ASTROS WIN AND WON'T FACE BROWN : HOUSTON 3, DODGERS 0.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer In Cincinnati, they're bemoaning the fact Kevin Brown The name Kevin Brown can refer to several different people, including the following:
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Here, they don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. much about Robinson Checo Robinson (Pérez) Checo (born September 9, 1971 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic) is a former pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1997 through 1999. He batted and threw right handed. , but they know he's not Brown. And to them, that's great. It's funny. This is how the Dodgers impact the playoffs. Houston beat them 3-0 Saturday to assure the Astros of at least a Monday playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship to get into the postseason. But in the Midwest and Gotham, they're complaining and wondering why the game's most expensive, and perhaps best, pitcher won't throw the final regular-season game in Astrodome as·tro·dome n. A transparent dome on the top of an aircraft, through which celestial observations are made for navigation. Noun 1. history. Instead, Checo will make his first start since late July. ``I'm not going to risk the future of this ballclub for somebody else's gain, to go out on a limb for some teams in other cities,'' Dodgers manager Davey Johnson Houston (96-65) holds a one-game lead over Cincinnati (95-66) in the NL Central by virtue of the Reds' loss to Milwaukee. The Astros can clinch a playoff berth today if they win or if the Mets (95-66) or Cincinnati lose. As it was, Johnson rearranged the Dodgers' rotation the last three games, including changing Chan Ho Park's plan to leave the team early to get ready for military duty in South Korea. Park (13-11) was scheduled to return home after his last start in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , but with Darren Dreifort Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 9th round of the 1995 MLB amateur draft, Judd would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on nursing ailments and Ismael Valdes
Park responded with his best effort of the season, though his winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" was snapped at seven. He allowed only a sixth-inning homer to Craig Biggio However, Jose Lima (21-10) did Park one better. Pitching on three days rest himself, Lima yielded seven hits and two walks. ``It's hard to beat a 20-game winner and I thought a lot about Lima pitching and he was pretty impressive,'' Park said. ``I feel great about (the outing) because they're good hitters. It was really a good game. It's too bad (the season ends). I feel so good, so strong, but it's the end of the season. ``But that's good because one day when we go to the playoffs, I'm ready.'' Johnson also pitched rookie Jeff Williams on three days rest Thursday so the lefty could face San Francisco, since Eric Gagne, who beat the Astros on Friday, matched up better with Houston. But the clamoring for Brown, who is 18-9 with a 3.00 ERA, comes from his past success against the Astros. He allowed one run in two postseason starts against Houston last season, including a 16-strikeout performance in the first game of the Divisional Series. It doesn't help that Brown would have pitched if he had a chance to win 20 games. ``I changed my rotation around so I could get my best forward . . . like this was going to be us clinching,'' Johnson said. ``I can't risk the future of this ballclub for something that doesn't impact the future of this club. I can't.'' So Johnson didn't. Switching it up: After speaking with Johnson and general manager Kevin Malone, catcher Todd Hundley said he plans to return to switch-batting next season. He gave it up in mid-August after struggling through one of the worst offensive seasons of his career. ``I'll work on it (in the offseason),'' Hundley said. ``Start back up with it and then see how it is.'' Hundley was so frustrated by his lack of production right-handed that he bagged it after a miserable at-bat in Montreal. Though he's never been a great offensive player from the right side - he's a lifetime .201 batter from there - this year was particularly stressful on him. He was 4 for 40 with two RBI RBI 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 and 18 strikeouts from the right side. Since hitting exclusively from the left side, Hundley is 2 for 13 (.154) with three RBI against southpaws. ``It's been one of those years,'' said Hundley, who's hitting .207 with 24 homers with 55 RBI. ``I haven't been this frustrated since I don't know when. I heard guys say, `Just one of those years,' and I never understood it. Now, I know that they mean.'' Told you so: Eric Karros said moments after the last out was recorded at Candlestick Candlestick A price chart that displays the high, low, open, and close for a security each day over a specified period of time. Park that someone would come up with a baseball and call it the last one used at the park. It took a day for that to happen. Replays clearly show him holding onto the ball instead of handing it to pitcher Jeff Shaw, who backed up Karros' story. Karros showed the ball in the clubhouse after the game. Yet, Giants trainer Mark Letendre told a San Francisco paper he got the ball from a ball boy, who got it from Shaw, and presented it to owner Peter Magowan ``for all he has done for the people of San Francisco and for my family.'' DODGERS vs. HOUSTON Time: 11:35 a.m., at Astrodome. TV/Radio: Channel 5; 1150-AM, KWKW-AM (1330 Spanish). Matchup: Alas, the long, tedious and always adventurous journey ends today with a symbol of the Dodgers' season on the mound. Right-hander Robinson Checo (1-1, 9.00 ERA) starts the final regular-season game in the Astrodome. Checo, not by his doing, is part of the story of this season. He was involved in the Dave Mlicki trade the second week. And while Mlicki went on to win 14 games with Detroit, Checo was clocked in his first go-round with the Dodgers and then went on the disabled list and missed 40 games. Houston will start Mike Hampton (21-4, 2.95). CAPTION(S): photo, box PHOTO Houston's Craig Biggio, right, is congratulated by Jeff Bagwell for his solo homer off Chan Ho Park. Steve Campbell/Associated Press BOX: Dodgers vs. Houston (see text) |
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