BLAST CAPS RALLY VALENTIN'S HOMER PUSHES DODGERS PAST ARIZONA DODGERS 8, ARIZONA 7.Byline: Tony Jackson
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer PHOENIX - The knock against Verb 1. knock against - collide violently with an obstacle; "I ran into the telephone pole" bump into, jar against, run into, butt against collide with, impinge on, hit, run into, strike - hit against; come into sudden contact with; "The car hit a tree"; "He the Dodgers all spring was the fact that this year's club bore no resemblance to last season's division winner, that the front-office roster overhaul had robbed this club of its character, its charisma and any chance of repeating in the National League West. But on Friday night, the new Dodgers did an uncanny impersonation Impersonation Patroclus wore the armor of Achilles against the Trojans to encourage the disheartened Greeks. [Gk. Lit.: Iliad] Prisoner of Zenda, The of the old Dodgers, staging a dramatic, ninth-inning rally against an opposing closer to pull a game out of the fire and pull themselves a little closer to each other. Playing the hero for the second time in three days, infielder Jose Valentin slammed a pinch-hit two-run homer deep into the right-field stands off Arizona closer Brandon Lyon Brandon James Lyon is a baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise. He was born on August 10 1979, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Lyon made his major league debut halfway through the 2001 season, posting a respectable 5-4 record for the Toronto Blue Jays, with a 4. , capping a four-run, ninth-inning rally that gave the Dodgers a stirring, 8-7 victory over the Diamondbacks in front of 25,813 at Bank One Ballpark and sole possession of first place in the National League West. The comeback began on an innocent-looking, one-out error by third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker Troy Glaus Troy Edward Glaus (born August 3, 1976 in Tarzana, California) is a Major League Baseball player who plays third base for the Toronto Blue Jays. Previously, Glaus played with the Anaheim Angels (1998-2004) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (2005). , the former Angels slugger who signed with Arizona this past winter and who only moments earlier had appeared to finish off the Dodgers with a three-run blast off rookie reliever Steve Schmoll Stephen John Schmoll (born February 4, 1980 in Silver Spring, Maryland) is a Minor League Baseball pitcher in the New York Mets organization. He bats and throws right-handed. Schmoll graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park. to break open a tie game. All four of the Dodgers' ninth-inning runs off Lyon were unearned, meaning they couldn't have done it without the help of Glaus. But all Glaus did was open a door. The Dodgers took it upon themselves to come bursting through it. ``This is the kind of thing that can bring a team together,'' said Dodgers outfielder Ricky Ledee, who delivered a key, two-out double in the ninth to score Antonio Perez with the first run of the inning. ``We're beginning to trust each other as teammates, and that's how you win games. I have been in situations where you go in to pinch hit for somebody. It's not an easy job, and it's not easy to take it when they pinch hit for you. But when you trust each other in those situations, this is what can happen.'' In just his second save opportunity since being handed the closer's job to begin the season, Lyon began the ninth by striking out Olmedo Saenz, who earlier had hit a two-run homer off starter Shawn Estes Aaron Shawn Estes (born February 18, 1973 in San Bernardino, California, USA) is a pitcher for the San Diego Padres. Estes had his best season as a professional in 1997, when he went 19-5 with a 3.18 ERA for the San Francisco Giants. to cap a four-run Dodgers rally in the sixth. Antonio Perez, starting his first game of the season for the Dodgers, then hit a sharp grounder to third that Glaus got in front of, only to have it carom off his glove and end up several feet away in foul territory, giving him no chance to get the speedy Perez at first. Jason Phillips Jason Phillips can refer to:
v. balked, balk·ing, balks v.intr. 1. To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. 2. Perez to second, Ledee cut the deficit to 7-5 with a double off the center-field wall. Cesar Izturis then singled sharply to right to score Ledee, making it 7-6. Valentin, who wasn't in the starting lineup for the first time this season because manager Jim Tracy went heavily right-handed against the left- handed Estes, then came up to hit for Jason Repko. Moments later, the Dodgers' first epic comeback of 2005 was all but locked up. Yhency Brazoban, subbing for the injured Eric Gagne, took care of the rest, retiring the Diamondbacks in order for his first career save. ``That was a great baseball game,'' Tracy said. ``What we witnessed was something that was characteristic of our ballclub over the course of the entire 2004 season. You haven't beaten the Dodgers until you have recorded all 27 outs. We kept playing and kept battling and continued to take very good at-bats in the ninth inning.'' Tony Jackson,(818) 713-3675 tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 4 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) Pinch-hitter Jose Valentin hit a game-winning two-run homer in the ninth inning Friday. (2) Olmedo Saenz hit a two-run homer off Arizona's Shawn Estes on Friday. Roy Dabner/Associated Press Box: (1) DODGERS at ARIZONA - Tony Jackson (2) GAME RECAP (3) HOW THE RUNS SCORED (4) ALMANAC almanac, originally, a calendar with notations of astronomical and other data. Almanacs have been known in simple form almost since the invention of writing, for they served to record religious feasts, seasonal changes, and the like. |
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