GARCIAPARRA LEADS THE WAY FIRST BASEMAN'S, AND DODGERS', HOT STREAKS GO ON DODGERS 8, PHILADELPHIA 2.Byline: VINCENT VINCENT Vital Information Necessary Centralized (movie, The Black Hole) BONSIGNORE Staff Writer The clubhouse kids were already hanging up uniforms for today's game by the time 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. emerged from the shower after the Dodgers' 8-2 win over Philadelphia on Saturday. More than an hour after the last out had been recorded, Garciaparra walked slowly to his locker stall. A crowd of reporters were waiting to talk to him. ``A really good win today,'' Garciaparra said. ``A really nice win in all facets.'' It wasn't long ago a pack of reporters at Garciaparra's locker meant talking about the rib-cage injury that knocked him to the disabled list for the first three weeks of the season. Now they wanted to ask him about the streaking Dodgers, who have collected an major-league best 20 wins in their past 27 games and jumped on Philadelphia starter Eude Brito Eude Ezequiel Brito (born August 19, 1978) in Sabana de la Mar, Dominican Republic, is a pitcher in Minor League Baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He made his Major League debut on August 21, 2005 with the Phillies. He was 1-2 for the Phils in 2005 with a 3. for four runs in the first inning to immediately take control. Or the pack of rookies who have leaped to the Major Leagues from the Dodgers' deep farm system to produce numbers nobody could have imagined. Four rookies were in the starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes -- Matt Kemp Matthew Ryan Kemp[1] (born September 23, 1984, in Midwest City, Oklahoma)[2] is a Major League Baseball outfielder who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. , Willy Aybar Willy Del Jesus Aybar (born March 9, 1983 in Bani, Dominican Republic), is an infielder in Major League Baseball under contract with the Atlanta Braves. He is the older brother of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortstop, Erick Aybar. , Joel Guzman and Russell Martin
Then there's Garciaparra himself. As much as the rookies have added skill, and as much foundation as the starting pitching of Brad Penny Bradley Wayne Penny[1] (born May 24, 1978 in Blackwell, Oklahoma)[2] is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers.[3] Early career (six innings, no runs, one hit) and Derek Lowe Derek Christopher Lowe[1] (born June 1, 1973 in Dearborn, Michigan)[2] is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He throws and bats right-handed. and Aaron Sele has provided, no one has done more than Garciaparra. He had three more hits to raise his average to .369 (55 of 159). His 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 in the fourth inning was his 38th in 37 games. He's hitting .489 with runners in scoring position and has reached base by hit or walk in 28 consecutive games. Not coincidentally, that streak just happens to coincide with the Dodgers 20-7 record since May 4. ``I'm just going out there and playing and trying to do my part,'' Garciaparra said. ``I'm just trying to help us win.'' Dodgers' manager Grady Little thinks it goes deeper than that. ``Nomar means so much to a ballclub,'' Little said. ``He can sit on the bench and still mean a lot to a team. Talk to other players, see what they think about him. He's just a natural born leader kind of guy.'' That leadership was on display in the fourth inning with the Dodgers leading 6-0 and Penny encountering his only real rough spot of the afternoon. Aaron Rowand had just doubled to centerfield n. 1. (Baseball) the part of the outfield directly ahead of the catcher. Noun 1. centerfield - the piece of ground in the outfield directly ahead of the catcher; "he hit the ball to deep center" center field, center for Philadelphia's first hit, and with two outs the Phillies had runners at second and third. Garciaparra immediately walked to the mound to talk to Penny, then pounded the ball into Penny's glove. Shortly after, Little came out for a visit. Penny immediately got David Bell on a pop out to end the inning. Garciaparra downplayed the gesture after the game. ``I just told (Penny) you're pitching great, don't worry about those two guys you got two outs so lets do the job,'' Garciaparra said. ``That's just being a teammate, not a team leader.'' Penny's performance was a solid rebound from a poor outing in Atlanta on Monday, when Little pulled him with one out in the fifth inning after giving up six straight hits. Penny reacted angrily to getting yanked -- the Dodgers were leading 8-5 and he was two outs from pitching the mandatory five innings for a win -- and even though Penny and Little said they squared things away it didn't hurt that he pitched markedly better on Saturday. vincent.bonsignore@dailynews.com (818) 713-3612 CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) The Dodgers' J.D. Drew hits a two-run double off Philadelphia starter Eude Brito in the first inning. (2) Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra, right, is greeted in the dugout by manager Grady Little after scoring from third base. Francis Specker/Associated Press Box DODGERS vs. PHILADELPHIA - Vincent Bonsignore |
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