Game 84: Dodgers vs. Arizona 5:4
Brad Penny is focused. It seems all he is concerned about is his next start for the Dodgers. He isn;t even worried about the All-Star game in Pittsburgh.
"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 was rightly irate and showed the country how pissed he was. He and Grady Little quickly patched things up, which seems to have helped both parties/
"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.
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 helped his own cause with a lead off double and came home on a one-out triple by Cesar Izturis. Nomar Garciaparra walked and J.D. Drew hit what appeared was going to be a routine double play grounder to second baseman Orlando Hudson. But his throw sailed past Damion Easley as izturis and Drew scored.
Ethier finished the series 6-for-12 with a triple, two doubles and seven RBIs. 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.
More randomness:
1) Eric Gagne seems to have hurt his back now. Already sidelined with elbow problems, this is cause for concern. He may need surgery to correct it.
2) Overdramtic Shawn "Cry Baby" Green did not play because the pitch by Danys "the Hitman" Baez gave him a small bone bruise.
3) Nomar Garciaparra extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a leadoff double in the fifth. Garciaparra continues to lead the National League in batting, with a .359 average.
"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 was rightly irate and showed the country how pissed he was. He and Grady Little quickly patched things up, which seems to have helped both parties/
"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.
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 helped his own cause with a lead off double and came home on a one-out triple by Cesar Izturis. Nomar Garciaparra walked and J.D. Drew hit what appeared was going to be a routine double play grounder to second baseman Orlando Hudson. But his throw sailed past Damion Easley as izturis and Drew scored.
Ethier finished the series 6-for-12 with a triple, two doubles and seven RBIs. 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.
More randomness:
1) Eric Gagne seems to have hurt his back now. Already sidelined with elbow problems, this is cause for concern. He may need surgery to correct it.
2) Overdramtic Shawn "Cry Baby" Green did not play because the pitch by Danys "the Hitman" Baez gave him a small bone bruise.
3) Nomar Garciaparra extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a leadoff double in the fifth. Garciaparra continues to lead the National League in batting, with a .359 average.
posted by Blue Man | 11:26 AM
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