DRAMA IS LACKING FOR DODGERS : PITTSBURGH 4, DODGERS 1.Byline: Kevin Modesti Daily News Staff Writer After the drama of Welcome Back Brett Night and Salute to Tommy Night, what could the Dodgers do for an encore? Not enough for the 33,922 fans at Dodger Stadium • • [ on Sunday afternoon. Not unless they saw some comedy in the pair of defensive lapses and the Pittsburgh Pirates' rocket off the center-field wall that sent the Dodgers to a 4-1 defeat. The Dodgers saw no humor in any of this slapstick slapstick Comedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, often violent action. It took its name from a paddlelike device, probably introduced by 16th-century commedia dell'arte troupes, that produced a resounding whack when one comic actor used it to . Nor did they go along with the pop-psychological explanation for a performance as flat as home plate - this notion that the team was emotionally spent after the past two nights' festivities fes·tiv·i·ty n. pl. fes·tiv·i·ties 1. A joyous feast, holiday, or celebration; a festival. 2. The pleasure, joy, and gaiety of a festival or celebration. 3. . ``That's been asked of me four times,'' said Brett Butler Brett Butler can refer to different people:
The Dodgers dragged themselves out into the daylight and managed three singles and Mike Piazza's 33rd home run in seven innings against Esteban Loaiza Esteban Antonio Loaiza Veyna [lo-EYE-sa] (born December 31, 1971 in Tijuana, Baja California, México) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. , a Pirates right-hander with a 10.31 ERA. They also kicked a run Pittsburgh's way on Delino DeShields' sixth-inning error, and threw gasoline on a Pirates rally in the ninth when Piazza threw high to second on a bunt play. When pinch-hitter Orlando Merced Radinsky finished his career with a 42-25 record, a 3. with a bases-unloading double, busting open a 1-1 game, another strong late-season effort by starter Pedro Astacio Pedro Julio Astacio (born November 28, 1969 in Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic) is a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He has played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1992- part of 1997), Colorado Rockies (part of 1997- part of 2001), Houston Astros (part of 2001), New York Mets had been wasted, and Darren Dreifort In the two nights before, the Dodgers went from a game behind the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. Padres to a game up. With Sunday's defeat, they slipped back into a virtual tie for the National League West lead. To be specific, the Dodgers, at 78-64, are .0006 ahead of the Padres, who are 79-65 after beating the St. Louis Cardinals For the National Football League team that played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987, see . The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. . More numbers: This was the fourth straight series in which the Dodgers took two out of three games. ``If you can do that, you're going to be in excellent position,'' said manager Bill Russell Noun 1. Bill Russell - United States basketball center (born in 1934) William Felton Russell, Russell , whose team has 20 games to play. But, said Piazza, ``You don't want to be content to take two out of three when you have a chance to take three out of three.'' They had that chance against the woeful woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: Pirates. Astacio saw to that. He kept the game scoreless for five innings while seeking his sixth straight winning decision. Then Astacio walked Tony Womack A single and a force out gave Pittsburgh first and third again. But Astacio knocked down a liner from Carlos Garcia and threw him out to keep it close. Piazza tied the game by leading off the bottom of the seventh with a high fly that carried over the 385-foot sign in right-center field. ``You look at the little things we did wrong, but the bottom line is, we've got to score more than one run,'' said Piazza, who is batting a league-high .349 after extending his hitting streak to 15 games with two singles and the homer. The Dodgers scored seven runs in 25 innings against the team with the league's third-highest ERA. Which left the bullpen with no room for error. Dreifort started the ninth by giving up a line-drive single to Nelson Liriano. A pivotal play followed. Garcia bunted. Piazza picked it up and fired to second. Greg Gagne had to leap to catch the throw. Liriano might have beaten it anyway so no error was charged. ``That's a situation in the game where you gamble a little bit,'' said Piazza, explaining why he didn't go for the sure out at first. ``You've got to give the runner credit. He was halfway to the base when I threw. I had to hurry the throw a little bit. It wasn't a good throw.'' Trey Beamon sacrificed the runners to second and third. Russell ordered an intentional walk to Jason Kendall, the Pirates' rookie-of-the-year candidate, and, after Merced went up to bat for Dan Plesac, Russell called for the left-handed Radinsky. His first pitch was knocked off the base of the wall. The Dodgers got two aboard in their last try, but pinch-hitter Dave Clark flied to right to end it. Then they repaired to the clubhouse to ponder their next drama, hoping it will go more according to the Dodgers script. DOWN TO THE WIRE The Dodgers (78-64) and Padres (79-65) are locked in a fierce battle for the NL West crown. Here's how it plays out: They are in a virtual tie for first place, and have been tied x times since Aug. 15. The Dodgers only have one day off the rest of the season (Sept. 23) and the Padres have three (Sept. 12, 23 and 26). The Dodgers have 20 games remaining (13 home, seven away) and the Padres have 18 (12 home, six away). The key to the division could come next week, when the Dodgers travel to Colorado for a three-game series. The Rockies have a 47-22 home record. The Padres play the Rockies only twice - in San Diego. Colorado is just 25-49 on the road. The Dodgers and Padres meet seven times in the final 11 days of the season. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza is caught in a rundo wn by Pittsburgh's Jeff King but still finds time to blow a bubble. Michael Owen Baker / Daily News Box: DOWN TO THE WIRE (see text) |
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