|
|
|
|
 |
|
Scores Schedules Standings Statistics Transactions Injuries: AL | NL Players Weekly Lineup Message Board Minor Leagues MLB Stat Search Clubhouses |
| Sport Sections |
|
|
| |
Wednesday, Aug. 23 10:05pm ET
Dodgers win as Sheffield begins suspension | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kevin Brown got hit in the fifth inning. He finally gave up a hit in the seventh. Brown, struck on the right index finger as he tried to bunt, lost his bid for a perfect game two innings later on Peter Bergeron's leadoff single. The Los Angeles Dodgers' ace still finished with his first win in six starts, a 5-1 over the Montreal Expos on Wednesday. Brown's finger swelled during the next two innings after Mike Thurman's pitch hit him, and the Los Angeles right-hander left the game after allowing three hits and a run in the seventh, then hitting a batter and giving up a single in the eighth. "It was swollen, but I'm not going to blame my finger," Brown said. He said he was not thinking about pitching a perfect game or the possibility of his second career no-hitter. "You're out there trying to just do your job; you can't get ahead of yourself. You don't get there by thinking about it," he said. "I don't think I was throwing much differently than I was in some other games recently. It depends a lot on where the ball is hit. Look at the first hit off me this time." Bergeron's single was a liner to the left of third baseman Adrian Beltre, who lunged and tipped the ball with his glove. The ball trickled into left field. "He was going right after people, getting strikes and getting ground balls," Bergeron said. "He was being aggressive and his sinker was working. Everyone knew he had a no-hitter going, so the bottom line was just to get a hit and get something going." When "hit" was flashed on the scoreboard, many in the Dodger Stadium crowd of 31,337 booed. But Bergeron's liner clearly was a hit, and any controversy became moot when Jose Vidro and Lee Stevens hit consecutive doubles later in the inning after Milton Bradley lined into a double play. Winning for the first time since July 24 at Colorado, Brown finished with four hits allowed in seven-plus innings. He struck out four, walked none and hit a batter. Retiring his first 18 batters, he allowed only two balls out of the infield through six innings. "To me, Brownie has no-hitter stuff every night he goes out there," Los Angeles catcher Todd Hundley said. "He was obviously on tonight. Everything was moving and darting and he was throwing strikes. I thought we were going to get a no-no out of it." Brown, who spent more than two weeks on the disabled list in April after he broke the pinkie on his right hand trying to bunt, was worried when Thurman's pitch hit him. The pitch was up at the letters, and the ball struck Brown's finger as he squared around. "I was a little anxious after what happened the first time," he said. "It took a couple of minutes to get the feeling back." Thurman matched Brown for the first 3 1/3 innings, retiring 10 consecutive batters before Mark Grudzielanek doubled. Beltre keyed a three-run fourth inning with a two-run single, and the Dodgers added two more in the fifth. Left fielder Gary Sheffield, who leads the Dodgers in batting average, home runs, RBI and on-base percentage, began serving the five-game suspension he received in the aftermath of the Dodgers' brawl with Wrigley Field fans on May 16. The Dodgers' weekend series at Chicago will include a doubleheader on Friday, so Sheffield -- who dropped his appeal -- will be eligible to play on Sunday and continue his race with Sammy Sosa for the major league home run lead. Game notesOF Brad Wilkerson, playing for Montreal's Triple-A Ottawa team, was the only member of the Expos' organization selected for the U.S. Olympic team. Shawn Gilbert, who played a few games for Los Angeles and spent most of the season at Triple-A Albuquerque, was the only member of the Dodgers' organization selected. ... Expos RF Vladimir Guerrero sat out his second straight game because of a strained left shoulder. ... The Dodgers signed their first pick in the June draft, 6-foot-7 Arizona right-hander Ben Diggins, and assigned him to Class-A San Bernardino. ... The Dodgers placed SS Kevin Elster on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left hamstring and recalled RHP Mike Judd from Triple-A Albuquerque. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Montreal Clubhouse Los Angeles Clubhouse Dodgers apologize for throwing out lesbian couple
RECAPS Boston 3 Anaheim 1
Los Angeles 5
| |||||