DODGERS ENJOY BLOCK PARTY THEY WIN 5TH STRAIGHT; MARTIN TAGS OUT TWO AT PLATE DODGERS 6, COLORADO 1.Byline: TONY JACKSON
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer LOS ANGELES Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. - For all the credit he has gotten for settling the Dodgers' once-wayward pitching staff, for finally stopping opponents from stealing bases at will and for giving the club a dependable bat in the lower half of the order, there was one aspect of rookie catcher Russell Martin's game he hadn't gotten to show off yet. Turns out he blocks the plate pretty well, too. Martin tagged out two Colorado baserunners in the first three innings, providing all the boost a shaky Jae Seo needed to settle in and get into a groove. Once that groove was established, Seo pitched the Dodgers to a 6-1 victory over the Rockies and Byung-Hyun Kim
It was the Dodgers' fifth consecutive win and their 13th in their past 16 games, and it moved them within a half-game of the National League West lead, the closest they have been since April 10. With the Rockies leading 1-0 and Cory Sullivan Cory Sullivan (born August 20 1979 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is a Major League Baseball outfielder. He is an alumnus of the Wake Forest University. Sullivan made his major league debut with the Colorado Rockies on April 4, 2005. on first base with one out in the top of the second, Danny Ardoin Daniel Wayne Ardoin (born July 8, 1974 in Mamou, Louisiana) is a catcher in Major League Baseball who plays with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He bats and throws right handed. drove a double off the wall in the left-field corner. Andre Ethier
Sullivan slid to the right of the plate, reaching between Martin's feet to try to touch it with his left hand. He was so sure he had gotten the corner that he jumped up and pumped his fist, but umpire Tim Welke Timothy James Welke (born August 23 1957 in Pontiac, Michigan) is an umpire in Major League Baseball who was named to the American League staff prior to the 1984 season, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000. immediately signaled him out, igniting a Dodger Stadium • • [ crowd of 33,652 and eliciting a passionate but fruitless argument from Rockies manager Clint Hurdle. Then, after a leadoff double by Luis A. Gonzalez in the third, Garrett Atkins dropped a single in front of right fielder J.D. Drew. Drew came up firing and hit Martin with a one-hopper. Carroll, who might have been hobbled by the sprained right ankle that eventually forced him from the game, was tagged out easily. Seo, who eventually got out of that inning by getting a bases-loaded, doubleplay grounder from Brad Hawpe, had the emotional lift he needed. ``Those two plays got me through to the seventh inning,'' said Seo, speaking through an interpreter. ``That really gave me a lift.'' He went on to pitch a season-high seven innings, holding the Rockies to a single unearned run that resulted from Willy Aybar's fielding error. Jonathan Broxton and Joe Beimel followed with one scoreless inning apiece, and the Dodgers improved to 13-2 in games started by Martin with a collective 2.89 ERA while he is behind the plate. Martin also contributed a leadoff single in the eighth inning. ``(Blocking the plate In baseball, blocking the plate is a common technique performed by a catcher to prevent a runner from scoring. The act of blocking the plate accounts for most of the physical contact in baseball. ) is just part of the game,'' Martin said. ``You can't really teach anything like that. It's just reflex, trying to block the plate, and there isn't any certain way to do it. It just worked out. They do teach it, but when it's game speed, you just do whatever you can.'' The Dodgers (25-20) have won a season-high five games in a row for the second time this month. ``Right now, we're playing very good baseball,'' manager Grady Little said. ``We're very pleased with the way things are going, and we can't wait to get out here every day and get started with the next game.'' Seo (2-2) scattered six hits in his second consecutive strong outing. In those two starts, Seo has allowed two runs (one earned) over 13 innings, giving the Dodgers a dependable presence at the back of a resurgent re·sur·gent adj. 1. Experiencing or tending to bring about renewal or revival. 2. Sweeping or surging back again. Adj. 1. starting rotation that now is a collective 18-8 with an ERA of 3.58. Kim (2-2) bore no resemblance to the pitcher who had dominated the Dodgers for seven innings only a week earlier. Although the damage could have been much worse -- the Dodgers went just 1 for 7 against Kim with runners in scoring position -- it was bad enough for the Rockies, who lost the National League West lead to Arizona and fell into a second-place tie with the surging Dodgers. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) Dodgers' starter Jae Seo talks with catcher Russell Martin during the third inning against Colorado. (2) Dodgers' catcher Russell Martin tags out Colorado's Luis Gonzalez at home plate Monday. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer Box: DODGERS vs. COLORADO - Tony Jackson |
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