D'BACKS ADD TO L.A. WOES AGAINST DODGERS, JOHNSON DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT ARIZONA 6, DODGERS 3.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "the Big Unit didn't pitch a perfect game Friday night, but against the Dodgers, perfection isn't necessary these days. Usually, being merely competent is enough. Johnson dominated the Dodgers through five innings, but the Arizona Diamondbacks This article is about the baseball team. For other uses, see Diamondback. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of the National League. , in an effort emblematic of their struggles this season, nearly blew a four-run lead and had to hold on for a 6-3 victory over the Dodgers before 46,455 at Dodger Stadium • • [ . Only one of the Dodgers' first 16 hitters reached base against Johnson, and although the Dodgers hit him hard in the sixth and seventh innings to get back in the game after trailing 4-0, Johnson improved to 6-0 in 10 career starts at Dodger Stadium and won his third consecutive start to improve to 6-4 this season. Johnson allowed the three runs on six hits - three by Jose Hernandez Jose Hernandez can refer to
The Dodgers lost for the 12th time in their last 14 games and have failed to score more than three runs in four of their last five games, a streak reminiscent of their 2003 hitting woes. Hitting isn't the Dodgers' only problem. The Dodgers' recent pitching woes continued when starter Wilson Alvarez (born Aug. 31, 1968 , Osaka, Japan) Japanese baseball pitcher whose success with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995 created new opportunities for Asian players in Major League Baseball. , who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a split fingernail fin·ger·nail n. The nail on a finger. . Brian Falkenborg, the Dodgers' only real long reliever, had to be used for four innings and won't be available today if Lima runs into trouble early, which he has in his last two starts. If Alvarez is out of action for any extended period of time, the Dodgers might have to turn to Falkenborg or 20-year-old rookie Edwin Jackson, who failed to keep his spot in the rotation during spring training. Jackson is 5-2 with a 5.13 ERA, the second-best number for Triple-A Las Vegas, but manager Jim Tracy said before the game that he wasn't prepared to bring up Jackson to replace Nomo. Alvarez retired the side in order in the first, but Danny Bautista singled to lead off the second and moved to second on a Shea Hillenbrand groundout. Bautista scored when Robby Hammock hit a line drive to center that Milton Bradley misplayed and watched fall in front of him. Johnson flied out, and Alvarez left the mound in no apparent discomfort. But he didn't come out for the third. Falkenborg allowed an 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 to Danny Bautista in the third and found trouble in the fifth. Rich Hammond, (818) 713-3611 rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Randy Johnson wasn't perfect, but he was more than too much for the Dodgers to handle Friday in a 6-3 loss to Arizona. John Lazar/Staff Photographer Box: GAME RECAP |
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