EVERYTHING LINES UP LITTLE'S MOVES LEAD TO MAJOR OFFENSE; TOMKO HURT DODGERS 10, PITTSBURGH 4.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer Manager Grady Little William Grady Little (born March 30, 1950 in Abilene, Texas) is a manager in Major League Baseball. He guided the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2003, and has been manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2006. juggled the lineup, but pitching figured to be the Dodgers' bigger concern. Jeff Kent Jeffrey Franklin Kent (born March 7, 1968 in Bellflower, California) is a Major League Baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and a former MVP winner. Early career and J.D. Drew got flopped Friday, as Kent moved into the cleanup spot Noun 1. cleanup spot - (baseball) the fourth position in the batting order (usually filled by the best batter on the team) cleanup position, cleanup and Drew dropped into the No. 5 hole for the first time this season, and Cesar Izturis rose to the second spot in the order. But there was also the matter of Brett Tomko Brett Daniel Tomko[1] (born April 7, 1973 in Euclid, Ohio)[2] is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres, who previously played for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. , who had been the Dodgers' most consistent pitcher in the past month. Consistently bad, that is, as Tomko hadn't won a game since May 15. It all worked out well. Tomko threw five shutout innings, Kent hit a three-run home run, Drew drove in two runs and the Dodgers led Pittsburgh 10-2 in the eighth inning before 55,823 at Dodger Stadium • • [ . The news wasn't all good though, as Tomko was forced to leave the game after five innings with a strained left oblique muscle (Anat.) a muscle acting in a direction oblique to the mesial plane of the body, or to the associated muscles; - applied especially to two muscles of the eyeball. See also: Oblique . Tomko allowed two hits, walked none and struck out one. The arrival of the Pirates meant a homecoming for Jim Tracy
Pittsburgh, 22 games under .500, had been swept in a three-game series at Kansas City Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). , baseball's worst team, and trotted out a starter, Oliver Perez, who entered with a 7.78 ERA in four June starts, all losses. The Dodgers scored five runs in the fourth, with Kent's seventh home run of the season serving as the big blow, and Perez lasted just 3 1/3 innings. He allowed seven runs on six hits, along with seven walks. Little's lineup moves seemed obvious. Since his return from the disabled list, Izturis had gone 4 for 5 with a walk and two runs scored, and Izturis is accustomed to hitting near the top of the order. Behind Izturis and No. 3 hitter Nomar Garciaparra Anthony Nomar Garciaparra[1] (born July 23, 1973, in Whittier, California) is a Mexican-American baseball player who currently plays third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers. came Kent, who entered Friday having hit safely in seven of his last nine games, including three multi-hit games. Kent took the usual spot of Drew, who had three hits in his last 27 at-bats and traditionally isn't as successful against left-handed pitchers. It all worked out well. The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first when Nomar Garciaparra grounded into a double play and Rafael Furcal scored from third. Drew's 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 came with two outs in the third. The Dodgers broke open the game in the fourth. Jose Cruz Jr. and Russell Martin led off with consecutive walks and moved into scoring position on Tomko's bunt. Furcal furcal /fur·cal/ (fur´k'l) shaped like a fork; forked. fur·cal adj. Forked. furcal forked. walked to load the bases, Izturis walked to score Cruz and Garciaparra scored Martin with a line-drive sacrifice fly to center. Kent followed by crushing Perez's first pitch to left field for his first home run since May 14. Drew added a sacrifice fly in a three-run sixth inning that pushed the Dodgers' lead to 10-0. Tomko has been a study in contrasts. He started 5-1 but In his first eight starts, Tomko went 5-1 and only once allowed more than three earned runs in an outing, although the lone poor start came against the Pirates on April 11, when he allowed five runs on nine hits in five innings in a loss at Pittsburgh. Even worse, In his last six starts entering Friday, however, Tomko was 0-5 and hadn't allowed fewer than four earned runs, which resulted in a 10.08 ERA during that stretch. The start of Friday's game seemed to indicate Tomko was headed for more trouble. No. 2 hitter Jack Wilson singled to center and Tomko then hit Sean Casey with a pitch, but Tomko escaped unscathed. From there, Tomko cruised into the middle innings. After hitting Casey, Tomko retired 13 consecutive Pirates until Ronny Paulino doubled to the wall in left-center with two outs in the fifth inning. Tomko followed with a strikeout of reliever John Grabow, in what would be his final pitch of the night. Jae Seo took over and finished the contest, allowing four runs, including two in the ninth, for his first big-league save. rich.hammond@dailynews.com (818) 713-3611 CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) The Dodgers' Russell Martin goes head-first into home plate for a fourth-inning run Friday night. (2) Dodgers starter Brett Tomko pitched five shutout innings Friday against Pittsburgh but left the game with a strained muscle. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer Box: DODGERS at PITTSBURGH - Rich Hammond |
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