DODGERS NOTEBOOK: WEAVER SUCCEEDS IN INTERLEAGUE.Byline: Tony Jackson
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer BOSTON - During his five seasons in the American League American League (AL) One of the two associations of professional baseball teams in the U.S. and Canada designated as major leagues; the other is the National League (NL). , Jeff Weaver This article is about Major League Baseball player Jeffrey Weaver. For other people named Jeff Weaver, see Jeff Weaver (disambiguation). Jeffrey Charles Weaver thrived on interleague play Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in 1997. Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season. . Now that he is a National Leaguer, he is finding it a bit more challenging, at least through one start. ``I'm used to having those couple of outs in the (NL) lineup, that being the pitcher's spot and maybe the eight hitter, to help you get out of some jams,'' the Dodgers right-hander said. ``When I get out there against the next American League team, I need to do a better job of staying aggressive and going deeper into the game. I think this was probably the first time in my career I have been lifted after five innings when I'm winning the game. It's just something I have to learn about pitching in the National League.'' Weaver struggled at times, but he did get through those five requisite innings on 98 pitches. For that, he was able to improve upon what already was the best record in interleague play by any starting pitcher Noun 1. starting pitcher - (baseball) a pitcher who starts in a baseball game baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; in the majors. Weaver is now 11-2 against the other league, whichever league the other league happens to be. That's a better percentage (.846) than the Angels' Bartolo Colon, who was 13-3 (.813) entering Saturday's start against Chicago, and the Cubs' Greg Maddux Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is a pitcher for the San Diego Padres. He was the first pitcher in Major League history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years (1992-1995), during which he had a 75-29 record with a 1. , who is 16-4 (.800). Weaver sailed through the first two innings, despite walking Johnny Damon This article or section does not cite its . You can Wikipedia by including appropriate citations. Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973 in Fort Riley, Kansas) is a Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter who plays for the New York Yankees. to start the first, but struggled through the third. He walked three batters, the third one forcing in a run to tie the game. David Ortiz drove in another with a fielder's-choice grounder, giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Finally, with two outs, Boston loaded the bases again when Weaver threw an inside pitch to Nomar Garciaparra that didn't appear on televised replays to have hit him. Garciaparra took several steps up the first-base line before plate umpire Bill Hohn signaled hit-by-pitch, giving at least the appearance that Hohn, in essence, allowed Garciaparra to make the call for him. Weaver reacted angrily on the mound, throwing up his hands. ``That's the latest reaction I have ever seen on a guy getting hit by a ball,'' Weaver later said, although it ultimately didn't matter because he then got Jason Varitek to fly out to right. The Dodgers came right back with three runs. Weaver, armed with a 5-2 lead, pitched a perfect fourth. Then, after a seven-run fifth in which the Dodgers sent 12 men to the plate, a cold Weaver got in trouble again. He gave up a two-run homer to Manny Manny may refer to: In nobility:
Weaver settled down and got through the inning, then petitioned manager Jim Tracy for more. But Tracy said relievers Guillermo Mota, Darren Dreifort and Eric Gagne needed work. The Dodgers now have scored a total of 19 runs in Weaver's past two starts, this after scoring a total of two in his two previous ones. Weaver's next scheduled start is on Friday night against the New York Yankees  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , who traded him to the Dodgers for Kevin Brown last
Dec. 13.
--Turning around: Switch-hitting shortstop Cesar Izturis and center fielder Milton Bradley batted right-handed against Boston right-hander Tim Wakefield, a knuckleballer. Izturis and Bradley also had hit right- handed against Arizona right-hander Steve Sparks, another knuckler knuck·ler n. Baseball A knuckle ball. Noun 1. knuckler - a baseball pitch thrown with little speed or spin knuckleball pitch, delivery - (baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter , in last Sunday's loss to the Diamondbacks. Izturis said he made the change to give himself a better look at the knuckleball, an unpredictable pitch even the pitcher often doesn't know where it's going. Izturis went 2 for 3 against Sparks and 3 for 3 against Wakefield. Tony Jackson, (818) 713-3675 tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): box Box: DODGERS at BOSTON - Tony Jackson |
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