ALMOST ZERO CHANCE SHUTOUT LOSS ALL BUT ENDS DODGERS' SHOT.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer Colorado Rockies For the National Hockey League team (1976 – 1982), now known as the New Jersey Devils, see . The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. They are in the West Division of the National League. manager Clint Hurdle Giants manager Dusty Baker The Dodgers' playoff hopes were dealt a serious, near-fatal blow by a Rockies pitching staff that usually is the brunt of jokes. It turned in its best performance of the season Tuesday and likely ruined the Dodgers' year in the process. Rookie right-hander Denny Stark Dennis Stark (born October 27, 1974, in Edgerton, Ohio) was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He is an alumnus of the University of Toledo. Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 4th round of the 1996 MLB amateur draft, Stark would make his Major League Baseball pitched seven one-hit innings, and two relievers finished off the Rockies' 1-0 victory against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium • • [ . L.A. fell three games behind In sports, the phrase games behind, often abbreviated as GB in tables, is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division. San Francisco in the National League wild-card race. Rockies closer Jose Jimenez struck out Adrian Beltre on three pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning after Eric Karros gave the Dodgers one last hope with a two-out double. ``We had to win this game and we didn't win it,'' Dodgers closer Eric Gagne said. ``It's all about praying now. We have to go one game at a time and win every one of them and hope that Houston and San Diego are going to help us out a little bit.'' The Dodgers, who had three hits in being shut out for the 12th time, are in need of divine intervention if they are to force the Giants to travel to Atlanta on Monday to make up an Aug. 15 rainout rain·out n. An event, such as an athletic contest, that has been rained out. Radioactive material in the atmosphere brought down by precipitation. . The Dodgers, who last appeared in the playoffs in 1996, have five games remaining and need to make up three in the loss column. The Giants play four more times, and a fifth if they must play the Braves. ``Although now our hopes are very slim, we are not eliminated, so we'll come back here (today) and keep going at it with the thought that we pretty much have to win out,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``That's all there is to it, and we need help even if we do win out.'' Dodgers left-hander Odalis Perez already saved the Dodgers' season once when he defeated the Giants with eight strong innings Thursday, and he was even better against the Rockies. He allowed a first-inning run on Todd Zeile's groundball single to right, and that was all. Perez (15-10) pitched eight innings, allowed five hits and struck out eight. He faced one batter over the minimum in his final seven innings, but it meant little since the Dodgers couldn't get to Stark or the Rockies' relievers. ``We are really down right now,'' Perez said. ``Five games left in the season, it will be very tough (to catch the Giants). The Giants, they are playing just unbelievable. We're down, but we just need to keep playing.'' The Dodgers had a chance in the eighth inning against Colorado reliever Todd Jones, but it was a faint one. Marquis Grissom blooped a ball down the right-field line that right fielder Gabe Kapler dived for but couldn't catch. Grissom wound up with a triple, but Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York) is a catcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the New York Mets. Previously, Lo Duca played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004) and Florida Marlins (2004-2005). struck out on three pitches to end the inning. In the ninth, Jimenez put an end to the string of Dodgers late-inning magic; L.A. had won its past two games with two-out hits in the ninth inning. While San Francisco was building a four-run lead against San Diego, the Dodgers struggled to get baserunners against Colorado. Their only hit in the first seven innings was a single to right field by Jordan with two outs in the first. But Karros popped weakly to second with Shawn Green on third and Jordan on first to end the inning. Stark issued a one-out walk in the second inning and a two-out walk in the fourth, but neither materialized into a Dodgers rally. Players walked by the lineup posted at the end of the Dodgers' clubhouse and took note of the middle of Colorado's lineup. There was no Helton, no Walker. Helton was in Denver with his wife, who was in labor. Walker had the flu. Kapler led off the game with a single to right on Perez's first pitch. He stole second with two outs and scored on Zeile's slow-roller through the right side of the infield to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca waits for the ball as Colorado's Gabe Kapler scores the game's only run in the first inning Tuesday. (2) Colorado third baseman Todd Zeile, of Hart High and UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , knocked in the game's only run Tuesday. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer Box: (1) STANDINGS (2) NL WILD-CARD RACE |
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