SECOND BIG INNING PAINFUL DODGERS OFFENSE CAN'T OVERCOME PENNY'S MELTDOWN AROZONA 3, DODGERS 2.Byline: TONY JACKSON
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer PHOENIX - Dodgers 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. spoke with as many of his players individually as he could on Monday, reminding them of the importance of shaking off the hangover from an epic collapse the day before in which they blew a five-run, ninth-inning lead. Whatever he said must have worked, because the Dodgers did things a little differently against Arizona. This time, the game got away much earlier. Armed with a two-run lead, right-hander 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 went to the mound for the second inning and suddenly had nothing. He eventually righted himself and got into something approximating a groove, but that was only after the first six Diamondbacks batters reached base, only after three consecutive Arizona hitters doubled and only after the that two-run lead dissolved into a one-run deficit that to the suddenly punchless Dodgers had to look about as wide as the nearby GrandCanyon. As it turned out, it was. Penny pitched out of the jam with no further damage, but the Dodgers never recovered from the damage he already had done and effectively sleepwalked their way to a 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks before 20,099 atChase Field. For good measure, the Dodgers also might have lost reserve outfielder Ricky Ledee. He fell to the ground in obvious pain after striking out on a checked swing in the seventh inning. Ledee eventually left the field under his own power but was accompanied by a trainer. Penny retired the Diamondbacks in order in the first inning, but the fact those outs all came on well-hit fly balls should have foretold fore·told v. Past tense and past participle of foretell. of events to come. His second-inning implosion implosion /im·plo·sion/ (im-plo´zhun) see flooding. im·plo·sion n. 1. began harmlessly enough, with Luis Gonzalez's leadoff single. From there, though, disaster quickly ensued, as Conor Jackson Conor Sims Jackson (nicknamed Co-Jack or Action) was born May 7, 1982 in Austin, Texas. He is a first baseman in Major League Baseball who plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He bats right handed and throws right handed. He is 6'2" and roughly 225 pounds. , Shawn Green Shawn David Green (born November 10, 1972, in Des Plaines, Illinois) is a 6' 4" left-handed Major League Baseball player. Green is the starting right fielder for the New York Mets.[1] Green was a 1st round draft pick, and has been a two-time major league All-Star. and Johnny Estrada Johnny Pulado Estrada III (born June 27, 1976 in Hayward, California), is a Major League Baseball player. Estrada, a right-handed thrower and switch hitter, plays catcher. Estrada was selected in the 17th round of the June 1997 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. all doubled to tie the score. After Penny walked Orlando Hudson to load the bases, opposing pitcher Claudio Vargas For the soccer player, see . Claudio (Almonte) Vargas (born on June 19, 1978 in Valverde Mao, Dominican Republic) is a pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers. In the past he has started games and also pitched in both middle and long relief. drove in the eventual game winner with a sharp single to right. Penny retired Craig Counsell Craig John Counsell (born August 21, 1970 in South Bend, Indiana) is a Major League Baseball infielder who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers. He has also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, and Los Angeles Dodgers. on a fly ball to shallow left, then got Jeff DaVanon Jeffrey Graham DaVanon (born December 8, 1973 in San Diego, California) is a Major League Baseball outfielder with the Oakland Athletics. DaVanon came up through the Oakland Athletics system before being traded to the Anaheim Angels as a minor-leaguer in 1999. to ground into an inning-ending double play. But the Diamondbacks had all the runs they would need to beat the Dodgers, who went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and had one stretch of eight consecutive hitters retired and another of nine. They made one last-gasp attempt to tie it in the ninth when pinch hitter Olmedo Saenz smacked a double high off the 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 wall and did what amounted to a bellyflop into second base. But Jason Repko, whom Little has started in left field the past two days because he is hitting circles around Jose Cruz, grounded to short to end the game. The Dodgers offensive woes reached a crescendo in the eighth inning, when Arizona reliever Brandon Lyon set them down in order on three ground balls and a total of five pitches. Kenny Lofton and J.D. Drew began the inning by grounding out oneach of Lyon's first two offerings. The Dodgers (12-14) held at three games behind division-leading Colorado in the National League West, but fell into fourth place behind the Diamondbacks. Penny (2-1), who had a 1.88 ERA in his first four starts this season, has a 4.15 in his past two. Even after he wriggled out of that harrowing second inning, he flirted with constant danger, stranding runners in scoring position in both the third and fourth. He left after six, having given up eight hits, walked two and struck out none for the first time this season. The Dodgers got to Vargas (3-1) for an unearned run in the first inning when Shawn Green simply dropped Lofton's fly ball in right field for a three-base error. Lofton scored on Drew's subsequent groundout, making it 1-0. The Dodgers padded the lead an inning later. Nomar Garciaparra doubled over the head of DaVanon in center field, took third on Mueller grounder to the right side and came home on Sandy Alomar's single through the right side. The Dodgers got strong performances from newly promoted pitchers Joe Beimel, who pitched a perfect eighth. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Dodgers third baseman Bill Mueller stumbles while attempting to field a ground ball in the fifth inning. Paul Connors/Associated Press Box: DODGERS at ARIZON -Tony Jackson |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion