DODGERS NOTEBOOK: WILLIAMS WANTS FRIDAY'S START.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer PITTSBURGH - The club's braintrust hopes to make a decision by Wednesday on who will start in place of injured starter Kevin Brown The name Kevin Brown can refer to several different people, including the following:
• • [ . Left-handed reliever Jeff Williams For the poker player, see . For the physician, see . For the astronaut, see . Jeff Williams (born June 6, 1972 in Canberra) is an Australian-born, left-handed pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. wants the call. Williams, 29, said he's eager for an opportunity. He started 11 games for Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. this season and was 5-3 with a 4.90 ERA before being recalled. He was 2-0 with a 4.02 ERA in three starts with the Dodgers in 1999. ``I've said all along that starting is something I feel much more comfortable with,'' said Williams, who is 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA in 10 relief outings. ``It's something I've done pretty much my whole professional career and what I'll be doing in the future. It's a shame this is the way I might get an opportunity.'' Right-hander Giovanni Carrara Giovanni Carrara [car-RAH-ra] (born March 4, 1968 in Anzoátegui State, Venezuela) is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who most recently pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Carrara bats and throws right handed. He has established himself as a valuable middle relief man. is also in the mix, though Williams is the favorite. Carrara was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in two starts earlier this season but was passed over in favor of Williams when Luke Prokopec Kenneth Luke Prokopec (Born February 23, 1978) is an Australian-born, right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. missed his July 8 start with a blister. Tracy said Carrara was more valuable in the bullpen. Certainly, the Dodgers lack any kind of pitching depth at the minor-league level. Their most consistent starter with Triple-A Las Vegas has been former major-leaguer Russ Springer Russell Paul Springer (born in Alexandria, Louisiana, on November 7, 1968) is a baseball pitcher who is currently on the St Louis Cardinals. Currently in 2007, he is 7-1 with an Earned Run Average of just above 2.00 in his second career stint with the Cards. . The knuckleballer is 4-5 with a 4.23 ERA with the 51s and remains an unlikely choice to join the rotation. ``One name for certain is obviously Jeff Williams,'' said Dodgers manager Jim Tracy
``I think Jeff Williams also serves another very important role for us, in that he fills those middle innings pretty well. He affords us the opportunity to use (situational lefty) Jesse Orosco --Orosco is hot: Jesse Orosco didn't make the Dodgers roster out of spring training and sat home for three weeks until Kevin Malone was ousted as general manager. Something was amiss because Orosco has been the situational lefty the Dodgers needed. After a slow start, Orosco has not allowed a run in his past eight appearances. It covers 4 1/3 innings and Orosco hasn't allowed a hit and has six strikeouts, including Oakland's Jeremy Giambi and Jason Giambi, in that span. Orosco's ERA is 1.86 and he's struck out the first batter he's faced in seven of his 18 outings. DODGERS vs. PITTSBURGH Time: 4:05 p.m., at PNC Park. TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; 1150-AM, 1330-AM (Spanish). Matchup: The Dodgers conclude their six-game road trip by sending RH Terry Adams (4-3, 5.05 ERA) to the mound to face Pirates LH Jimmy Anderson (5-8, 4.67). Adams is 2-1 with a 5.01 ERA in eight starts. He's coming off a loss Thursday to Oakland in which he allowed four runs on 12 hits in six innings. Ten of the Athletics hits came with two outs. Anderson pitched 8 1/3 shutout innings in his last outing against Kansas City. He allowed six hits and didn't walk a batter. - Brian Dohn CAPTION(S): box Box: DODGERS vs. PITTSBURGH (see text) |
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