Chan Ho Park had his first win for Philadephia and Jayson Werth stole home as the Phillies won 5-3 today. The Dodgers have lost four of five games since Manny Ramirez was suspended 50 games for using performance-enhancing drugs. Also, Ramirez still has not joined the team and spokent to his teammates, despite everyone from owner Frank McCourt to manager Joe Torre saying he needed to do that.
Hiroki Kuroda threw a more vigorous bullpen session off the mound in Philadelphia today. He threw fastballs and curveballs. He’s scheduled to throw another bullpen session in two days.
The San Francisco Giants scored a pair of runs in the 13th inning against Guillermo Mota and won 7-5.
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt met with Manny Ramirez yesterday. They met in person after Ramirez called McCourt. McCourt said he wanted to meet with him “eyeball to eyeball.” McCourt said Ramirez was remorseful, and he’s ready to begin the rebuilding process with everyone he’s disappointed. McCourt said Ramirez didn’t get into the details of his failed drug test and that it wasn’t important to him. He also said he believes it’s important for Ramirez to speak to his teammates, the fans and the community.
Joe Torre talked to Manny Ramirez again yesterday…but still no Manny sighting. Torre said that Ramirez is in Los Angeles. The Dodgers leave for a roadtrip to Philadelphia – which starts Tuesday – and Florida. Hiroki Kuroda threw a light bullpen session off the mound today – just fastballs. He’s feeling confident and will travel with the team on the roadtrip. Many players are using pink bats – and Torre wore pink wristbands – as part of Major League’s Baseball campaign in connection with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Hong-Chih Kuo is scheduled to go to Glendale when the Dodgers leave for their roadtrip on Monday.
The Dodgers had the leadoff runner on base in six innings and baserunners in every inning. The Dodgers play an early game – 12:40 p.m. – on Saturday.
“Obviously, it sucks to lose, especially the first game of a series against the Giants,” Russell Martin said. “We’ve got a short-term memory. We know we’ve got a good team.”
The Dodgers scored just one run off starter Barry Zito, and that was it for the night as they lost to the Giants, 3-1.
Manny Ramirez did not show up today to work out with the team, and no one expected him to. A VERY interesting lineup today, with essentially three leadoff guys back-to-back…Pierre, who’s batting ninth, Furcal, then Hudson. Also, Hiroki Kuroda threw off flat ground for a while today. He is expected to throw off the mound in the next couple of days.
Here’s tonight’s lineup:
Furcal ss
Hudson 2B
Ethier RF
Kemp CF
Martin C
Loretta 1B
Blake 3B
Billingsley P
Pierre LF
“We share the disappointment felt by our fans, our players, and every member of our organization,” Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt said. “We support the policies of Major League Baseball, and we will welcome Manny back upon his return.”