DODGERS DON'T SLIP ON THEIR WATCH KEEP PACE WITH PADRES, PHILLIES BY BEATING D-BACKS DODGERS 2, ARIZONA 0.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 Managers don't watch the out-of-town scoreboard during a pennant race. Or at least that's what they say, in order to avoid the perception that they're focusing their attention on anything but their team's game. Then there's Dodgers manager Grady Little William Grady Little (born March 30, 1950 in Abilene, Texas) is a manager in Major League Baseball. He guided the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2003, and has been manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2006. , who freely admitted to scoreboard gazing, and more. "Sometimes I stare and pray," Little said, and Friday had to be one of those nights. By the time the Dodgers took the field, Philadelphia had already won, and the news didn't get any better a couple hours later, when San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. won. That put the pressure on the Dodgers to keep pace, and they did, narrowly, with a 2-0 victory over Arizona in front of 43,990 at Dodger Stadium • • [ . J.D. Drew's solo home run and Marlon Anderson's 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 double, both in the seventh inning, provided the margin of victory for the Dodgers and 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. (15-8), who pitched seven shutout innings. Lowe scattered five hits, walked three and struck out three. He 3/8s 5-0 in eight starts since Aug. 9. The victory allowed the Dodgers to maintain a hold on a playoff spot, at least for one more night. They remain a half-game behind the Padres in the National League West but hold a half-game lead over the Phillies for the wild-card spot, with just eight games remaining in their regular season. "We understand the situation we're in, and we're happy to be there," Little said before the game. "It's much better than being on the other end of the spectrum. Sure, we'd like to have a 10-game lead with nine games to play, but that's not the situation we're in." The Dodgers, shut down for six innings, came through the seventh against starter Claudio Vargas For the soccer player, see . Claudio (Almonte) Vargas (born on June 19, 1978 in Valverde Mao, Dominican Republic) is a pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers. In the past he has started games and also pitched in both middle and long relief. . Drew led off the seventh and hit Vargas' 1-1 pitch over the wall in right-center. Two outs later, Russell Martin
That was the last pitch for Vargas (11-10), who allowed eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. Arizona threatened in the eighth, when Orlando Hudson's one-out double put runners on second and third, but Beimel got Luis Gonzalez Luis Gonzalez is a common personal name that can refer to different people:
Saito pitched the ninth for his 21st save and his first multi-inning save since Aug. 2. Friday night didn't represent a must-win game for the Dodgers, but it was big, and although they had arguably their best pitcher taking the mound, Lowe hadn't fared well against Arizona this season. In three previous outings against the Diamondbacks, Lowe was 1-1 and had allowed eight earned runs in 13 innings, but in his last outing, Lowe allowed San Diego just one run in seven innings for a victory. The Dodgers needed a big effort from Lowe, not just for the sake of the standings but for the sake of the relievers, since the bullpen had thrown 19 2/3 innings over the previous four nights. "We're concerned," Little said, "but it's a situation we have and we have to deal with it the best we can. It's not like we can have a meeting and say, 'Go deeper in games.' We deal with things as they come." Lowe gave his relievers some relief, but not without something of a shaky beginning Friday. A walk, an infield single and a fielder's choice field·er's choice n. Baseball A play made on a ground ball in which the fielder chooses to put out an advancing base runner, thus allowing the batter to reach first base safely. Noun 1. grounder put Arizona runners on first and third with one out in the first, but cleanup hitter In baseball, the cleanup hitter is the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup. Strategy Cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best all-around hitter; their job is to "clean up the bases", hence the name. Byrnes grounded to shortstop, into an inning-ending double play. From there, Lowe settled down. He walked Chad Tracy to lead off the second but immediately erased him on a double play, and didn't allow another hit until Stephen Drew's one-out single in the fifth. Meanwhile, the Dodgers provided Lowe a typical lack of support. In Lowe's past three losses, the Dodgers have scored a total of one run, and Friday night they couldn't solve Vargas. The Dodgers got the leadoff runner on base in the first, second and fourth innings but failed to get a runner past second base. With runners on first and second in the first inning, Jeff Kent struck out and Drew flied out. Double-play grounders ended potential rallies in the second and fourth innings. rich.hammond@dailynews.com (818) 713-3611 CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) J.D. Drew is congratulated by Dodgers manager Grady Little after a solo homer in the seventh inning. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer (2) PENNY Box: DODGERS vs. ARIZONA - Rich Hammond |
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