BETTER LATE THAN NEVER FOR DODGERS WEAVER HAS LITTLE TO SHOW FOR L.A. DEBUT DODGERS 2, SAN DIEGO 1.Byline: Tony Jackson
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer Jeff Weaver This article is about Major League Baseball player Jeffrey Weaver. For other people named Jeff Weaver, see Jeff Weaver (disambiguation). Jeffrey Charles Weaver shot down two widely-held beliefs in his Dodgers debut Wednesday night: The first being that you can't go home again You Can’t Go Home Again revisiting his home town, a writer is disillusioned by what he sees. [Am. Lit.: Thomas Wolfe You Can’t Go Home Again] See : Homecoming and the second that he is mentally soft. Along the way, he received a tough lesson in the hazards of pitching for the Dodgers. In front of 26 friends and relatives, Weaver allowed a run on eight hits over seven innings, striking out six. He was lifted to start the eighth, having thrown 102 pitches and done everything he possibly could to put himself in position to win. But in a pattern that became all too familiar to Dodgers pitchers last season, Weaver had little to show for it. The Dodgers scored just one run off Padres starter Adam Eaton Adam Thomas Eaton (born November 23, 1977 in Seattle, Washington) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Early career Eaton graduated from Snohomish High School in 1996 where he went 8-0 with a 0. , and the game was tied 1-1 when Weaver turned it over to the bullpen. It remained that way through 10 innings. In the 11th inning, Paul Lo Duca's two-out single drove in Milton Bradley  This article or section is written like a personal reflection or and may require .Please [ improve this article] by rewriting this article or section in an . with the winning run as the Dodgers beat the Padres 2-1 for a second consecutive victory in their last at-bat. For Weaver, though, the effort clearly wasn't wasted. His performance seemed to exorcise all the ghosts that haunted him during his 1 1/2-year in New York New York, state, United States 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 , a city that appeared at times to eat him alive. It was there that Weaver was tagged with perhaps baseball's most unflattering label, that being he lacked mental toughness. The tag stuck right up until the last pitch he threw for the Yankees, a momentum-turning, walk-off homer to Florida's Alex Gonzalez Alex González may refer to:
Weaver, a Simi Valley High School Simi Valley High School is a secondary school located in Simi Valley, California which was established in 1920 as the first high school in the valley. It nestles in the Santa Susana Mountains and is adjacent to the San Fernando Valley, part of the city and county of Ventura. alum who grew up rooting for the Dodgers, was traded to the Dodgers last Dec. 13 and became the first hometown boy to start for the Dodgers since Downey's Kevin Gross Gross played for five different teams during his career: the Philadelphia Phillies (1983-1988), Montreal Expos (1989-1990), Los exactly a decade ago. The Padres broke on top first, something they did in all three games of the series. The third inning began when Adam Eaton doubled off the top of the wall in left, becoming the third Padres starting pitcher Noun 1. starting pitcher - (baseball) a pitcher who starts in a baseball game baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; to hit a double in the series. San Diego starters Brian Lawrence, Jake Peavy and Eaton combined to go 4 for 8 with three runs scored in three games. Sean Burroughs followed Eaton's double with a smash to the right side, only to be robbed of a likely 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 single when Shawn Green made another splendid stop, falling to his knees as he gathered in the bouncer. Eaton moved to third on the groundout. Mark Loretta then brought him home with a line single to left-center. But the Dodgers answered in the bottom of the inning Noun 1. bottom of the inning - the second half of an inning; while the home team is at bat bottom inning, frame - (baseball) one of nine divisions of play during which each team has a turn at bat . Weaver, batting for the first time in two years after spending all of his previous major-league career in the American League, beat out an infield single. It was his third career hit in his eighth at-bat. Dave Roberts then delivered a textbook plate appearance, working the count full after falling behind 1-2, then fouling off two pitches before drawing a walk. Cesar Izturis dropped a bunt down the first-base line that looked like it might roll foul, but Phil Nevin couldn't take a chance with Izturis' speed, so he picked it up in fair territory and threw Izturis out at first, putting runners on second and third with one out. Bradley then pulled what appeared to be a two-run single to right, but Padres second baseman Mark Loretta dived to his left to save a run. Bradley was out at first, and Weaver scored to tie it at 1-1, but Roberts was forced to stop at third. Green then popped out to third on an 0-1 pitch, stranding Roberts. The Dodgers entered the day in the unfamiliar position of leading the National League in both hitting (.370) and hits (27). But they reverted to form against Eaton, who limited them to four hits through eight innings before leaving for a pinch hitter. The Dodgers mounted just one more serious threat against Eaton. Lo Duca led off the seventh with a double, his first of two on the evening, and moved to third with one out on Juan Encarnacion's grounder to the right side. But Adrian Beltre, the hero of Tuesday night's victory with his game-tying, two-run homer, popped up. Alex Cora then lined out to second, stranding Lo Duca. The Dodgers threatened again in the ninth when Lo Duca again doubled, this time with one out. But this time, Encarnacion managed only a weak grounder to third. Beltre then popped up again to end the inning, after which he was double-switched out of the game because manager Jim Tracy brought in Jose Lima for long relief. Tony Jackson,(818)713-3675 tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) The Padres' Mark Loretta leaps over 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). after forcing him out in the Dodgers' 2-1 victory in 11 innings. (2) Dodgers pitcher Jeff Weaver allowed a run on eight hits over seven innings in Wednesday's game against the Padres. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer Box: GAME RECAP |
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