Alphonse Heiler Blog
25.04.2011., ponedjeljak
Dodgers defeat Cubs, 7-3, as run production continues to improve
|
Reporting from Chicago A potential obstacle awaited the Dodgers as they departed Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon, and this one had nothing to do with the commissioner's office. The Dodgers are only a game over .500, but with their 7-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs counting as their sixth win in their last eight games, they felt they were on to something. They have started to score runs. Andre Ethier's hitting streak has reached 21 games. The starting pitchers are performing the way they were expected to perform. Here's the problem: The recent run has coincided with the appearance of a goatee on the face of Manager Don Mattingly, and Mrs. Mattingly wants him to shave.  "It stays for a couple more days," Mattingly said. "I have at least 10 more days until I see Lori again." Mattingly's wife lives primarily at the couple's Indiana residence. While conceding that Mattingly looks better cleanshaven, catcher Rod Barajas pleaded with his manager's new wife to withstand the unsightliness. "He has some white in there," Barajas said. "He might want to try Just For Men. I feel bad for his wife, but that's the game. The hair's staying. This game is all about superstition." In their first 18 games, the Dodgers averaged 3.2 runs and scored two or fewer runs eight times. In their last five games, they have scored 38 runs. Five of those runs were scored in the first inning Sunday, as Carlos Zambrano looked as if he were throwing batting practice. "We haven't gone anywhere," said Matt Kemp, who was two for five, maintaining his .402 average. Aaron Miles scored on an infield single by Ethier, Casey Blake on a single by Kemp, Ethier on a double by Jerry Sands, Kemp on a groundout by James Loney and Sands on a sacrifice fly by Barajas. (Sands appeared to leave third base before left fielder Alfonso Soriano caught Barajas' fly ball, leading to a spirited protest by Cubs Manager Mike Quade.) "When you hit and drive in runs, it becomes contagious," Barajas said. "I think confidence is up." As is the sense of obligation among the pitchers. "When they scored five runs for me, I felt I had to win the game for them," starter Hiroki Kuroda said. Kuroda gave up two runs in the first inning that reduced the Dodgers' lead to 5-2, but he settled down soon after. Over a stretch that started in the first inning and extended into the sixth, Kuroda retired 15 of 16 batters and struck out six. Among his strikeout victims was Soriano, his former teammate with the Hiroshima Carp in Japan. When they saw each other the previous day in batting practice, Soriano jokingly asked him to throw him something down the middle. Kuroda got him to swing and miss for strike three in the first inning on a split-finger fastball. The pitch was a major weapon for Kuroda. "Barajas called it in the right situations," he said. The way Barajas told it, there wasn't a wrong time to throw it. "Early in the count, middle of the count, late in the count, behind in the count, we were going to use it," Barajas said. Kuroda was charged with three runs (two earned) and nine hits over 62/3 innings. |
01.04.2011., petak
Recap: Boston vs. Toronto
|
Nazem Kadri scored in the second round of the shootout, as the Toronto Maple Leafs kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Joffrey Lupul scored a pair of goals and dished out an assist for the Maple Leafs, who have 82 points and sit five back of the Sabres and Rangers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Luke Schenn had a goal and an assist for Toronto, which has won five of six. James Reimer made 35 saves. Brad Marchand tallied a goal and an assist for the Bruins, who had a chance to win the Northeast Division with a victory. Andrew Ference and David Krejci also lit the lamp. Tim Thomas made 28 saves for Boston, which has 97 points and sits third in the East. The Bruins have an eight-point lead over idle Montreal for the top spot in the division. The Maple Leafs drew first blood at the 7:06 mark of the first period. Schenn's shot from the right point deflected off a Boston player and snuck past Thomas. Marchand's short-handed goal at the 2:09 mark of the middle stanza made it a 1-1 game. He stole the puck at center ice and charged down the left side with a Toronto defender all over his back. But Marchand kept control of the puck and beat Reimer with a backhander. Krejci gave Boston a 2-1 lead just 59 seconds later on a tic-tac-toe goal. Lupul tied the contest again on the power play at the 7:06 mark. Phil Kessel controlled the puck behind the net and threw a pass in front, and it hit Lupul's skate before going into the net. Replay confirmed Lupul did not use a kicking motion. The Bruins re-gained the lead a little more than a minute later, when Ference's slapper from the left point went through Reimer's pads. Lupul sent the game into overtime with the tying goal at the 7:53 mark of the third. After Boston turned the puck over in its own zone, Lupul beat Thomas with a shot from the slot. The overtime period featured a penalty shot and a power play. Just 43 seconds into the extra session, Thomas stuffed Mikhail Grabovski on the one-on-one chance. Then, with 65 seconds to play, Lupul was sent to the box for slashing. But Reimer held strong in net to force a shootout. Kadri, the second shooter of the second round, used a few juke moves before backhanding the puck by Thomas. Rich Peverley had a chance to extend the shootout, but Reimer made the save to secure the victory. |
