[0] DREIFORT DEFANGS DIAMONDBACKS : DODGERS 8 ARIZONA 1.Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer Three hours before Arizona left-hander Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "the Big Unit was supposed to dominate Los Angeles' lineup, Dodgers manager Davey Johnson It turned into a pitching exhibition - and not for the guy you'd expect. Dreifort, in his second season as a starter, allowed two hits in seven innings as the Dodgers avoided a four-game sweep with an 8-1 shelling of Johnson and the Diamondbacks on Thursday at Bank One Ballpark. Johnson gave up as many home runs as Dreifort did hits. Gary Sheffield
Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968 in Tampa, Florida) is a Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the Detroit Tigers. and Mark Grudzielanek Mark James Grudzielanek (born June 30, 1970 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a second baseman in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Kansas City Royals. Previously, Grudzielanek played with the Montreal Expos (1995-1998), Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2002), Chicago Cubs each hit two-run homers. ``Randy is one heck of a pitcher, but Darren Dreifort is one heck of a pitcher, too,'' Johnson said. ``He just needs experience on the hill. Against a hot-swinging team, he just shut them down. It was a very dominating performance right when we needed it.'' The Dodgers ended a losing streak A Losing Streak is the third episode of series 2 of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses. It was first broadcast on 4 November 1982. Synopsis Del Boy, Rodney, and Grandad are making some sort of cheap perfume just to earn money after Del has been losing most of at three games and won for the first time on the road. It's also the first time in seven games against the Diamondbacks that the Dodgers didn't yield a homer. And the Dodgers finally had an answer to a Diamondbacks offense that scored 25 runs on 42 hits in the first three games of the series. ``(Dreifort) was overpowering them,'' Dodgers catcher Paul LoDuca said. ``I was talking in the pen and I said, `I'll sit right down the middle and let you hit it.' When he's throwing like that, it's awesome.'' The only bugaboo in Dreifort's four-walk, five-strikeout outing was some control problems in the fourth, after Sheffield's homer gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. Dreifort's only flirtation with catastrophe came when Luis Gonzalez Luis Gonzalez is a common personal name that can refer to different people:
abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in triple and Dreifort walked the next two batters. But Steve Finley Steven Allen Finley (born March 12 1965, in Union City, Tennessee) is a Major League Baseball center fielder who bats and throws left-handed. He currently is a free agent, and has been working out on a regular basis since his release, hopeful a call will come from a team looking grounded into an inning-ending double play. Catcher Damian Miller's fifth-inning single was the Diamondbacks' other hit. Dreifort (2-0) retired the last eight batters he faced. ``I think (facing Johnson) pumped him up a little bit,'' LoDuca said. ``Sometimes he has a tendency to space out and throw some balls, but that didn't happen.'' The Dodgers' battery was in such sync that Dreifort didn't shake LoDuca off once. ``You don't have to think, just grab the ball and throw it,'' Dreifort said. ``He knew what was working for me and what wasn't.'' What was working was Dreifort's fastball and slider A block of material that holds the read/write head of a magnetic disk. See flying head. . It kept the Diamondbacks off balance and guessing so much that he needed to throw only one changeup. But instead of reveling in one of his finest outings since joining the starting rotation - he threw a six-hit shutout at the BOB last season - Dreifort talked about the defense behind him. Second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Eric Young Eric Young can refer to:
In the first inning, he snared Jay Bell's line drive while diving to his right. An inning later, he took a hit away from Matt Williams by ranging behind the second-base bag to field a grounder and throwing to first. Young left the game after five innings with tightness in his right calf. He said it's been bothering him for a few days and he'll be re-evaluated today in San Diego. ``It's all defense,'' Dreifort said. ``Our guys played outstanding defense all night long. Defense, unbelievable, and then we score eight runs on top of that. Makes pitching easy.'' While Dreifort was dominating, Johnson, coming off a 15-strikeout complete game win against the Atlanta Braves, was battling the Dodgers hitters and his control. After striking out six times in the first three innings, the Dodgers' timing at the plate improved. Sheffield's and Grudzielanek's homers gave them a 5-1 lead, and Johnson left after a sixth inning in which Devon White had an RBI double and Adrian Beltre added a sacrifice fly. ``I don't think we saw Randy with his best stuff,'' said Young, who shifted his attention to his pitcher. ``Dreifort was on top of his game. He got key ground balls. When you have a ground-ball pitcher like Dreifort, you have to make the plays for him. The odds were against us, losing the first three games and going against their ace.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Randy Johnson of Arizona was solidly outpitched by the Dodgers' Darren Dreifort. But the Diamondbacks ace did strike out 10. Ben Margot/Associated Press |
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