning.

Danny Baez pitched the eighth for the Dodgers and allowed two hits, but he got Jose Vidro to hit into a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. Takashi Saito worked the ninth for his second save.

It wasn't all good news for the Dodgers. Second baseman Jeff Kent left in the second inning with a sprained left wrist.

For six innings, the game's only run was scored by Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, who got hit by a pitch, advanced on a bunt and came home on Lofton's sacrifice fly in the third inning.

The Nationals were stymied by Lowe until the seventh, when they scored one run and should have had more. Nick Johnson led off with an infield single and advanced to third on Zimmerman's hit-and-run single to right field. Marlon Anderson poked an 0-2 pitch to center to score Johnson and tie the game.

But Jackson popped up a bunt on the next pitch for the first out, and Zimmerman was picked off second. Brian Schneider tapped to the pitcher to end the inning.

Hill pitched three games for the Montreal Expos in 2004, going 1-2 with a 16.00 ERA. His career was then interrupted by surgery that sidelined him for all of 2005. The 25-year-old right-hander went 3-2 for Double-A Harrisburg this year and had one no-decision for Triple-A New Orleans before getting the call Friday night to fill the spot in the Nationals rotation created by Zach Day's shoulder injury.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Monday's game: Dodgers 12, Braves 5

Martinez has 5 RBI


Ramon Martinez hit a three-run homer and finished with five RBI to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 12-5 win over the Atlanta Braves on Monday.

Los Angeles scored seven runs in the first two innings, knocking John Thomson out of the game early.

Thomson (2-4) recorded only four outs while giving up seven runs, five earned, and seven hits with three walks. It was Thomson's shortest start since June 9, 2004, at Detroit, when he lasted only one inning for the Braves in a rain-delayed game.

Thomson has posted three straight poor starts. After leading the NL with a 1.88 ERA through his first eight games, including six starts, Thomson's ERA is now 4.06. He has allowed 15 earned runs in his last three starts.

Joe Beimel (2-0) pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings in relief of Brad Penny to earn the win.

Thomson gave up singles to Rafael Furcal and Kenny Lofton to open the game and then the next five batters reached base without hitting the ball out of the infield. The defense hurt Thomson with throwing errors by Edgar Renteria, Chipper Jones and Jeff Francoeur, and two of the four runs in the first inning were unearned.

An infield single by Nomar Garciaparra drove in the first run, and J.D. Drew, Matt Kemp and Willy Aybar reached on fielder's choice grounders. Renteria made a wild toss toward second base after fielding Drew's grounder, allowing Lofton to score.

Garciaparra came around on Jones' errant throw to the plate on Aybar's grounder to make it 3-0, and Russell Martin added a sacrifice fly.

Furcal, the former Braves shortstop, had two hits and scored two runs in his first game in Atlanta with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers added three runs in the second on run-scoring singles by Garciaparra and Martinez and a sacrifice fly by Kemp.

Todd Pratt singled in Ryan Langerhans in the bottom of the second for Atlanta's first run. Martinez pushed the Dodgers' lead to 8-1 by driving in Kemp with a fourth-inning single.

Penny suffered a fifth-inning collapse, giving up six straight hits and four runs, as he couldn't stay in the game long enough to qualify for the win.

Penny gave up three straight doubles to Pratt, Matt Diaz and Marcus Giles, followed by three straight singles to Renteria, Jones and Wilson Betemit. Pulled from the game after the Braves cut the lead to 8-5, Penny grabbed a bat and swung at the water cooler in the Dodgers' dugout.

Penny gave up nine hits and a season-high five runs in 4 1/3 innings, his shortest start of the year.

Drew opened the sixth with a high infield popup that Giles and first baseman Adam LaRoche lost in the sun for an infield double. Kemp followed with a single to drive in Drew.

Martinez hit a three-run drive in the ninth inning for his first homer of the season.

The Braves had a four-game winning streak end.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Tuesday's Game: Dodgers 8, Braves 3

Five late-inning runs in Dodger Victory


Aaron Sele has been closely watching Andre Ethier and the rest of the Los Angeles Dodgers' impressive rookie class longer than most.

The 35-year-old Sele was at Triple-A Las Vegas with Ethier and some other recent callups in April, and he says he saw the success coming.

Ethier hit a two-run homer -- his fourth -- and drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single to lift the Dodgers to an 8-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

"They have the right attitude," said Sele, who gave up three runs in six innings in a no-decision. "They show up and they're ready to work. They absorb what's going on. That's why they've had such great success."

Sele, denied his fourth win in his fifth start since he was called up to Los Angeles on May 6, walked three and left with the game tied 3-3.

Ethier, an outfielder recalled from Las Vegas on May 2, is hitting .313 with four homers and 12 RBI. The Dodgers called up outfielder Matt Kemp on Sunday, and he had two hits and drove in two runs in a 12-5 win over the Braves on Monday.

The Dodgers have seven rookies on their 25-man roster, and many have played key roles in the team's strong month.

The Dodgers have won 10 of 12 and are 18-9 in May. The last time they won 18 games in May was in 1993, when they were 18-8.

Another rookie, third baseman Willy Aybar, drove in two runs with a ninth-inning double as the Dodgers, who lead the National League in runs, had 13 hits against Jorge Sosa and two relievers.

"They've got one of the best hitting teams we've faced," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "They're good."

Though he didn't start Monday, Ethier has been receiving regular starts in left field.

"He showed us a lot in spring training, but what he's been able to show us when he's been with the club has been amazing," Dodgers manager Grady Little said.

Little showed his confidence in Ethier by allowing the left-handed hitter to stay in the game against veteran left-handed reliever Mike Remlinger in a key eighth-inning situation.

Ethier's single up the middle drove in Nomar Garciaparra from second to break a 3-3 tie.

"I haven't faced too many lefties since I've been up here," Ethier said. "You have to find a way to get it done."

Ethier said he took more pride in the hit off Remlinger than his two-run homer in the fourth off Sosa.

"Of course it's a different ballgame up here, but in my minor-league career I've had success against lefties," Ethier said.

Little may face some tough roster decisions when Jason Repko and Ricky Ledee return from the disabled list.

Kenny Lofton, who had two hits Tuesday, and J.D. Drew are the veteran regulars in center and right, respectively, for the Dodgers. Repko was hitting .304 with eight stolen bases before landing on the disabled list on May 10. Another veteran, Jose Cruz Jr., has started 37 games.

Danys Baez (3-2) allowed one hit in two innings and earned the win in relief.

Remlinger (2-3) gave up two hits and two runs in the eighth.

After Ethier's RBI single off Remlinger, Ramon Martinez added another run-scoring single off Tyler Yates, who was called up from Triple-A Richmond earlier Tuesday.

The Dodgers added three runs in the ninth off Yates on an RBI double by Garciaparra and the two-run double by Aybar.

Sosa gave up seven hits and three runs in seven innings.

The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the first when Marcus Giles drew a leadoff walk and scored on Andruw Jones' two-out single.

Sosa threw 37 pitches through three shutout innings but needed 30 pitches to survive the Dodgers' three-run fourth.

Lofton led off the fourth with a single, moved to third on Garciaparra's grounder to Sosa and scored on Drew's single to center.

Sosa struck out Aybar but then gave up a two-run homer to Ethier. The homer landed in the Braves' bullpen behind the wall in right-center, giving the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.

Adam LaRoche led off the Braves' fourth with an opposite-field homer to left, his ninth, to cut the lead to 3-2.

The Braves pulled even in the sixth. With two outs, Ryan Langerhans tripled past Lofton in center. Brayan Pena followed with a grounder that Martinez fielded behind second base but his throw skipped past Garciaparra at first. Pena was credited with a single.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Thursday's game: Dodgers 7, Braves 2

Dodgers Win 7th Straight Home Game

Even without his best stuff, Derek Lowe was good enough, and the Dodgers' youngsters were even better.

Lowe threw six shutout innings, Matt Kemp and J.D. Drew each had three-run homers and Los Angeles beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 Thursday night, their seventh consecutive home victory.

The streak equals the Dodgers' longest since May 14-22, 2003. They have won 19 of their last 24 overall.

"These kids are not just doing good, but contributing at the highest levels," Lowe said. "It's exciting to see this many young kids play this well."

The old guy wasn't too bad, either, although he wasn't impressed with his performance.

Lowe (4-3) gave up five hits, struck out three and walked two on his 33rd birthday. He won his third consecutive start -- a span in which he has a 0.45 ERA.

"It was a struggle," he said. "I never really got in a good rhythm. There were guys on base every single inning."

The Phillies thought otherwise, though.

"He was getting ahead of us and keeping the ball off the plate," manager Charlie Manuel said. "He was making us hit the ball where it was pitched and he pitched his game. He pitched to left-handed hitters inside with his slider, then he sunk the ball away on them."

Lowe helped himself at the plate, too, hitting a two-out double in the second before Rafael Furcal walked and Kemp homered for the first time in the majors.

"When you're 1-for-24, you'll take anything," Lowe said.

Since losing to Atlanta 11-10 on opening day, Lowe has a 4-2 record in his last 11 starts. The right-hander pitched out of a jam in the sixth, getting Aaron Rowand on a grounder to shortstop with runners on second and third.

"Outside of that first game, this guy's kept us right in every ballgame," manager Grady Little said. "He's very dependable."

Gavin Floyd (4-3) allowed seven runs and seven hits in four innings, struck out three and walked four in his first loss since April 25 against Colorado. The right-hander also has three no-decisions since his last win against the New York Mets on May 11.

"I felt good, but I was rushing myself sometimes, made a couple of pitches up and they hit home runs," he said. "I'm trying to dominate out there and right now I'm doing the opposite. My confidence is fine. I know what I have. It's just that I've got to go out there and pitch like I can."

Floyd split time between Triple-A Scranton and Philadelphia last season, with losing records in both places.

"He's a guy who's young and he's having a hard time getting established at the major league level," Manuel said. "He needs more experience and the more you send him out there, eventually this guy's going to be a good big league pitcher because he's got the size and he's got the arm. But until he develops and matures, he might struggle."

Floyd struck out Willy Aybar with the bases loaded to end the first. But in the second, Kemp connected on a 1-0 pitch that struck the left field pole, giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

"I was wondering if it was going to go foul," Kemp said. "Everybody was saying the bat boy almost threw the ball in the stands. I got the ball."

Martin led off the fourth with a solo homer. With two outs, Kemp walked and Nomar Garciaparra singled to third before Drew's three-run homer made it 7-0.

The Phillies scored twice in the ninth. With one out, Tim Hamulack gave up an RBI single to Mike Lieberthal and a run-scoring groundout to pinch-hitter Abraham Nunez.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Saturday's game: Dodgers 8, Phillies 2

Penny shuts down Phillies; Kemp sparks streaking Dodgers

---------------
Brad Penny allowed one hit over six scoreless innings in his first start since his blowup with manager Grady Little, rookie Matt Kemp homered for the third consecutive game and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-2 on Saturday. Nomar Garciaparra went 3-for-5 with an RBI double, helping the Dodgers win for the 12th time in 16 games and remain a half-game behind Arizona in the NL West. J.D. Drew highlighted a four-run first inning with a two-run double and Jose Cruz Jr. also doubled home a run. Penny (6-1) won his fourth straight decision, throwing 112 pitches.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Tuesday's game: Dodgers 8, Mets 5

Dodgers Rock Pedro for 7 Runs, 6 Earned

Eric Gagne is slowly working his way back to peak form. Still, he was good enough in the ninth inning Tuesday night.

Gagne earned his first save in nearly a year and Nomar Garciaparra homered off former teammate Pedro Martinez, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers over the New York Mets 8-5.

Gagne struck out two in a perfect inning for his first save since June 12, 2005. The 2003 NL Cy Young Award winner returned May 30 from his second elbow surgery in an 11-month span.

"It's good to go out there and be able to perform," he said. "I just tried to go out there, do my business and try to get people out and get a save. There's a little soreness, but it's no big deal. I'm not 100 percent yet. It's going to take a little while."

Garciaparra, who spent parts of nine seasons as Martinez's teammate in Boston, drove the right-hander's first pitch into the left-field pavilion in the opening inning after a single by Kenny Lofton.

"It was odd facing Pedro because he's a good friend of mind," Garciaparra said. "We both go out there and compete hard and we have so much respect and admiration for each other. It's a great friendship. But when you go out on the field, you compete as best you can."

Rookie Matt Kemp homered for the fourth time in his last six games for the Dodgers, who took advantage of two errors and a wild pitch to score six runs in the sixth inning -- four of which were charged to Martinez.

Derek Lowe (5-3) won his fourth straight start in his first matchup against the three-time Cy Young winner, who was Lowe's teammate with Boston in 2004 when the Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1918. Lowe gave up two runs and five hits over six innings on the ninth anniversary of his first big league victory. He struck out three and walked four while pitching with a sinus problem.

"It was exciting," Lowe said. "When Pedro flew out to center field and we crossed paths, there was no eye contact, so I knew not to make any jokes. Neither one of us was very sharp tonight. It wasn't the smoothest game ever. There were a lot of guys on base."

Martinez and Lowe combined for 30 of Boston's 98 victories during Boston's championship season. Lowe was the winning pitcher in all three postseason clinchers, including a relief stint in Game 3 of the AL Division Series.

Gagne and catcher Russell Martin became the first All-French-Canadian battery in the major leagues. Coincidentally, they both went to the same high school in Montreal, one of the few there that had a baseball program.

"It's huge. It's huge for the kids in Montreal and it's huge for baseball in Canada in general because right now we don't have a team in Montreal," Gagne said.

"So it's a special thing for me and Russell to go out be the first French-Canadian battery ever. I was looking forward to that."

Martinez (5-2) was charged with seven runs -- six earned -- and eight hits in five-plus innings. He struck out six but remained winless in his last seven starts -- the longest stretch since he went winless in his final seven outings of 2001.

"It was a bad day at the office," Martinez said. "Even before the game, I didn't feel like my body was there. I couldn't make pitches. I was missing a lot. Physically there are some days when you feel like you can pitch, but today was a day where everything was lost for me."

The Dodgers broke it open in the sixth. Kemp followed J.D. Drew's leadoff single with a drive to left field for a 4-2 lead. The Dodgers then parlayed two errors by second baseman Jose Valentin into four more runs, two of which came on RBI singles by Martin and Rafael Furcal, who scored on Heath Bell's wild pitch to make it 8-2.

The NL East-leading Mets, who scratched shortstop and leadoff hitter Jose Reyes right before the game because of a sore left wrist, lost left fielder Cliff Floyd to a sprained left ankle in the second.

Floyd was injured pulling into third base standing up on Valentin's RBI double. Endy Chavez ran for Floyd and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lastings Milledge, who has five RBI in his first seven big league games.

Garciaparra's seventh home run extended his streak of reaching safely by a hit or a walk to 30 games. The two runs in the first equaled the number Martinez allowed in his previous 24 innings combined, but the Dodgers got only one hit over the next four innings.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Friday's game: Dodgers 3, Rockheads 0

Dodgers are tied for First Place in the NL West after Victory

Los Angeles starter Brad Penny didn't mind getting pulled by manager Grady Little this time.

"He gave me the opportunity," Penny said after pitching 8 1/3 shutout innings in the Dodgers' 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday. "I'm thankful for that."

Penny (7-1) was losing steam when Little took the ball from him in the ninth and gave it to reliever Takashi Saito, who picked up his third save. Penny gave up five hits and struck out five.

The right-hander had been upset when Little pulled him on May 29 before qualifying for the victory. Penny was given an 8-1 lead in that game against the Braves, but Atlanta closed to 8-5 in the fifth inning. He had complained about the decision on the mound, in the dugout and after the game.

This time there was no protest from Penny, who is off to his best start since the 2001 season when he began with the same 7-1 mark for the Marlins. He finished that season with a 10-10 record.

While Penny has now matched his win total of all last season -- and lowered his ERA this season to 2.34 -- he refused to speculate on whether he's pitching at an All-Star level.

"As long as I keep going out there and winning, I'm not even thinking about that," Penny said.

In 12 career starts against Colorado, Penny has an 8-2 record with a 2.25 ERA. It's the third-best of any pitcher with a minimum of five starts against Colorado. He trails Mark Prior (1.69) and Roy Oswalt (1.73). He's also 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA this season against the Rockies.

"When you're successful against a team, you know that in the back of your mind," Penny said. "You go out there and you know the park's playing pretty big this year. That's a huge outfield."

The Dodgers discovered how big in the later innings. Jorge Piedra, called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Friday, hit a shot that was caught by right fielder J.D. Drew on the warning track. In the ninth, Todd Helton crushed a ball off Saito that Drew hauled with his back on the outfield scoreboard.

"I thought it [Helton's hit] was gone," Penny said.

Colorado manager Clint Hurdle thought so, too.

"I was surprised that Helton's ball didn't get into the seats," Hurdle said.

Penny remains a puzzle the Rockies can't seem to figure out.

"We haven't solved him yet," Hurdle said. "Our guys pitched pretty well."

Byung-Hyun Kim (3-4) gave up three runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked three. He's given up five earned runs in three outings against Los Angeles.

Los Angeles took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI triple by Russell Martin and a run-scoring single by Penny.

Nomar Garciaparra extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a double in the fifth inning. He was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Brad Hawpe trying to score on J.D. Drew's single.

Garciaparra added an RBI double in the seventh to score Rafael Furcal.

Willy Aybar's career-high 13-game hitting streak ended when he went 0-for-4.

The Dodgers are 22-10 since May 5 and have won 16 of their last 24 games.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Sunday's game: Dodgers 6, Rockheads 5

Dodgers Score 2 in the Ninth to Win

Russell Martin hit a tying RBI double and pinch-hitter Sandy Alomar Jr. followed with a run-scoring single in the ninth inning to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.

Matt Kemp homered in his first two at-bats for his first multihomer game for the Dodgers. He has six home runs in June and has a hit in each of his starts and 11 of his 13 games in the majors.

Danny Baez (4-3) worked a scoreless eighth inning and Takashi Saito got the last three outs for his fourth save in four chances.

Pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz doubled with one-out in the ninth off Brian Fuentes (1-1), who blew his second save in 15 chances. Martin followed with his double to tie the score at 5, and Alomar put the Dodgers ahead.

Todd Helton hit a two-run home run and Garrett Atkins had a two-run double for the Rockies, who finished a 3-6 homestand after a 2-7 road trip. Matt Holliday had three hits, including two doubles.

Aaron Cook gave up four runs on seven hits over seven innings and avoided losing his fourth straight start. He last won May 19 at home against Toronto.

Derek Lowe, who had won four straight starts, worked the first 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and eight hits. He struck out three and walked two.

Kemp hit a two-run homer to center field in his first at-bat in the first inning. The Rockies got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Jamey Carroll scored on Helton's double-play grounder.

Los Angeles increased its lead to 4-1 in the fourth, the first run coming on Kemp's solo shot with one out in the inning. Ramon Martinez drove in Willy Aybar with a grounder.

Colorado scored two runs in the sixth. Cory Sullivan walked and Holliday singled before Atkins drove them in with a one-out double off the wall in center to make it 4-3.

Jonathan Broxton allowed a two-out double to Sullivan in the seventh before Helton put Colorado ahead with his home run to left on 1-2 pitch. That lead would not last, as the Dodgers scored two runs in the ninth, as decribed above.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Thursday's game: Dodgers 7, Pondscum 3


Rookie Pitches Well in His Debut

Chad Billingsley did everything Thursday except get the win. The way he pitched in his big-league debut, it shouldn't be long before he starts piling them up. "He's going to win a lot of games for the Dodgers," Los Angeles manager Grady Little said after Billingsley's impressive performance in a 7-3 win over the San Diego Padres, which included a two-run single for his first hit. Billingsley, 21, the Dodgers' first-round pick in the June 2003 draft, left with the score tied at 2 in the sixth. Rafael Furcal drove in the go-ahead run with Los Angeles' third straight single. Kent added two insurance runs with a bases-loaded double after Garciaparra was walked intentionally.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Thursday's game: Dodgers 4, Mariners 2

Lowe Pitches Complete Game Victory

Derek Lowe yielded only two solo homeruns and went the distance as the Dodgers broke their 5-game losing streak. Trailing 2-0 in the 5th inning, the Dodgers scored a run on Furcal's RBI single. In the 6th, Martin's bases-loaded single yielded 2 RBI and gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.

Lowe's complete game was the first for the Dodgers this year.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Friday's game: Dodgers 10, Pirates 4

Dodgers Blast Pirates

With a 5-run 4th inning, the Dodgers took a 7-0 lead and coasted to a 10-4 victory. The big blow was a 3-run homer by Jeff Kent. Tomko pitched 5 shutout innings before leaving with a strained oblique muscle.

Every one of the Dodgers' starting position players had at least one hit.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Saturday's game: Dodgers 7, Pirates 0

Sele and Bullpen Blank Pirates

Aaron Sele threw 6 shutout innings, and 3 relief pitchers threw one each as the Dodgers won their 3rd consecutive game. The final score was 7-0.

Ethier was the hitting star, with 4 RBI for the Dodgers first 4 runs, 2 each in the 2nd and 6th innings. He also scored a run. Kent hit a 2-run homerun, his second HR in as many days.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Sunday's game: Dodgers 7, Pirates 4

Dodgers Complete Sweep

The Dodgers offense remained vigorous, completing a sweep of the 3-game series in which the Dodgers scored a total of 24 runs. Garciaparra had a homerun, the 200th of his career. Ethier had 3 hits. Seito pitched a perfect 9th for the save.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Friday's game: Dodgers 6, Angels 1


Ethier Hitting Srar as Penny Pitches Well

As if his 3-for-4 performance with a two-run homer wasn't exhilarating enough, Andre Ethier hit the weight room after the game.

"Got to maintain that strength, I guess," he said, grinning sheepishly. "Long season."

The rookie's offense and seven strong innings from Brad Penny helped the Los Angeles Dodgers open the interleague Freeway Series with a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels Friday night.

"I don't think I hit any Anaheim farm team too well coming up, and I guess now it's paying off for all those bad games I had against them," said Ethier, whose .333 batting average leads NL rookies.

Penny (9-2) allowed one run and seven hits, struck out six and walked none for his first victory in four career starts against the Angels.

The right-hander rushed out of the clubhouse after the game, saying he wanted to beat the traffic, and didn't talk to reporters.

"He had his good stuff," rookie catcher Russell Martin said. "He had good snap on his curveball, he was keeping his fastball down, moving it in and out. He's throwing that ball like 95 miles an hour, and he's keeping that ball down, it's going to be real tough on those hitters."

The Dodgers snapped a 15-game interleague road losing streak with the victory at Angel Stadium, site of their last interleague road win in 2004. They were coming off being swept in three games at Minnesota.

"We went a long way to get our butts kicked three games in Minnesota and we needed to rebound some way," said Ethier, who just concluded his second month in the majors after being called up in May.

Bartolo Colon (0-4) gave up six runs and 12 hits in 7 2-3 innings to remain winless after six starts this season.

"I feel good about how things are progressing," he said through a translator. "I feel like at least I've been able to use more of my pitches after each start. Tonight I was able to use every one of them and give us some innings, too."

Colon admitted he still thinks about the inflamed right shoulder that sidelined him for two months.

"I have to be more careful," he said. "Letting loose is still something that I need to work through in order to be a complete pitcher again. There's still a little bit of holding back that I do sometimes."

After the Dodgers scored three runs in the third, Colon settled down and retired 13 of his next 14 batters before giving up a leadoff double in the eighth to Nomar Garciaparra. Ethier's fifth homer came with two outs and gave the Dodgers a 6-1 lead.

"He looked good to me," Ethier said. "He threw a couple fastballs by me and I was wondering what was going on."

The Dodgers used a mix of youth and experience to take a 4-0 lead. Martin's two-out RBI double in the second scored the first run.

In the third, J.D. Drew had an RBI groundout, Jeff Kent followed with a run-scoring single and then scored on a bad cutoff throw by Vladimir Guerrero, which led to the Angels' 30th error in 26 games in June.

Penny gave up his lone run on a double by Juan Rivera in the fourth. The right-hander then retired 11 of his next 13 batters in his last start before the All-Star rosters are announced Sunday.

"To me, it's a no-brainer," Dodgers manager Grady Little said of Penny's chances. "I don't see how there could be any question."

The Angels fell to 0-4 against their rivals and have lost three in a row overall.

"You have a tendency to go through the motions, kind of waiting for something to happen," Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera said. "We're not too far back. If we win seven or eight in a row against the right teams, we'll be right there."

:D :D

[Knox The Hatter]

How could

NOMAR

be snubbed?

[milagros317]

I agree, Knox, Nomar should have been the All-Star first baseman. :D

Monday's game: Dodgers 10, Arizona Dickheads 4


Dodgers Begin Homestand With a Victory

Nomar Garciaparra reached base three times the hard way.

He tied a major league record when he was hit with pitches three times, rookie Andre Ethier went 4-for-5 with two RBI, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4 on Monday night.

The first baseman was hit by three different pitchers. The third pitcher who plunked him was Randy Choate and when he did in the seventh inning, he and manager Bob Melvin were ejected by home plate umpire Ted Barrett.

"Obviously, it looked ugly. At times, you try to crowd him, but certainly no one's trying to hit him," Melvin said. "It looked like they (the Dodgers) were trying to get our guys a couple of times and couldn't get them until they finally got (Conor) Jackson. But I don't think there was any animosity involved, and we'll just move on."

Garciaparra, who drove in two runs, was hit in the back by Juan Cruz in the first, then took a glancing blow off the front of his helmet on a pitch by Edgar Gonzalez in the fourth and was struck on the foot by Choate.

The mild-mannered Garciaparra calmly walked to first base each time, and later said he wasn't in any pain.

"Do I get mad? I don't get mad. Go play baseball," he said. "Just go out there, play the game. It's a game I love and respect the game. You got to respect the game always."

"Three is a big number to be hit that many times," Ethier said. "Let's put it aside and focus on the other things, which is finish strong here in the first half and go into the All-Star break on a winning note. Not this win one, lose a couple thing."

Derek Lowe (7-4) allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings, struck out two and walked two for his first career win in four starts against Arizona.

Afterward, Lowe rushed out of the clubhouse and declined to talk to reporters.

"He's had better games than that," manager Grady Little said. "He threw a lot of pitches (96) in five innings."

Little said he didn't think the Diamondbacks intentionally hit Garciaparra.

Cruz (3-4) gave up four runs and seven hits in three innings, struck out three and walked two after being activated off the 15-day disabled list earlier Monday. The right-hander had been out with a sore right shoulder since his previous start June 1.

The Dodgers got to Cruz in the first inning with three runs. J.D. Drew and Jeff Kent had consecutive RBI singles and Ethier followed with a run-scoring double.

"I came out early and refocused, did a little analyzing of my swing," he said. "I was swinging good before, it was just a little slight mechanical issue yesterday. When you put your mind to it, good things happen."

Ethier upped his average to .345, which leads all major league rookies, a day after striking out four times against the Angels.

"It's very humbling," he said. "You can swing it well; I guess a day like yesterday (you can) feel like and look like you're the worst player."

The Diamondbacks closed to 3-2 in the second on Johnny Estrada's RBI double and a run-scoring single by Orlando Hudson.

Los Angeles extended its lead to 4-2 on a single by Rafael Furcal in the third. He was dropped from the leadoff spot in the order to seventh a day after going 0-for-4.

The Dodgers added four runs in the fifth, when three of their five hits went to right field. Pinch-hitter Jose Cruz Jr. had an RBI double and Ethier and Kenny Lofton added run-scoring doubles -- with Lofton's dropping barely inside the right-field line. Cesar Izturis had a sacrifice fly and Garciaparra extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a run-scoring single to make it 8-2.

Los Angeles added two runs in the seventh.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Tuesday's game: Dodgers 10, Arizona Dickheads 3


Rookie Ethier Gets 4 RBI

The Los Angeles Dodgers racked up double-digit hits and runs for a second straight game. The most memorable hits, though, were another round of plunkings.

Rookie Andre Ethier kept up his torrid offensive pace with four RBI, including a two-run triple, and the Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second consecutive game, 11-3 on Tuesday night.

J.D. Drew of the Dodgers and Arizona's Shawn Green were hit by pitches one day after Nomar Garciaparra was hit three times by Arizona pitchers.

Drew was the first batter Brandon Medders faced in the fifth, and he got hit below the knee. Plate umpire Laz Diaz warned both sides after Green was hit in the right hip by Danys Baez with two outs in the ninth.

"I can honestly say I wasn't expecting it, but I know it was intentional," Green said. "It's unfortunate that the two intentional ones are on that side with guys on our team that got hit. It wasn't vice versa. But we've got a lot more games, so we'll see what happens."

An incensed Luis Gonzalez, dressing in an adjacent locker, interrupted reporters as they talked to Green after the game.

"Go ask Baez and Grady Little," he said in an expletive-filled tirade. "They're the ones that waited until late in the game to throw at him. It was gutless. Go talk to them so they can tell you that the ball slipped out of his hand."

Asked about Baez hitting Green, Little, the Dodgers manager, replied, "I call that a pitcher trying to get a ball in on him that just got too far in. That's all it was."

The series concludes Wednesday, and Ethier said he doesn't anticipate any fallout.

"Sometimes you throw the ball in, sometimes you get hit," he said. "We'll have to wait and see, but I don't think there's anything resulting from it, just pitchers being aggressive."

Kenny Lofton drove in three runs for the Dodgers, who have scored 21 runs in their last two games after getting 15 in their previous six combined.

Ethier had four hits and drove in two runs in the Dodgers' 10-4 victory Monday, and his .342 average leads all major league rookies by a wide margin. His turnaround came after striking out four times against the Angels on Sunday.

"I guess you got to even out those bad games," he said. "You always hear you don't want those peaks and valleys and you'd rather have small hills. That's what I'm trying to do -- staying positive and keeping hope no matter the circumstance."

Aaron Sele (5-2) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings, struck out five and walked one, improving to 3-0 in his career against the D-backs.

Enrique Gonzalez (2-2) gave up seven runs and eight hits, struck out one and walked two in four innings, equaling his shortest outing in seven starts.

The Diamondbacks arrived in Los Angeles off a three-game sweep of AL West-leading Oakland. But their pitching has been battered by the Dodgers, who had 13 hits Tuesday to go with 15 the night before.

After three consecutive outs in the first, Los Angeles scored in each of the next five innings.

The Dodgers struck for five runs in the third, highlighted by two-run singles from Lofton and Cesar Izturis. Ethier walked to force in another run with two outs.

Lofton's sacrifice fly made it 7-2 in the fourth. Ethier's triple and a sacrifice fly by rookie Russell Martin added three runs in the fifth.

The Dodgers extended their lead to 11-2 on Drew's two-out RBI double in the sixth.

Orlando Hudson homered in the first for Arizona -- the team's first home run since June 27, a span of 61 innings. An RBI single by Enrique Gonzalez made it 2-0 in the second. Their other run came in the seventh on Eric Byrnes' two-out single.

The Dodgers scored their first run on Ethier's RBI groundout in the second.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Wednesday's game: Dodgers 5, Arizona Dickheads 4



Dodgers Complete the Sweep

Perhaps when Brad Penny gets to Pittsburgh next week, he'll appreciate his first-time All-Star status. But for now, all he's concerned about is his next appearance for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"I'm planning on throwing maybe an inning out of the bullpen on Sunday here, so that's what I've got on my mind right now," Penny said Wednesday night after pitching seven strong innings in a 5-4 victory that completed a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. "We're tied for first, so the important thing is going out there and not worrying about my first half, but the team's first half."

Penny (10-2) allowed two runs and seven hits while striking out six. The right-hander, who is off to the best start of his seven-year career, won for the third straight time and lowered his ERA to 2.92.

"Wins and losses are sometimes more luck than how you pitch," Penny said. "But if you keep your team in the game, you're going to win more than you lose. And that's what I'm trying to do."

The turning point of Penny's season so far may have been on May 29 at Atlanta, when he was removed by manager Grady Little with an 8-5 lead -- just two outs shy of the required five innings for a victory. He threw a tantrum that was seen all over the country, but he and Little quickly patched things up.

"I think the best thing was that it was handled head-on by Grady the next day," Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. "I was in the meeting, and they put it behind them. Both of them said what they needed to say, and it was over right then. From that point on, he's been tremendous -- not that he wasn't before that -- but he hasn't let it affect him.

"Since then, I think his attitude towards the game has been better," Honeycutt added. "He's been looser and has gone about his business really well. That relationship between him and Grady continues to grow. They lean on each other. Grady has shown that he has confidence in Brad, and vice-versa. So that's always a good thing."

Takashi Saito got four outs for his sixth save in six chances. He loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth and gave up a two-run single to Chad Tracy before striking out Conor Jackson with the tying run on second.

The Diamondbacks have now been swept in a series of three or more games six times since June 4, including a four-game set against the New York Mets, and have lost 23 of their last 29 contests. Yet they are only 4 1-2 games out of first place in the NL West. The Dodgers are tied for the top spot with Colorado and San Diego at 44-40.

"We've got to start getting the job done," center fielder Eric Byrnes said. "We're going to have to start playing better baseball. We have to get back to .500 first, but I don't think that a team that plays .500 baseball is going to win this division this year."

The Diamondbacks came into Los Angeles off a three-game sweep at Oakland, including complete-game victories by Miguel Batista and All-Star Brandon Webb on Saturday and Sunday. But none of Arizona's three starting pitchers in this series could record more than four innings. Juan Cruz, Enrique Gonzalez and Claudio Vargas were charged with a combined total of 16 runs and 22 hits.

Vargas (7-5) allowed five runs -- three earned -- and seven hits in four-plus innings. Andre Ethier opened the scoring with a leadoff homer in the second, driving a 2-1 pitch into the right field pavilion.

In the third, the Dodgers scored four runs to increase their lead to 5-0. Penny led off with a double and came home on a one-out triple by Cesar Izturis. Vargas walked Nomar Garciaparra and J.D. Drew hit what appeared to be a tailor-made double-play grounder to second baseman Orlando Hudson, whose throw sailed past shortstop Damion Easley as Izturis and Drew scored. Hudson's error was his seventh -- one more than all of last year, when he won his first Gold Glove.

"I just threw it away," Hudson snapped. "They ended up getting three runs because of it and we ended up losing by one run. I lost the game. It was my fault, so I'll take that L. That's the way baseball goes. We're just going to keep our heads up and keep grinding."

Ethier was 6-for-12 in the series with a triple, two doubles and seven RBI. He also prevented a run in the sixth with a sliding grab of Johnny Estrada's flyball in short left field for the third out.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Friday's game: Dodgers 9, hated jints 7


The Evil One Hits His 720th Homerun, But Garciaparra's Homrerun Wins It For the Dodgers


Nomar Garciaparra's late-inning heroics stole the show again -- this time from Barry Bonds.

Garciaparra's tie-breaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning trumped Bonds' 720th career home run and lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 9-7 victory over the hated jints on Friday night.

"When I hit it, I knew it was gone," said Garciaparra, who fouled off two fastballs before connecting. "I was able to get one where I got the barrel on it. I was just battling, trying to keep the inning alive because the guys behind me are swinging the bat well."

Garciaparra, who is going to his sixth All-Star Game and first as a National Leaguer, drove an 0-2 splitter from Jeremy Accardo (1-3) into the bullpen in left with one out in the eighth. It was his 11th homer of the season and it broke a 6-6 tie.

"It's my fault. It's all on me. I just didn't throw it where I needed to," Accardo said. "I hung it. And if you hang a pitch like that to a good hitter, he's going to beat you every time. ... I can't put a finger on why it hung. I tried to throw it in the dirt."

Cesar Izturis capped the decisive rally with an RBI single, his third hit. Danys Baez (5-4) pitched a hitless eighth for the victory. Takashi Saito got three outs for his seventh save in as many chances, just hours after the Dodgers announced that former All-Star closer Eric Gagne would undergo season-ending back surgery on Saturday.

Bonds gave the hated jints a 5-4 lead in the third with a three-run shot, his first home run in 26 at-bats since June 24. The seven-time NL MVP, who is 35 home runs behind all-time leader Hank Aaron, added an RBI single in the ninth.

"We know that Barry's going to drive in runs," manager Felipe Alou said. "He had a number of hittable pitches in a couple of the games in Arizona that he just missed and popped up, but we knew he was going to get back his stroke. I could tell by the way he took BP today. He even hit a ball over the roof and into the parking lot."

The Dodgers took a 6-5 lead in the sixth against hated jints' starter Matt Morris when Russell Martin, who led off with a double, scored on a throwing error by right fielder Moises Alou after he caught a fly ball by Matt Kemp with Martin on third.

The hated jints tied it in the seventh on a two-out RBI single by Ray Durham, who hit his 11th home run in the second.

Dodgers rookie Chad Billingsley allowed five runs -- four earned -- and six hits over 5 1/3 innings and remained winless in five major league starts. The 21-year-old right-hander, a first-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2003, was the organization's minor league pitcher of the year last season and was promoted from Triple-A on June 14.

Bonds, who hit his first major league home run eight weeks before Billingsley's second birthday, drove his 12th homer of the season an estimated 449 feet into the pavilion seats in right-center with two outs in the third.

Billingsley is the 426th pitcher to give up a home run to the 13-time All-Star. Bonds, who turns 42 on July 24, has hit 63 home runs against the Dodgers, 28 in Los Angeles. He had one hit in 19 at-bats against the Dodgers this season before the home run.

"We didn't expect to go the whole year without seeing one, and he gave us a glimpse of what he's been doing all these years," Dodgers manager Grady Little said.

Los Angeles tied it at 5 in the fifth inning on an RBI single by rookie Andre Ethier.

Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent sat out his fourth straight game because of a strained muscle in his left side. Center fielder Kenny Lofton, another former Giant, left the game with tightness in his right hamstring after running out a sacrifice bunt in the first inning. Their replacements, Ramon Martinez and Kemp, both drove in runs in the first two innings.

Garciaparra and J.D. Drew both extended their hitting streaks during the Dodgers' three-run first. Garciaparra made it 19 straight with an RBI single, Drew followed with a double that gave him 13 consecutive games with a hit. Martinez drove them in with a two-out double that gave Los Angeles a 3-1 lead.

Kemp gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead in the second with an RBI groundout after Alou misplayed Martin's sinking liner into a triple. The 40-year-old Alou was playing his second game after missing 2½ weeks because of a lower back strain.

Morris allowed six runs -- five earned -- and a season-high 10 hits over six innings.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Sunday's game: Dodgers 3, hated jints 1

Dodgers Beat Schmidt to Split Series with the hated jints

Aaron Sele pitched six strong innings, Nomar Garciaparra extended his hitting streak to 21 games, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat All-Star Jason Schmidt and the hated jints 3-1 Sunday.

Sele (6-2) allowed four hits and one run while walking two and striking out a season-high seven before being relieved by Brad Penny to start the seventh. Sele is 6-0 with a 1.65 ERA in seven starts at Dodger Stadium this season.

Penny, an NL All-Star who hadn't pitched since Wednesday, retired only one batter in the second relief appearance of his career, leaving with runners at first and second. The hated jints loaded the bases with two outs on Jose Vizcaino's infield hit before Moises Alou grounded into a force play against Danys Baez, the third pitcher of the inning.

Takashi Saito, the fifth Dodgers pitcher, worked the ninth for his eighth save in as many chances.

The Dodgers enter the All-Star break with a 46-42 record and trail NL West-leading San Diego Padres by two games. The hated jints are 45-44 after going 5-6 on a season-high 11-game road trip, and trail the Padres by 3½ games.

Schmidt (6-5) allowed seven hits and three runs in six innings with one walk and three strikeouts. He hasn't won since June 6, going 0-3 with three no-decisions.

The Evil One returned to the hated jints' lineup after taking Saturday off because of a sore right knee and went 1-for-4. He has 720 career homers, 35 behind all-time leader Henry Aaron.

The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the first on a single by Rafael Furcal, an RBI double by Cesar Izturis and Andre Ethier's sacrifice fly.

After getting only two baserunners in the first four innings, the hated jints got a run in the fifth on a two-out, bases-loaded single by Omar Vizquel. Sele then retired Alou on a popup to end the inning.

Garciaparra, hitting .358 and tied for the NL batting lead with Pittsburgh's Freddy Sanchez, singled to start the sixth and later scored on a single by Jose Cruz Jr., giving the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.

The Evil One doubled to open the second, but Sele retired the next three batters.

:D :D

[milagros317]

Tuesday's game: Dodgers 4, Dickheads 1

Billingsley's First Major League Win Breaks the Dodgers' Losing Streak


Chad Billingsley's long-awaited first major league victory was a gem.

The 21-year-old right-hander threw seven scoreless innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Arizona Dickheads 4-1 Tuesday night.

"That was a big shot in the arm for him," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "He's pitched a few good ballgames for us and come away with nothing to show for it, but he was outstanding out there tonight. You can't say enough about the way he pitched."

Billingsley (1-2) scattered six hits in the longest outing of his seven big-league starts, striking out four and walking two. Billingsley has thrown 14 straight scoreless innings, but had struggled with control problems since coming up from the minors in June.

"It was just me battling myself and giving the hitters too much credit," Billingsley said. "Today I just went out there and trusted my stuff and got ahead of the hitters, and just put guys away."

The Dickheads were surprised by the youngster's array of pitches.

"Fastball, curve, cutter, change -- it's good stuff," manager Bob Melvin said. "He threw a lot of cutters, some sliders at a little lesser speed, and some changeups, and had more pitches than we were aware of."

Billingsley has been working on his cutter, and used it effectively against the seven lefty batters in Arizona's starting lineup.

"He showed what he can do," said catcher Russell Martin, who also teamed with Billingsley in the minors. "He didn't even have his best stuff today."

It was good enough to impress Arizona's Orlando Hudson.

"That's the first time I've faced him," Hudson said. "He's got a good live fastball, a hard cutter, a great curveball. I tell you what, he had command of his pitches tonight."

Nomar Garciaparra doubled, tripled and drove in a run in the Dodgers' first win since the All-Star break.

Willy Aybar doubled twice with an RBI after being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day when Jeff Kent went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained muscle in his left side.

"He's like a lot of our other young players," Little said. "As soon as they hit the door, they come in there swingin' and making some noise."

J.D. Drew had an RBI single and Andre Ethier brought in a run with a sacrifice fly.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Ethier walked with two outs and scored from first on Aybar's double into the right-field corner, where Arizona's Jeff DaVanon had a hard time coming up with the ball.

Dickheads starter Juan Cruz got into more trouble in the fifth. Kenny Lofton's walk and Garciaparra's ground-rule double put runners at second and third with one out. Drew singled home Lofton and Garciaparra scored on Ethier's sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

Stephen Drew and pinch-hitter Andy Green singled to start the Arizona fifth, but Billingsley got three straight outs to end the threat.

Cruz (3-5) allowed three runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out four, walked three and hit a batter with a pitch.

Tony Pena, called up from Triple-A Tucson on Tuesday, allowed one run in 1 2-3 innings in his major league debut. Gold Glove second baseman Hudson misread Lofton's grounder in the seventh and it bounced past him for a double. Garciaparra then hit a run-scoring triple off Pena to make it 4-0.

Hudson hit a two-out RBI single off Takashi Saito in the ninth before Stephen Drew fouled out to Martin for the final out.

:D :D

[Knox The Hatter]

There's a better than even chance that this current hot streak by the Dodgers could wrap the division up, since it seems the other teams might not be capable of sustaining the same pace...