DODGERS' FORTUNES FLIP-FLOP DREW GETS 2 RBI FROM NO. 2 SPOT IN VICTORY OVER ANGELS DODGERS 6, ANGELS 2.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 In the baseball version of trying to squeeze blood from a turnip turnip, garden vegetable of the same genus of the family Cruciferae (mustard family) as the cabbage; native to Europe, where it has been long cultivated. The two principal kinds are the white (Brassica rapa) and the yellow (B. , Dodgers manager Jim Tracy
Given the inflexibility of the Dodgers' order - which is to say, their recent lack of enough good hitters - a wholesale lineup shuffle isn't feasible, but by bumping up Drew one spot and moving first baseman Hee-Seop Choi
Either by design or coincidence, the move worked brilliantly. Drew had 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 singles as the Dodgers put consistent pressure on the Angels pitchers for a 6-2 victory in front of 53,839 at Dodger Stadium • • [ . The Dodgers got 11 hits, including six from the bottom four hitters in their lineup, and a very efficient seven-inning outing from starter Derek Lowe Derek Christopher Lowe[1] (born June 1, 1973 in Dearborn, Michigan)[2] is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He throws and bats right-handed. (4-4) as they salvaged one game from the Freeway Series The term Freeway Series refers to a series of baseball games played between Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League and the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League. . ``We had good at-bats, we got timely hits and people took the extra base,'' said No. 6 hitter Ricky Ledee, who went 2 for 4 with a solo home run and a double. ``We got good defense and Lowe pitched a great game. Any time a team can do all that it usually wins, and we needed that one.'' The Dodgers didn't give Drew a five-year, $55-million contract because of his table-setting abilities, but given the fact that Drew entered the game with a .246 average, something needed to be done. Tracy's theory was that Drew and his .376 on-base percentage would be a good fit in the No. 2 hole, and, given leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. Strategy Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must reach base at a proficient rate and be able to steal bases. Cesar Izturis' ability to get on base, Angels first baseman Darin Erstad Darin Charles Erstad (born June 4, 1974 in Jamestown, North Dakota) is a first baseman/center fielder in Major League Baseball currently with the Chicago White Sox. Prior to 2007, he had played his entire career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise (1996-2006). would have to keep Izturis on the base and open up the right side for the left-handed hitting Drew. Choi has been torrid of late against right-handed pitchers, and although he went 0 for 4, he hit the ball hard every time and showed the potential to thrive in the more pressurized pres·sur·ize tr.v. pres·sur·ized, pres·sur·iz·ing, pres·sur·iz·es 1. To maintain normal air pressure in (an enclosure, as an aircraft or submarine). 2. No. 3 spot. ``Let's shuffle it up a little bit,'' Drew said. ``I've had managers do it before and it seems to work. I think it's a good idea. It's good to have a change now and then. You change it up and see what works.'' Drew tied the game in the third when he blooped a two-out single to left to that scored Antonio Perez from second. Izturis put the Dodgers up 3-2 with a RBI single in the fifth off Angels starter Paul Byrd (4-4) and in the seventh, Jason Phillips homered and Drew singled home Oscar Robles. ``I'm going to approach my at-bats the same way,'' Drew said. ``I'll try to hit it where they ain't for a change. I still have to see it and hit it and get a pitch to handle. It's just a different spot in the lineup.'' The Dodgers hit Byrd for three runs and five hits in six innings and ending his win streak at three. That was enough support for Lowe, who gave up a run in each of the first two innings but stayed aggressive and threw 65 strikes and 14 balls. Lowe scattered nine hits but allowed only four runners past first base. One of them, Chone Figgins, singled to lead off the game and later scored on Erstad's groundout, and another, Juan Rivera, led off the second with a home run to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. ``I faced (Lowe) about three years ago and he was a tough pitcher then,'' Rivera said. ``He looks a lot better now.'' Erstad and Garret Anderson led off the sixth with back-to-back singles to put the tying runner in scoring position, but Dallas McPherson struck out and Rivera and Orlando Cabrera both popped up. Lowe faced the Angels for the first time since last October's American League Division Series ``I know (the Angels) pretty well,'' said Lowe, who walked none and struck out seven. ``They're an aggressive team, so you have to throw strikes.'' Rich Hammond, (818) 713-3611 rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) DODGERS STRIKE BACK Lowe on target in victory over Angels Keith Bimrmingham/Staff Photographer (2) The Dodgers' Jeff Kent gets ready to tag out the Angels' Juan Rivera on a steal attempt at second. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer Box (1) GAME RECAP (2) HOW THE RUNS SCORED |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion