Liter22
06-02-2002, 09:36 PM
From ESPN.com
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kazuhisa Ishii has made winning in the major leagues look easy.
Ishii
Ishii shrugged off a home run by opposing pitcher Miguel Batista and became the first Dodgers pitcher in 17 years to win nine of his first 10 decisions as Los Angeles beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-3 Sunday.
``Pitching is a lot of little things. But at this time, I'm not too sure about an explanation,'' Ishii said through a translator. ``I just hope that I can improve with every game I pitch.''
Ishii's only defeat came on a two-hit shutout by Jeff D'Amico of the New York Mets on May 15 at Dodger Stadium. Bob Welch started 9-1 in 1985 and helped lead Los Angeles to a division title with a 14-4 record despite missing the entire month of May because of a sprained elbow ligament.
Ishii allowed two runs and five hits over six innings, including Greg Colbrunn's solo homer in the fifth. The left-hander struck out six, walked five and worked with runners on base in every inning.
``When I go out there, the number one thing I'm thinking about is a good pitching performance,'' Ishii said. ``The number two thing is keeping the number of runs low and hope to win for the team.''
Ishii has walked 44 batters in 68 innings, and no fewer than three in any outing -- a distressing trend that has Dodgers manager Jim Tracy and pitching coach Jim Colborn looking for answers.
``I'd like to see him pitch a game where he dominated, but you can't dominate a game with early control problems,'' Tracy said. ``We're discussing that with him constantly. I really feel like that is what's keeping this guy from dominating some of the games he's pitched.
``There's been situations in the early part of the game when he sets the stage for the opposition, but then is able to make a great sequence of pitches to a hitter to wiggle out of those scenarios.''
One of those came in the third inning, when Ishii escaped a bases-loaded jam by retiring Jose Guillen on a double-play grounder.
``If it happened one, two or three times, you'd say it's just a coincidence. But it seems to be his pattern,'' Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros said of Ishii. ``He likes to put everybody on edge and then work his way out of it. So far he's been successful at it, so we're not going to complain.''
Karros hit a three-run homer and Dave Hansen added an RBI single for the Dodgers, who took two of three from the Diamondbacks and cut Arizona's lead in the NL West to one game.
``We had Ishii on the ropes all day, but never kicked the door in,'' Arizona's Mark Grace said. ``We let him hang around. And if you give good teams breathing room, one swing of the bat will do it. And that's what Karros did today. He got a pitch and put us away with it.''
Eric Gagne got three straight outs for his major league-leading 20th save in 21 tries.
Giovanni Carrara wiggled out of a jam in the seventh when he got Guillen on a grounder with runners at the corners. Karros provided some breathing room in the seventh with his fifth home run after two-out singles by Shawn Green and Brian Jordan.
Batista (2-3) allowed six runs -- five earned -- and 10 hits in seven innings, remaining winless in six starts since beating the Mets on May 2.
The right-hander took a four-hit shutout and a 2-0 lead into the sixth before giving up three runs. Paul Lo Duca led off with a double and scored when Green's grounder to first got past Grace. It was the four-time Gold Glove winner's second error in 34 starts this season.
``I just messed it up. No excuses. I just missed,'' Grace said.
After the error, Batista walked Jordan and gave up RBI singles by Hansen and Mark Grudzielanek that put the Dodgers ahead to stay.
Batista led off the third with an opposite-field drive that cleared the fence in right-center. It was only his 12th hit in 124 major league at-bats, and second home run. The other came on May 24, 1999, at Philadelphia, against Joel Bennett while playing for Montreal.
Game notes
RHP Kevin Brown's scheduled return from the disabled list June 11 will be delayed indefinitely. Tracy said he won't even consider letting Brown throw until the fluid and the inflammation in the back of his surgically repaired elbow is gone. Brown stayed home Sunday because of stiffness in his back, and will not accompany the team on its nine-game road trip. ... The Diamondbacks, who entered this series with an NL-leading 59 home runs, had only one in a span of 84 innings before Batista connected in the third. ... Luis Gonzalez, who homered 11 times against the Dodgers last season, has none in 19 at-bats against them this year.
:pout: :barf: :barf: :eviltongu :acid:
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kazuhisa Ishii has made winning in the major leagues look easy.
Ishii
Ishii shrugged off a home run by opposing pitcher Miguel Batista and became the first Dodgers pitcher in 17 years to win nine of his first 10 decisions as Los Angeles beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-3 Sunday.
``Pitching is a lot of little things. But at this time, I'm not too sure about an explanation,'' Ishii said through a translator. ``I just hope that I can improve with every game I pitch.''
Ishii's only defeat came on a two-hit shutout by Jeff D'Amico of the New York Mets on May 15 at Dodger Stadium. Bob Welch started 9-1 in 1985 and helped lead Los Angeles to a division title with a 14-4 record despite missing the entire month of May because of a sprained elbow ligament.
Ishii allowed two runs and five hits over six innings, including Greg Colbrunn's solo homer in the fifth. The left-hander struck out six, walked five and worked with runners on base in every inning.
``When I go out there, the number one thing I'm thinking about is a good pitching performance,'' Ishii said. ``The number two thing is keeping the number of runs low and hope to win for the team.''
Ishii has walked 44 batters in 68 innings, and no fewer than three in any outing -- a distressing trend that has Dodgers manager Jim Tracy and pitching coach Jim Colborn looking for answers.
``I'd like to see him pitch a game where he dominated, but you can't dominate a game with early control problems,'' Tracy said. ``We're discussing that with him constantly. I really feel like that is what's keeping this guy from dominating some of the games he's pitched.
``There's been situations in the early part of the game when he sets the stage for the opposition, but then is able to make a great sequence of pitches to a hitter to wiggle out of those scenarios.''
One of those came in the third inning, when Ishii escaped a bases-loaded jam by retiring Jose Guillen on a double-play grounder.
``If it happened one, two or three times, you'd say it's just a coincidence. But it seems to be his pattern,'' Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros said of Ishii. ``He likes to put everybody on edge and then work his way out of it. So far he's been successful at it, so we're not going to complain.''
Karros hit a three-run homer and Dave Hansen added an RBI single for the Dodgers, who took two of three from the Diamondbacks and cut Arizona's lead in the NL West to one game.
``We had Ishii on the ropes all day, but never kicked the door in,'' Arizona's Mark Grace said. ``We let him hang around. And if you give good teams breathing room, one swing of the bat will do it. And that's what Karros did today. He got a pitch and put us away with it.''
Eric Gagne got three straight outs for his major league-leading 20th save in 21 tries.
Giovanni Carrara wiggled out of a jam in the seventh when he got Guillen on a grounder with runners at the corners. Karros provided some breathing room in the seventh with his fifth home run after two-out singles by Shawn Green and Brian Jordan.
Batista (2-3) allowed six runs -- five earned -- and 10 hits in seven innings, remaining winless in six starts since beating the Mets on May 2.
The right-hander took a four-hit shutout and a 2-0 lead into the sixth before giving up three runs. Paul Lo Duca led off with a double and scored when Green's grounder to first got past Grace. It was the four-time Gold Glove winner's second error in 34 starts this season.
``I just messed it up. No excuses. I just missed,'' Grace said.
After the error, Batista walked Jordan and gave up RBI singles by Hansen and Mark Grudzielanek that put the Dodgers ahead to stay.
Batista led off the third with an opposite-field drive that cleared the fence in right-center. It was only his 12th hit in 124 major league at-bats, and second home run. The other came on May 24, 1999, at Philadelphia, against Joel Bennett while playing for Montreal.
Game notes
RHP Kevin Brown's scheduled return from the disabled list June 11 will be delayed indefinitely. Tracy said he won't even consider letting Brown throw until the fluid and the inflammation in the back of his surgically repaired elbow is gone. Brown stayed home Sunday because of stiffness in his back, and will not accompany the team on its nine-game road trip. ... The Diamondbacks, who entered this series with an NL-leading 59 home runs, had only one in a span of 84 innings before Batista connected in the third. ... Luis Gonzalez, who homered 11 times against the Dodgers last season, has none in 19 at-bats against them this year.
:pout: :barf: :barf: :eviltongu :acid: