yagsy
04-23-2005, 10:47 AM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20050422-9999-6s22padres.html
Klesko, Hernandez get six of Padres' 15 hits, four RBI
By Tom Krasovic
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 22, 2005
The Padres finally defeated the National League West's reigning champions last night in a contest at Petco Park that meant a little extra to the home team.
After losing all four of their previous games against the Dodgers, the Padres averted a second sweep at Los Angeles' hands by winning 6-1 behind pitcher Adam Eaton's escape acts and a season-best 15 hits.
Looking more like pretenders than contenders to the West throne, the Padres had been outscored 21-4 in four losses to a Dodgers team that has six players on the disabled list.
"You don't want them to set the tone of too much of the early dominance," said Padres leadoff man Dave Roberts, a former Dodger. "So we had to change the momentum a little bit."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050422/images/padres300.jpg
JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune
Padres right fielder Brian Giles sprints to track down a fly ball by the Dodgers' Jose Valentin, recording the second out of the second inning.
Eaton (2-1) kept the Dodgers from waving the magical wands they've used with men in scoring position. Bottling up an offense that had batted .309 with men on second base or third, Eaton stranded Dodgers in scoring position in all five chances last night, four times retiring No. 3 hitter J.D. Drew and cleanup man Jeff Kent.
Rescuing Eaton in the sixth after the Dodgers put runners on second and third with none out, Chris Hammond exchanged one run for three outs, leaving the Padres ahead 5-1.
Roberts returned the margin to five runs, driving home Sean Burroughs with a double in the sixth, and the only excitement thereafter came when plate umpire Andy Fletcher ejected Dodgers third baseman Jose ValentÃ*n and manager Jim Tracy for arguing strike calls in the ninth.
Hammond, who got six outs to lower his ERA to 0.93, said it was more than just another April ballgame, in light of L.A.'s dominance.
"If we had lost five straight to the Dodgers – it's a long year, but it would've been a damper on our spirits to fall this far behind them," he said. "I think all this team needs is a little confidence back. Hopefully, this will get us rolling."
Given a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Eaton outdueled Scott Erickson (1-1), who outpitched Eaton on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Roberts scored in the first after lashing a leadoff single, stealing second base and alertly taking third on Mark Loretta's single, which caromed off Erickson's right leg toward the third base line. Phil Nevin's sacrifice fly and Ryan Klesko's two-out single gave the Padres a 2-0 lead, their largest in 38 innings against L.A.
In the fifth, the Padres did what a serious contender should: They knocked out Erickson, a 37-year-old reclamation project who appeared to be tiring and was denied an out when ValentÃ*n played Loretta's grounder into a one-out single.
The Padres charged through for three runs. Klesko's double, his fourth consecutive hit off Erickson dating to Saturday and his third of the night, brought in Loretta.
Ramon Hernandez's second of three hits knocked home Klesko and Brian Giles to make it 5-0.
The Padres (8-8) still have to show they can bruise the Dodgers (12-3) when Erickson isn't pitching. L.A. held them to one earned in the other 31 innings this month.
The Dodgers are accustomed to losing to Eaton, who improved to 9-3 against L.A. The right-hander bent often in throwing 88 pitches across four innings – but never broke.
"We did right what we wanted to (against Eaton)," said Dodgers catcher Jason Phillips. "Even though we didn't have any runs, he's pushing a hundred pitches in the fourth inning. But we couldn't get anything going, and he made a few good pitches."
Klesko, Hernandez get six of Padres' 15 hits, four RBI
By Tom Krasovic
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 22, 2005
The Padres finally defeated the National League West's reigning champions last night in a contest at Petco Park that meant a little extra to the home team.
After losing all four of their previous games against the Dodgers, the Padres averted a second sweep at Los Angeles' hands by winning 6-1 behind pitcher Adam Eaton's escape acts and a season-best 15 hits.
Looking more like pretenders than contenders to the West throne, the Padres had been outscored 21-4 in four losses to a Dodgers team that has six players on the disabled list.
"You don't want them to set the tone of too much of the early dominance," said Padres leadoff man Dave Roberts, a former Dodger. "So we had to change the momentum a little bit."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050422/images/padres300.jpg
JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune
Padres right fielder Brian Giles sprints to track down a fly ball by the Dodgers' Jose Valentin, recording the second out of the second inning.
Eaton (2-1) kept the Dodgers from waving the magical wands they've used with men in scoring position. Bottling up an offense that had batted .309 with men on second base or third, Eaton stranded Dodgers in scoring position in all five chances last night, four times retiring No. 3 hitter J.D. Drew and cleanup man Jeff Kent.
Rescuing Eaton in the sixth after the Dodgers put runners on second and third with none out, Chris Hammond exchanged one run for three outs, leaving the Padres ahead 5-1.
Roberts returned the margin to five runs, driving home Sean Burroughs with a double in the sixth, and the only excitement thereafter came when plate umpire Andy Fletcher ejected Dodgers third baseman Jose ValentÃ*n and manager Jim Tracy for arguing strike calls in the ninth.
Hammond, who got six outs to lower his ERA to 0.93, said it was more than just another April ballgame, in light of L.A.'s dominance.
"If we had lost five straight to the Dodgers – it's a long year, but it would've been a damper on our spirits to fall this far behind them," he said. "I think all this team needs is a little confidence back. Hopefully, this will get us rolling."
Given a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Eaton outdueled Scott Erickson (1-1), who outpitched Eaton on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Roberts scored in the first after lashing a leadoff single, stealing second base and alertly taking third on Mark Loretta's single, which caromed off Erickson's right leg toward the third base line. Phil Nevin's sacrifice fly and Ryan Klesko's two-out single gave the Padres a 2-0 lead, their largest in 38 innings against L.A.
In the fifth, the Padres did what a serious contender should: They knocked out Erickson, a 37-year-old reclamation project who appeared to be tiring and was denied an out when ValentÃ*n played Loretta's grounder into a one-out single.
The Padres charged through for three runs. Klesko's double, his fourth consecutive hit off Erickson dating to Saturday and his third of the night, brought in Loretta.
Ramon Hernandez's second of three hits knocked home Klesko and Brian Giles to make it 5-0.
The Padres (8-8) still have to show they can bruise the Dodgers (12-3) when Erickson isn't pitching. L.A. held them to one earned in the other 31 innings this month.
The Dodgers are accustomed to losing to Eaton, who improved to 9-3 against L.A. The right-hander bent often in throwing 88 pitches across four innings – but never broke.
"We did right what we wanted to (against Eaton)," said Dodgers catcher Jason Phillips. "Even though we didn't have any runs, he's pushing a hundred pitches in the fourth inning. But we couldn't get anything going, and he made a few good pitches."