Game 82: Arizona @ Dodgers 10:4
A quick note: My apologies for the delay. I accidently saved this post as a draft rather than publishing it. With a family emergency I have been unable to check as frequently as before.
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Derek Lowe pitched five strong innings to notch his seventh victory of the season. He gave up two runs on seven hits and a pair of walks. Jonathan Broxton fared well, but did walk a pair while giving up no runs on no hits. Hong-Chih Kuo gave up a pair of runs on four hits and a walk. Each Dodger pitcher struck out two.
Nomar Garciaparra got bruised up en route to tying a major league record by being hit by a pitch three times. He was hit by three different pitchers. The last pitcher to plunk him was Randy Choate, and when he did, he and manager Bob Melvin were ejected by home plate umpire.
"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."
Sounds like accusations. If he is thinking that after the game, I wouldn't be surprised if he ordered the plunkings. Just wait till the next time, Bob.
Garciaparra, who drove in two runs, was hit in the back by Juan Cruz in the first, then took a blow off the front of his helmet on a pitch by Edgar Gonzalez in the fourth and was struck in the foot by Choate. After the blow to the head, we should have plunked their star immediately.
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."
The Dodgers are 2-7 in their last nine games.
"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."
Grady Little said he didn't think the Diamondbacks intentionally hit Garciaparra.
Maybe if it had been just one plunking. But two? Three???
Please.
The Dodgers got on the board early. They scored three first-inning runs when J.D. Drew and Jeff Kent had back-to-back RBI singles and Andre 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."
After the Diamondbacks got a couple runs back, the Dodgers extended their lead on a Rafael Furcal single in the third, making the game 4-2.
Seems like Grady Little made a good roster move involving Furcal. He was dropped in the batting order from lead off to the seven hole after going zero-for-four the previous night.
The Dodgers added four runs in the fifth, when three of their five hits went to right field. Pinch-hitter Jose Cruz had an RBI double and Ethier and Kenny Lofton added run-scoring doubles. Lofton's double barely dropped 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.
The Dodgers added two runs in the seventh. After Choate hit Garciaparra to force in a run, Ethier had an infield hit.
Some thoughts:
1) After looking good in the seven hole, it appears it was to be short lived. After the game, Little said Furcal would return to the leadoff spot Tuesday. I can agree with moving him back to the leadoff spot eventually, but is one good game enough to have confidence he has regained his form? I doubt it.
2) Just a random comparison: Like I mentioned above, Garciaparra was plunked three times in a game, tying the record. The last major leaguer to be hit that many times in a game was a former little league leaguemate of mine, Jonny Gomes. That feat was accomplished last season.
3) How do the Dodgers retaliate for such an obvious (in my opinion) attack on Nomar?
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Derek Lowe pitched five strong innings to notch his seventh victory of the season. He gave up two runs on seven hits and a pair of walks. Jonathan Broxton fared well, but did walk a pair while giving up no runs on no hits. Hong-Chih Kuo gave up a pair of runs on four hits and a walk. Each Dodger pitcher struck out two.
Nomar Garciaparra got bruised up en route to tying a major league record by being hit by a pitch three times. He was hit by three different pitchers. The last pitcher to plunk him was Randy Choate, and when he did, he and manager Bob Melvin were ejected by home plate umpire.
"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."
Sounds like accusations. If he is thinking that after the game, I wouldn't be surprised if he ordered the plunkings. Just wait till the next time, Bob.
Garciaparra, who drove in two runs, was hit in the back by Juan Cruz in the first, then took a blow off the front of his helmet on a pitch by Edgar Gonzalez in the fourth and was struck in the foot by Choate. After the blow to the head, we should have plunked their star immediately.
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."
The Dodgers are 2-7 in their last nine games.
"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."
Grady Little said he didn't think the Diamondbacks intentionally hit Garciaparra.
Maybe if it had been just one plunking. But two? Three???
Please.
The Dodgers got on the board early. They scored three first-inning runs when J.D. Drew and Jeff Kent had back-to-back RBI singles and Andre 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."
After the Diamondbacks got a couple runs back, the Dodgers extended their lead on a Rafael Furcal single in the third, making the game 4-2.
Seems like Grady Little made a good roster move involving Furcal. He was dropped in the batting order from lead off to the seven hole after going zero-for-four the previous night.
The Dodgers added four runs in the fifth, when three of their five hits went to right field. Pinch-hitter Jose Cruz had an RBI double and Ethier and Kenny Lofton added run-scoring doubles. Lofton's double barely dropped 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.
The Dodgers added two runs in the seventh. After Choate hit Garciaparra to force in a run, Ethier had an infield hit.
Some thoughts:
1) After looking good in the seven hole, it appears it was to be short lived. After the game, Little said Furcal would return to the leadoff spot Tuesday. I can agree with moving him back to the leadoff spot eventually, but is one good game enough to have confidence he has regained his form? I doubt it.
2) Just a random comparison: Like I mentioned above, Garciaparra was plunked three times in a game, tying the record. The last major leaguer to be hit that many times in a game was a former little league leaguemate of mine, Jonny Gomes. That feat was accomplished last season.
3) How do the Dodgers retaliate for such an obvious (in my opinion) attack on Nomar?
posted by Blue Man | 4:31 PM
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