BROWN SHARP IN DODGERS WIN DODGERS 2, ARIZONA 1.Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer Sign for the big salary, carry the big expectations. It's a package deal, which no one need explain to right-hander Kevin Brown The name Kevin Brown can refer to several different people, including the following:
No one in baseball, of course, has a bigger deal than $105 Million Man. Which translated, could mean no one carries higher expectations. By those standards, Brown's 2000 season might appear a disappointing year. Brown looked the part of baseball's top pitcher Monday night in shutting out the Diamondbacks for seven innings. But he left without a decision in a game the Dodgers ultimately won 2-1 on Kevin Elster's pinch-hit solo home run in the ninth inning before a Dodger Stadium • • [ crowd of 31,345. More often than not, Brown has looked like one of baseball's premier pitchers this season, even if his victory total has been left wanting. Monday he left leading 1-0, having held the Diamondbacks to six hits and one walk in his seven innings. He struck out eight. Another strong effort lacking the expected reward. ``He pitched his heart out,'' Elster said. ``He's done that all year. It's just unfortunate he didn't get the win.'' Brown's 13th no-decision left his record stalled at 12-6. At $15 million per season, these might safely be termed ``expensive victories'' for the Dodgers. Yet if his victory total has been less than anticipated, the rest of his numbers have been exactly the kind that draw large contracts. ``It's been a solid year,'' said Dodgers manager Davey Johnson Brown's 2.63 ERA is the third-lowest in baseball behind Pedro Martinez (1.81) and Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "the Big Unit (2.38). He is second in the NL in strikeouts (195) and tied for first in opponents' batting average batting average n. Baseball A measure of a batter's performance obtained by dividing the total of base hits by the number of times at bat, not including walks. Noun 1. (.216). And Brown has been remarkably consistent. In 26 of his 31 starts, he has held the opposition to three runs or less. In 13 starts, they've scored one run or less. ``In a lot of ways, I think this year has been better than last year,'' Johnson said. Brown went 18-9 with a 3.00 ERA last season. After a blown call on a pickoff pick·off n. 1. Baseball A play in which a runner is caught off base and is put out by a quick throw, as from the pitcher or catcher. 2. Sports An interception, as in football. at second, Eric Karros Reynoso made his major league debut with the Atlanta Braves on August 11, 1991, and appeared in his final game on September 29, in the fourth to give Brown a 1-0 lead. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter with a runner on second and one out in the seventh. The Dodgers failed to score, and then Mike Fetters Michael Lee Fetters (born December 19, 1964 in Van Nuys, California) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for eight teams during his sixteen year career from 1989 to 2004. gave up the tying run on singles by Tony Womack But with two outs in the ninth, Elster - who hadn't homered since Aug. 8 and spent much of the second half nursing a sore groin - drilled a Greg Swindell fastball for his 13th home run of the season. ``It feels good to contribute again, to have something count,'' Elster said. ``It never gets old.'' DODGERS VS. ARIZONA Time: 7:10 p.m. at Dodger Stadium. TV/RADIO: Fox Sports Net-2, XTRA-1150 and KWKW-1330 (Spanish). MATCHUP: Chan Ho Park (15-10, 3.67) looks to continue his turnaround season tonight against ex-Angels left-hander Brian Anderson (10-5, 4.18 ERA). Park struggled in his outing against the Rockies, giving up five runs on nine hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings. Anderson is coming off four consecutive no-decisions. -Steve Dilbeck CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1) SNIDER (2) SHEFFIELD Box: (1) CHASING DUKE (2) DODGERS vs. ARIZONA (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion