Monthly Archives: August 2009

Postgame: Arizona 5, Dodgers 3

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The Dodgers fell to Arizona 5-3 tonight at Dodger Stadium.

THE BARE ESSENTIALS:

* The Diamondbacks scored two runs in the tenth inning off James McDonald to put the game away.

* Ronnie Belliard launched a solo home run in the second inning, becoming the first Dodger to homer in his first at bat with the club since Garey Ingram’s pinch-hit homer in his first big league plate appearance on May 19, 1994 vs. Colorado…Jose Offerman (8/19/90 vs. MON) and Dusty Baker (4/9/76 vs. SF) are the only two other players to accomplish this feat in Los Angeles Dodgers history…Each of these occurrences was a solo home run…Thanks to Stats LLC for the research.

* Matt Kemp homered in three straight games for the second time in his career, previously doing so from June 1-3, 2006 in his fifth, sixth, and seventh career Major League games.

* The Dodgers homered for the seventh consecutive game, their longest streak of the season…Los Angeles matched its longest streak from 2008, when it homered in seven straight from August 30-September 6…The Dodgers homered in nine consecutive games from July 18-26, 2007.

* Randy Wolf is unbeaten in his last six starts, going 4-0 with a 2.57 ERA (12 ER/42.0 IP)…It marked Wolf’s 14th no decision.

ETC…ETC

* The Dodgers homered for the seventh consecutive game, their longest streak of the season…Los Angeles matched its longest streak from 2008, when it homered in seven straight from August 30-September 6…The Dodgers homered in nine consecutive games from July 18-26, 2007.

* The Dodgers compiled a 14-15 record in August, marking their first losing record in a calendar month and matching their win total from June (14-12).

* Los Angeles acquired 1B Jim Thome from the Chicago White Sox and RHP Jon Garland from the Arizona Diamondbacks, both for players to be named later.

* The Dodgers became the first team in baseball to reach three million fans in attendance with this year’s total of 3,004,726 through 66 home games. It is the 14th consecutive season that Los Angeles has reached the three million attendance plateau.

ON DECK:
* In Game 2 of the four game series the Dodgers send RHP Vicente Padilla (1-0, 3.60) against RHP Yusmeiro Petit (3-8, 5.59)

Official: Dodgers comments on Garland

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The official release:

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today acquired veteran right-handed pitcher Jon Garland from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for a player to be named later. General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.

“Jon has been a consistent winner in the big leagues for eight consecutive seasons and we’re excited about how this deepens our starting rotation,” said Colletti. “He also demonstrated a few years ago that he knows how to pitch when the stakes are high.”

Garland has won at least 10 games over the last seven seasons and currently has eight wins with Arizona this year. From 2002-2008, the right-hander averaged nearly 14 victories per season and won a career-high 18 in both 2005 and 2006.

In the 2005 playoffs with the Chicago White Sox, Garland won Game 3 of the ALCS against the Angels, firing a complete game four-hitter. In Game 3 of the 2005 World Series vs. the Astros, Garland allowed just two earned runs over 7.0 innings in a game the White Sox would win in 15 innings.

Garland was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 10th round of the 1997 First-Year Player Draft and was traded as a minor leaguer from the Cubs to the white Sox in 1998. Following eight seasons on the South Side, Garland was traded to the Angels before the 2008 season and went 14-8 in Anaheim last year. this season, Garland is 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA in 27 starts, but owns a 3.86 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break.

The durable right-hander has been on the disabled list just one time in his career, missing only 15 days in 2003 with Chicago. Garland has tossed 1,793.0 career innings, including 1,606.1 since 2002, which ranks ninth in the Major Leagues over that time.

Since his debut in 2000, the Valencia, California native has gone 114-100 with a 4.45 ERA in 305 career games (285 starts). The 29-year old was a 2005 American League All-Star and his and his 68 wins since 2005 rank 11th in the Major Leagues over that time.

Garland is a 1997 graduate of Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, where he was a two-time All-State Player of the Year and a high school All-America.

Dodgers trade for Thome, Garland

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In separate deals consummated just minutes before the 9 p.m. PST deadline for postseason eligibility, the Dodgers have dealt for designated hitter Jim Thome and righthander Jon Garland.

Thome is hitting .249/.372/.493 this season for the White Sox for an OPS of .864, more than 100 points better than Dodger first baseman James Loney’s .738. Thome, 39, has 564 career home runs, but hasn’t played first base since 2007. He’ll likely be relegated to pinch-hitting duties with a start here and there. Chicago will get a player to be named later.

Garland, 29, has a 4.29 ERA in 167.2 innings this season for the Diamondbacks. He has made at least 32 starts in each of the last seven seasons. The Dodgers reportedly gave up minor leaguer Justin Fuller to Arizona. Fuller was hitting .254 in his age-26 season with Inland Empire.

Postgame: Dodgers 3, Reds 2 (12 innings)

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The Dodgers beat the Reds 3-2 today in 12 innings. For a full recap and boxscore, click here.

THE BARE ESSENTIALS:

Clayton Kershaw was at his best, striking out 11 in seven innings while allowing only two runs. His only real blemish was a second-inning two-run homer by Darnell McDonald — James’ cousin.

Until the 12th, the Dodgers’ only runs came in the fifth inning, when Matt Kemp hit a solo homer and Clayton Kershaw drove a ball up the middle that found a hole and brought in Casey Blake.

Then, with the bases loaded in the 12th, Kemp hit a deep fly ball to center that looked like a possible grand slam. Cincinnati center fielder Drew Stubbs caught it on the warning track, but Manny Ramirez came in to score on the sacrifice fly.

ETC…ETC:

The Reds’ Bronson Arroyo was also effective. Arroyo scattered six hits over 7 1/3 innings, maneuvering his way through the Dodger lineup by changing speeds frequently. He struck out only three.

The Dodgers had 11 hits as a team, but not one player had more than one. Rafael Furcal was the only starter held hitless.

The Dodger bullpen continued to shine, as George Sherrill, Ramon Troncoso, Hong-Chih Kuo, James McDonald, and Jonathan Broxton pitched five scoreless innings.

ON DECK:

The Dodgers host Arizona tomorrow night, sending Randy Wolf (9-6, 3.25) against Doug Davis (7-11, 3.75).