DODGERS SET UP FOR A LOSS GRAND SLAM IN 8TH BEATS L.A. SAN FRANCISCO 9, DODGERS 5.Byline: Tony Jackson
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden - If there was any lingering doubt on the part of the Dodgers' brain trust as to Yhency Brazoban's readiness for the primary setup role, it apparently had vanished by Saturday. In the eighth inning of what might go down as a pivotal game in the National League West, the rookie right-hander with the microscopic ERA had been on the mound for what felt like half an hour, and while his stuff was still good, he was struggling to put hitters away. But to manager Jim Tracy
``We had runners on first and second with one out and a guy throwing 97 miles an hour,'' Tracy said. ``We didn't see his velocity dropping dramatically.'' The velocity didn't drop on his 39th pitch, either, but that didn't stop San Francisco's Pedro Feliz Pedro Julio Feliz (born April 27, 1975 in Ázua de Compostela, Dominican Republic) is a third baseman for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. Feliz has been with the Giants since 2000, and he became a semi-regular in 2004. from swatting it into a tunnel beyond the left-field corner. The shot, a grand slam grand slam n. 1. The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games. 2. Sports The winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit. , finally broke the tie that had existed since the sixth inning and finally broke the tension that had blanketed SBC (1) (SBC Communications Inc., San Antonio, TX, www.sbc.com) A large, national telecommunications company that grew from a multitude of local and regional companies, including Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, into a single, unified brand by 2002. Park since the gates had opened in the morning. It broke the Dodgers' backs, too. From there, they basically rolled over, losing 9-5 to the Giants in front of a sellout crowd of 42,486. For the previously charmed Brazoban, it was a bitter lesson in what it feels like to blow a game in the middle of a pennant race. Visibly shaken, he followed the home run by walking Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24 1964 in Riverside, California) is a left fielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds, the godson of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, and a distant cousin of Hall of Famer Reggie on the one occasion when it wasn't necessary. At that point, Tracy finally, mercifully, came to get him. Brazoban, whose ERA rose from 0.93 to 2.10, suffered his first career loss. After the game, he responded with his first career blowoff Blowoff A term in technical analysis that refers to a sharp price increase that comes after a long period of price appreciation, and is followed by a fall in the price. A blowoff is seen as a rally's last breath and is a highly bearish sign. of the media. The more important issue is how he will respond the next time he takes the mound. ``I think he's pretty strong,'' said Dodgers right fielder right fielder n. Baseball The player who defends right field. Noun 1. right fielder - the person who plays right field outfielder - (baseball) a person who plays in the outfield Milton Bradley  This article or section is written like a personal reflection or and may require .Please [ improve this article] by rewriting this article or section in an . , who had tied the game with a sixth-inning home run. ``He threw a lot of good pitches out there. He left one over the plate, and they hit it.'' Brazoban had come on with two outs in the seventh, using just two pitches to retire Deivi Cruz and strand runners on first and second. But he began the eighth by giving up a broken-bat single to Michael Tucker. After Dustan Mohr bunted Tucker to second, Brazoban used nine pitches to walk Ricky Ledee, nine more to retire Ray Durham on a foul pop and six more to walk J.T. Snow, loading the bases with two outs. At that point, with Feliz walking to the plate, Giovanni Carrara was standing in the bullpen with his arms folded, an obvious sign he was warmed up and ready to go. Tracy stuck with Brazoban, who threw strike one, then the gopher ball. ``It came down to that at-bat,'' Tracy said. ``Pedro Feliz not only hit it, he crushed it. They had some very good at-bats that inning and fouled off some good pitches. Finally, we mislocated a fastball. If it's in a good spot, we're probably still in pretty good shape. But it was over the middle of the plate and ran back to the bat. That's not going to work.'' The Dodgers (88-66) still lead the second-place Giants by 1 1/2 games and are assured of flying home tonight atop the division. But today's finale is more than your typical rubber match that will determine the outcome of a series. This one figures to go a long way toward determining the outcome of the race. Brazoban (3-1) wound up the goat, but there was plenty of blame. Jose Lima, pitching for the first time in 11 days because of a chip fracture chip fracture A small fracture through a bone region that serves as the site of a ligamentous attachment. See Fracture. on the outside of his right thumb, blew a pair of two-run leads and was gone by the bottom of the fourth, becoming the ninth Dodgers starter in the past 15 games to fail to complete five. And the offense was horrendous as usual, getting just one runner into scoring position in the final three innings, and only then because of a wild pitch. Tony Jackson,(818) 713-3675 tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) San Francisco's Pedro Feliz, right, is greeted at home plate after his grand slam Saturday against the Dodgers. Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press Box: GAME RECAP |
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