Dodgers 4, Rangers 3

Manny walked each of his first two times up against Doug Mathis, who later seemed to be saying he was pitching around him by saying he “wasn’t going to give in to him.” Ron Washington, the Rangers manager, said after the game that they WEREN’T pitching around Manny. “I think (Mathis) just got a little pumped up,” Washington said. At any rate, Manny came up a third time against Ramirez, Rangers reliever Elizardo, and hit a ground single up the middle, after which he was removed for a pinch runner. The DH situation with the Brewers is now moot, as Torre told us after the game that Manny will now TAKE TODAY OFF rather than playing against the Brewers or in the B game with the White Sox. Manny will now play LF for the first time on Sunday against the Rockies. … After the first walk, Manny ended up scoring, but only after advancing one base at a time. Larry Bowa held him at third on a single by James Loney because with Manny’s left hammy having tightened on him yesterday, nobody wanted to take any unnecessary chances. He subsequently scored when the Rangers botched a DP grounder by Casey Blake. … As for the game, it ended when Delwyn Young, pinch hitting with runners on the corners and one out in the ninth, shot a ball up the gap in left-center off reliever Thomas Diamond, scoring Jason Repko. … Cory Wade made his Cactus League debut in grand style, retiring all three batters he faced in a breeze of an eighth inning. Said afterward he was happy with the way the ball was coming out of his hand and that he feels good. … Dodgers improve to 8-6, but it really bothers me that they aren’t 9-6. If these games don’t really count anyway, then why are some games (against major-league opponents) counted in your record and others (yesterday’s win over South Korea) not? They’re all a bunch of meaningless exhibitions anyway. So why not just count them all? But I digress.