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Monday, October 13, 2008

Rhubarb, Party: Dodgers 7, Phillies 2

I missed almost all of Saturday's ALDS game (an eventual 9-8 Rays win in 11 all but unbearable innings) because we had guests over, but that excuse didn't hold up yesterday. While we did have guests over, we were able to watch it on TV (my parents, at least, are interested in the Dodgers). The Dodgers clearly had the slop-throwing Jamie Moyer from the first batter; Moyer failed to make a single out until the fifth batter of his day, Nomar Garciaparra, whom he struck out. Blake DeWitt's big bases-clearing RBI triple did most of the damage that frame, and capped first inning scoring to give the Dodgers an early 5-0 lead they would not relinquish.

Oh, sure, the Phils chipped away at it the next inning on a Pedro Feliz two-out RBI single, but Philadelphia never really mounted what you'd call a solid rally, with the exception of the seventh; then they got a run in with men on the corners and nobody out for Cory Wade to come in and deal with. Neither of them scored, and that was that.

Outside of the first, the Dodgers picked up a couple additional runs, the first a second inning leadoff homer by Furcal against Moyer (who got chased after Andre Ethier's flyball out), and the second against reliever J.A. Happ in the fourth, on Nomar's RBI single. Late innings, given the two teams' meritorious bullpens, were pretty uneventful, as expected, and Jonathan Broxton came in to light up the radar gun again and nail down the last inning despite it being a non-save situation.

Of course, the one thing that will get the most press is the non-fight that occurred after Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda (who pitched a wonderful game when the Dodgers needed it) came near to hitting Shane Victorino in the dome, but nothing came of it. It's all part of the game:

"The last thing we're trying to do is hit somebody in the head. We were trying to make them uncomfortable. They've been swinging the bats pretty well. They throw up and tight on us and got us uncomfortable. We're just trying to make a statement. It's baseball. It's part of the game. I mean, we're not headhunters by any means. But when there's a statement to be made, you've got to get it done."
Yahoo boxDodgers recap
The Sons have some interesting notes on Game 4, including the observation that Derek Lowe had only one short-rest game this year, a May 18 seven-run crater against the Angels, but this overlooks the bigger part of his career; given four days rest as a starter, he's actually slightly better than his overall career numbers, something that is often said of sinkerball pitchers (i.e. they do their best work when slightly tired).

Also: Scott Proctor will have arm surgery:

Proctor will have a partially torn flexor tendon repaired and a bone spur in the back of his elbow shaved down. Dodgers surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache considers it a straightforward cleanup procedure, according to club officials, and Proctor is expected to be ready for Spring Training.

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Comments:
I watched the end of Rays game. It was fun (thanks to DVR), and I'm no purist, but Jesus God something has to be done about these American League games. It's like listening to Bruckner.
 
Bruckner? I was thinking Mahler...
 

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