DREIFORT ARRIVES, BLANKS ARIZONA : DODGERS 5, ARIZONA 0.Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer Darren Dreifort No longer a sometime starter, possible closer or pretty good pinch hitter pinch-hit intr.v. pinch-hit, pinch-hit·ting, pinch-hits 1. Baseball To bat in place of a player scheduled to bat, especially when a hit is badly needed. 2. , Dreifort shut out the 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. 5-0 Friday night at Bank One Ballpark for his second victory since all those Florida Marlins The Florida Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From to the present, the Marlins have played in Dolphin Stadium. came to town. Dreifort won his first game as a 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"; last Saturday, the day Gary Sheffield
Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968 in Tampa, Florida) is a Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the Detroit Tigers. , Bobby Bonilla He needed just 96 pitches to beat the Diamondbacks, who were coming off a three-game sweep of the Marlins. Dreifort allowed six hits, struck out six and did not walk a batter. He even singled and scored in the Dodgers' three-run second inning. ``He always has had a great arm, but it takes time to become a starting pitcher,'' manager Bill Russell said. ``He got an early lead and got ahead of hitters. Those things weren't happening earlier in the year. It's all part of the education.'' Dreifort was particularly strong in the later innings, when he struggled earlier this season. Diamondbacks first baseman Travis Lee opened the seventh with a double, but Dreifort retired the next three batters. Andy Fox then doubled with two outs in the eighth, but Dreifort caught Jay Bell looking at a called third strike to end the inning. The victory was the Dodgers' second straight and moved them within a game of .500 at 23-24. But more importantly, Dreifort took pressure off a tired bullpen that was depleted de·plete tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out. [Latin d further when Brad Clontz was optioned to Triple-A before the game. The starting rotation also has struggled recently. Chan Ho Park and Hideo Nomo opened the nine-game road trip with poor performances. Ismael Valdes went six innings Thursday, but he gave up a big home run and strained his left hamstring. ``There have been a lot of games where the starters went four or five innings, and that is not acceptable,'' Dreifort said. ``I was in the bullpen, I know what that does. I got a lot of support tonight, a lot of big hits and great defensive plays. That is what I'll remember about tonight.'' The Dodgers played the game without second baseman and leadoff hitter Eric Young, who was sidelined with a strained right quadriceps muscle. Young, hitless in his previous 11 at-bats, was replaced at second by Juan Castro, who went 1 for 4 and played solid defense. Todd Hollandsworth moved to the top of the order and went 2 for 4 with two runs. Eric Karros, who dislocated dis·lo·cate tr.v. dis·lo·cat·ed, dis·lo·cat·ing, dis·lo·cates 1. To put out of usual or proper place, position, or relationship. 2. his left pinky finger on Thursday, was back, going 0 for 4. He was expected to miss several days but instead wore a flexible splint splint, rigid or semiflexible device for the immobilization of displaced or fractured parts of the body. Most commonly employed for fractures of bones, a splint may be a first-aid measure that allows the patient to be moved without displacing the injured part, or it and made two diving stops early in the game. ``You see that and it makes you work that much harder,'' Dreifort said. ``To see E.K. do that in the shape he is in was incredible.'' It helped Dreifort that the Dodgers spotted him a 4-0 lead after two innings. They got a run in the first on an RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in single by Bonilla and added three in the second, when Sheffield drove a bases-clearing double to left-center. All the runs came off Arizona right-hander Andy Benes (3-4). For Sheffield, it was a continuation of a great start since joining the Dodgers. The double gave him a seven-game hitting streak and 10 hits in 19 at-bats. He also has reached base 16 times in 22 plate appearances, including six walks. ``You see why those guys have World Series rings,'' Russell said. ``They just know how to play the game.'' Jose Vizcaino also had a big night, hitting a seventh-inning home run and providing the top defensive play of the game with one out in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Tony Batista grounded deep into the hole at short, but Vizcaino back-handed the ball and threw him out to end the inning. Vizcaino, who had three hits in the Thursday's victory against the Chicago Cubs, went 2 for 4 Friday. He is 12 for 29 in his past seven games. ``Those are the kinds of things that help you win,'' Dreifort said. ``Great defense, great hitting. That was inspiring.'' |
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