DODGERS EVEN THINGS OUT AGAIN MLB: LONEY'S HR IN 11TH TIES L.A. WITH ARIZONA IN NL WEST. DODGERS 8, ARIZONA 7 (11).Byline: Tony Jackson
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer PHOENIX -- Forget the records, which are hardly befitting be·fit·ting adj. Appropriate; suitable; proper. be·fit  ting·ly adv.Adj. 1. two division-leading clubs. Forget the ineptitude Ineptitude See also Awkwardness. Brown, Charlie meek hero unable to kick a football, fly a kite, or win a baseball game. [Comics: “Peanuts” in Horn, 543] Capt. Queeg incompetent commander of the minesweeper Caine. , which was on full display in the first head-to-head meeting since April. Instead, remember only this about the Dodgers and 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. , who officially kicked off the season's second half with an 8-7, 11-inning victory by the Dodgers in front of 38,561 on a sweltering swel·ter·ing adj. 1. Oppressively hot and humid; sultry. 2. Suffering from oppressive heat. swel Friday night in the desert: As decidedly mediocre as they are, they make for great theater. And quite possibly, a great pennant race. In the latest installment of a budding rivalry that could serve as the centerpiece of an otherwise-declining National League West for years to come, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks matched each other rally for rally, error for error and lackluster performance for lackluster performance, right up until James Loney's decisive homer off Doug Slaten Douglas Slaten (born February 4 1980 in Venice, California), is a baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise. He made his MLB debut on September 4, 2006 against the Florida Marlins and is currently a lefty specialist. He attended Venice High School. to lead off the 11th. But they also matched each other in sheer intensity, both clubs refusing to lose in the first of 13 post All-Star break matchups that figure to ultimately decide this thing. And when it was over, they were evenly matched in the standings as well, the Dodgers having pulled even for the third time this month. Tonight, when Chad Billingsley Chad Ryan Billingsley (born July 29, 1984, in Defiance, Ohio) is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Biography As a senior at Defiance High School in 2003, pitched in 11 games and was 6-1 with a 1. takes the mound against Diamondbacks All-Star Dan Haren Daniel John ("Dan") Haren (born September 17, 1980 in Monterey Park, California) is a baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Oakland Athletics. High School and College Career Dan Haren graduated from Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, CA in 1998. , the Dodgers will try to make first place theirs alone for the first time since April 4. "It doesn't matter who we're playing," said Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp Matthew Ryan Kemp[1] (born September 23, 1984, in Midwest City, Oklahoma)[2] is a Major League Baseball outfielder who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. , who completed the team's comeback from an early three-run deficit with a towering home run off Leo Rosales Leonel Rosales (born May 28, 1981 in Los Angeles, California) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Rosales attended California State University, Northridge. in the seventh inning, a shot that flirted with the closed roof at Chase Field before ultimately landing 10 rows deep in left field. "Every (game) is important at this point." The Dodgers got nine innings from their bullpen, which held the Diamondbacks scoreless for the last eight. The game ended with Jonathan Broxton's first save of the season, the first save situation for the Dodgers since they lost closer Takashi Saito for at least six weeks with a right elbow sprain sprain, stretching or wrenching of the ligaments and tendons of a joint, often with rupture of the tissues but without dislocation. Sprains occur most commonly at the ankle, knee, or wrist joints, causing pain, swelling, and difficulty in moving the involved joint. . Broxton, who struggled while briefly filling in for Saito last summer, finished it off with a perfect bottom of the 11th, striking out the final two batters he faced. Nomar Garciaparra homered twice for the Dodgers, the first time he had done that since 2002, when he was still one of the game's marquee players for Boston. "The only time to be in first place is at the end," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "But we certainly need to come out this second half and play every series tough. It was a hard- fought game by both sides." The Dodgers scored three runs in the top of the first, a rally built around Diamondbacks starter Doug Davis' inability to record an out until he had faced six batters and Arizona left fielder Conor Jackson's inability to stop himself from committing two errors on the same play. The Diamondbacks scored four runs in the bottom of the first, a rally built around Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda's inability to record the second out until he had given up hits to five consecutive batters and Andruw Jones' inability to play the part of a center fielder with 10 Gold Gloves in his trophy case. The Dodgers (47-49) got just two innings out of Kuroda, who was torched for six runs on eight hits. Arizona got just three innings out of Davis, who was lit up for five runs on five hits and three walks. But both clubs -- who have a seven-game lead over third-place San Francisco and Colorado -- got stellar performances by their bullpens. For the Dodgers, it began with Jason Johnson, the veteran right-hander who had been promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day. He gutted his way through three innings, allowing one run. tony.jackson@dailynews.com DODGERS TODAY at Arizona, 5 p.m., Chase Field. TV: Ch. 9. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Nomar Garciaparra, right, is congratulated by James Loney after a sixth-inning homer Friday at Arizona, his second of the game. Matt York/The Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion