ALVAREZ MAKES IT LOOK ISHII FILL-IN PITCHES DODGERS TO SIXTH CONSECUTIVE WIN DODGERS 6, CHICAGO 1.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe not. But for the past few days, Dodgers pitcher Wilson Alvarez  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. star Bernie Williams Bernabé "Bernie" Figueroa Williams (born September 13, 1968, in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and a guitar-playing jazz recording artist.A switch hitter, Williams has played his entire career (1991-2006) with the New York Yankees. in plain sight at the base of his locker. That was during Alvarez's days with the Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are a professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the White Sox have played in U.S. , before he signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are a professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Florida. The Devil Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Devil Rays have played in Tropicana Field. , before he spent so many months on the disabled list and before he underwent shoulder surgery in May 2000. On Saturday night Alvarez again looked like the pitcher who once threw a no-hitter in his second career game. He delivered seven shutout innings in a spot start for Kazuhisa Ishii Kazuhisa Ishii (石井一久 Ishii Kazuhisa; born September 9, 1973 in Wakaba-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese Major League Baseball pitcher. as the Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 6-1 to win their sixth consecutive game. ``It's been a long time,'' Alvarez said when asked the last time he felt so good coming off the mound. ``Five, six years, maybe.'' Dave Roberts For other uses, see Dave Roberts (disambiguation). David Ray Roberts (born May 31, 1972 in Okinawa, Japan), is a Major League Baseball center fielder for the San Francisco Giants. led off the game with an inside-the-park home run In baseball parlance, an inside-the-park home run or "leg home run" is a play where a hitter scores a home run without hitting the ball out of play. Discussion To score an inside-the-park home run the player must run, round, and touch all four bases before a fielder tags and Robin Ventura The victory was the sixth in a row for Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , which now finds itself the hottest team in baseball. But the story was Alvarez, who struck out six, surrendered four hits, walked none and retired the final 12 batters he faced before exiting. ``He was great,'' Ventura said. ``He looked like (the Alvarez of) 10 years ago to me. I can't say enough about what he did.'' With Philadelphia, Florida and Arizona all winning, the Dodgers (60-55) remain 3 1/2 games out in the wild-card chase. They will look to complete the three-game sweep this afternoon when Kevin Brown The name Kevin Brown can refer to several different people, including the following:
Only two Cubs players reached second base all game. Afterward, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said Alvarez might not be relegated to the bullpen when Ishii returns from a back injury Thursday. ``We'll keep a close eye on that, believe me,'' Tracy said. ``(Alvarez) pitched very well.'' The Dodgers succeeded in part because they staked Alvarez to an early lead. They have won all five games since firing hitting coach Jack Clark last Sunday night and replacing him with George Hendrick. In the week since, the Dodgers hit .265, compared with their league-worst .240 average for the season. ``We just came together as a unit and said, `What's done is done,' '' Roberts said. ``The first four months of the year, you can't change that. We made a commitment to ourselves to just go out and have fun.'' Alvarez, meanwhile, gave the Dodgers more than they could have hoped for. He picked off Doug Glanville in the first and struck out Sammy Sosa in the fourth on an 89 mph fastball. He even stroked a single in the fourth, his third hit this season. The 33-year-old left-hander faced a Cubs lineup loaded with nine right- handed hitters. But Alvarez (2-1) had few problems finding his way. He set up nearly every hitter with an inside fastball and mixed in an effective changeup. On the other side, Alvarez's counterpart, Cubs starter Matt Clement (9-10) struggled with his control. Clement walked four and gave up six hits in his bid to become the Cubs' third 10-game winner. He threw only 57 of 90 pitches for strikes. The winning streak is the Dodgers' longest since they took eight in a row in the middle of June. And they needed only one batter Saturday to lead 1-0. Roberts smoked a line drive along the left-field line for what appeared to be a routine double. But Moises Alou misplayed the carom off the wall and the ball rolled along the rubberized warning track while Roberts circled the bases. Roberts, who has nursed a strained hamstring all season, scored standing up for his first career inside-the-park home run. Ventura hit an inside-the- park home run only six days ago in Atlanta. In a matter of moments, the Dodgers stretched their lead to 4-0, providing a sizable cushion for Alvarez. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Dave Roberts is congratulated by Shawn Green after his inside- the-park homer put the Dodgers up in the first inning. Chris Carlson/Associated Press Box: DODGERS vs. CHICAGO CUBS - Ross Siler |
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