PIAZZA'S BAT TALKS; HIS 2 HRS SPOIL SUPPAN HOMECOMING : DODGERS 7 ARIZONA 2.Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer Maybe Mike Piazza Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4, 1968 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is an American Major League Baseball player who currently plays for the Oakland Athletics. He began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played for the Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres will wind up leaving at the end of the season. But for the first time this year, Dodger Stadium • • [ felt like home. All it took was a home run and 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. in the first three innings of Thursday's 7-2 Dodgers victory over 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. to put a hurt and hostile crowd of 39,541 back on his side. For the first two home games, fans loudly booed each Piazza at-bat for his unwillingness to sign a multi-year contract extension. But after announcing Wednesday that he will not talk to the Dodgers until after the season, Piazza finally broke loose. Against Jeff Suppan Jeffrey Scot Suppan (born January 2, 1975, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. Baseball career Suppan (IPA pronunciation: [ˈsup ɑn] , the Crespi High product who was the Diamondbacks' second overall pick in last November's expansion draft, Piazza drove a first-inning fastball 445 feet into the left-field pavilion for a two-run homer. Fans cheered wildly for Piazza's first home run and 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 of the season, but there still was a smattering of boos when he returned to the plate in the third. This time, Piazza barely cleared the fence in Verb 1. fence in - enclose with a fence; "we fenced in our yard" fence inclose, shut in, close in, enclose - surround completely; "Darkness enclosed him"; "They closed in the porch with a fence" 2. left-center beyond the reach of Devon White
The stadium erupted. And when Piazza reached the dugout, the fans asked him back to take a bow Verb 1. take a bow - acknowledge praise or accept credit; "They finally took a bow for what they did" accept - consider or hold as true; "I cannot accept the dogma of this church"; "accept an argument" 2. . He obliged. Although Piazza, who entered the game batting only .172 (5 for 29) struck out in the fifth and was intentionally walked in the seventh, this was clearly his night. He overshadowed six solid innings by right-hander Ismael Valdes
Piazza also made Suppan (0-2) a footnote on the right-hander's first appearance in Dodger Stadium. He was gone after four innings, allowing eight hits and six runs with one walk and five strikeouts. And few will remember that Dodgers' first baseman Matt Luke Matthew Clifford Luke (born February 26, 1971 in Long Beach, California) is a former outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball. He attended college at the University of California and played for five different major league teams in his career: the New York Yankees, Los made his first major league start, replacing slumping rookie Paul Konerko. Luke went 0 for 4. One sidelight side·light n. 1. A light coming from the side. 2. Nautical Either of two lights, red to port, green to starboard, shown by ships at night. 3. A piece of incidental or contrasting information. to Piazza's grand slam was a strained left hamstring by shortstop Jose Vizcaino, who was injured when his bunt loaded the bases with one out. Valdes took advantage of the offense, getting into a rhythm he never enjoyed during his first start last Friday in Cincinnati. He even got two hits of his own and was on base for Piazza's grand slam. After putting runners at the corners in the top of the first, he got out of trouble when Todd Hollandsworth made a sliding catch of Jorge Fabregas' liner to end the inning. Valdes received a scare when Yamil Benitez opened the second by hitting a liner off the pitcher's right foot. He remained in the game and got inning-ending double play grounders in the fourth and fifth. But Valdes began to tire in the sixth, and when Karim Garcia opened the seventh with a single to right, the Dodgers bullpen got busy. Andy Stankiewicz followed with an RBI-double to right-center and manager Bill Russell went to the mound. He elected to leave in Valdes, who gave up another run on an infield out by White. When Jay Bell ripped a single through the middle, Russell returned to the mound to get his starter. Scott Radinsky and Jim Bruske finished up as the Dodgers raised their record to 3-5. Piazza has received three offers from the Dodgers in the past 10 days, none of which were close to the seven-year, $105 million deal he is seeking. The first was a six-year contract for $78 million that would have made him baseball's highest-paid player. The Dodgers came back with an $81-million offer before Tuesday's home opener, which also was rejected. After Piazza turned down six years for $85 million Wednesday afternoon, he decided he would not talk contract with the club until after the season, when he is eligible for free agency. SUPPAN'S L.A. DEBUT Former Crespi High pitcher Jeff Suppan made his Dodger Stadium debut Thursday night. He gave up two home runs to Mike Piazza, including a grand slam. His pitching statistics: IP H R ER BB SO 4 8 6 6 1 5 CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box Photo: (1--Color) Diamondbacks pitcher and former Crespi star Jeff Suppan yielded two Mike Piazza home runs, one a grand slam. (2) Jose Vizcaino greets Mike Piazza after his third-inning grand slam. The Dodgers catcher, who has ended contract talks, let his bat do the talking. Tina Gerson/Daily News Box: SUPPAN'S L.A. DEBUT (See Text) |
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