Saturday, July 31, 2004 to August 1, 2004
Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres
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Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres
Lorreta and Nevin come through vs. Dodgers bullpen
By Tom Krasovic
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Refusing to weaken a stellar bullpen, the Padres held Akinori Otsuka out of trade talks when Arizona tried to exploit San Diego's lust for center fielder Steve Finley.
The rival Los Angeles Dodgers tinkered with their stout bullpen on Friday, and it appeared to backfire last night when the Padres won a tight ballgame at Petco Park.
Scoring twice against reliever Darren Dreifort, newly promoted into the top setup job, San Diego went ahead in the eighth inning, and Trevor Hoffman then fastened the 3-2 win before 43,726.
The Dodgers, who won the series opener, were five outs from clinching their fourth series win against San Diego in four tries. But one out after Terrence Long's broken-bat single against Dreifort opened the eighth, the Padres tied it 2-2 on Mark Loretta's single and went ahead on Phil Nevin's infield single to third baseman Adrian Beltre.
Instead of falling 4½ games behind first-place L.A. going into today's series finale, the Padres drew to 2½ games in the NL West.
Their starting pitcher, Jake Peavy, 23, said it felt like a playoff win. "It was a very emotional game," he said after giving up two runs in 7 2/3 innings. "If ever there was a must win, that was tonight."
The Dodgers were 45-0 when leading after seven innings.
The Padres don't lose many of these games, largely because their elite relievers flourish in them. After Otsuka snuffed one threat and Hoffman retired all three Dodgers for his 29th save, San Diego improved to 16-2 in home games decided by one run.
"It's a fine line that we walk," Hoffman said of the bullpen's task. "It's a tightrope act in the sense that when we lose a lead in the ballgame, it has carried over into a funk. And the energy that's created by holding a lead and finishing it off is something that the whole team benefits from. I won't say it's our strong point because we do so many things well. But when it's successful, it can put positive energy toward other parts of our game."
Dreifort assumed the role previously held by Guillermo Mota, an eighth-inning ace who was traded to Florida on Friday. In years past, Padres bullpens faltered shortly after a setup reliever was dealt.
"As you look at that inning," manager Jim Tracy said, "we're not looking at one ball after another getting pounded off him."
The Dodgers went ahead 1-0 after Cesar Izturis tripled to lead off the game against Peavy.
Nevin doubled to open the second and, on a Jay Payton single with two out, scored the only run allowed by Kaz Ishii in 6 1/3 innings.
Ishii stunned Peavy with a home run, his first, that went deep into the right field seats, putting L.A. ahead 2-1 in the third.
"That was just a total lack of concentration," Peavy said. "It was stupid, for a lack of a better word."
Peavy said he knew he couldn't afford another lapse. His biggest out: a strikeout of Milton Bradley, the hero on Friday, with Izturis on third base and one out in the fifth.
The Dodgers returned to full strength yesterday after Friday's trade left them down three players. Among the three newcomers was Steve Finley, obtained yesterday from Arizona. In recent weeks, the Padres tried to trade for Finley, who led Arizona in home runs and has four Gold Gloves. But L.A. got the 39-year-old for the price of three minor leaguers.
"He's still very good," said Padres scout Ken Bracey, who recently studied Finley. "He hasn't changed. He's a streaky hitter. When he's hot, he can carry you. At 39, he can play center field. His knowledge and the natural ability he has, he's still an above-average center fielder."
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- While the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers have been busy in the trade market, San Diego pretty much stood pat.
And that's just fine by the Padres.
"We have a great clubhouse, a great group of guys," said Phil Nevin, who called Padres general manager Kevin Towers on Saturday to thank him for not making a major trade.
Nevin's infield single drove in the go-ahead run in a two-run eighth inning to give San Diego a 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Saturday night.
The emotional victory seemed to also signal a moral victory in the Padres' clubhouse.
"Our team didn't need to be disrupted," Nevin said. "I think we have too good of a group down here. I'm not saying that we're going to win it, but I like the guys we have."
Towers was booed during a pregame ceremony, which did not sit well with Nevin.
"The fans booing him before the game, that wasn't right," Nevin said. "At the end of the year, they're going to be cheering him."
Towers was only able to pull off two minor deals before Saturday's trading deadline. The only addition to the Padres' major league roster was bringing in Dave Hansen, a utility player and pinch hitter, from Seattle.
Jay Payton and Mark Loretta also had RBI for the Padres, who overcame a home run by Dodgers starting pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii and pulled within 2½ games of Los Angeles.
Akinori Otsuka (6-2) got the final out of the eighth inning for the win, and Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth for his 29th save in 32 chances.
The Dodgers were 45-0 in games they've led after seven innings before San Diego's comeback.
"My emotions were going crazy," Padres starting pitcher Jake Peavy said. "It was a very emotional game. It was a must-win, one we couldn't give up. It was fun to be a part of, a total team effort. This team has such character. We have good chemistry rolling. I will take the 25 guys we have in this clubhouse."
Terrence Long led off the eighth with a single off Darren Dreifort and moved to second on Khalil Greene's sacrifice. Pinch-hitter Sean Burroughs walked and Loretta followed with a single to center to tie it. Burroughs took third base on center fielder Milton Bradley's error.
Nevin then hit a slow roller up the third-base line that scored Burroughs when third baseman Adrian Beltre was unable to field it, putting San Diego ahead 3-2.
"The first two pitches (from Dreifort), I was looking for and I didn't do anything with them," Nevin said. "The last one, I just got a piece of it."
Dreifort (1-2) allowed two runs on three hits with two walks in one inning.
"We were ready to bring (closer Eric) Gagne in, even with the runner at second base," Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. "But with five outs at the end of July and two months to go, that was too much of a reach."
The Dodgers wasted a strong outing by Ishii, who allowed four hits over 6 1-3 innings -- and hit his first career homer.
"I've been feeling a little more confident with my batting," said Ishii, who had two singles in his last start at Colorado.
Ishii struck out seven and walked three before he left with runners on first and second. Giovanni Carrara relieved and got Ramon Hernandez to hit into an inning-ending double play on a comebacker to the mound on the first pitch.
Ishii's home run was his first in 121 at-bats. He came in hitting only .135 (4-for-35), but hit an 0-1 fastball from Peavy a few rows deep into the right-field seats.
It was one of the few mistakes made by Peavy, who allowed two runs and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings as the Padres beat the Dodgers for only the fourth time in 11 games this season.
Peavy left after giving up Shawn Green's two-out double in the eighth, but Otsuka came in and struck out Hee Seop Choi.
Choi started in his first game with the Dodgers after being part of Friday's six-player trade with the Florida Marlins.
Los Angeles got on the board early with a leadoff single by Cesar Izturis in the first inning, followed by Jayson Werth's run-scoring single.
The Padres tied it in the second on Payton's two-out single that scored Nevin, who doubled.
Game notes
Tracy said he didn't want to use newly acquired Steve Finley because he wasn't
warmed up. "If he went out and pulled a hamstring, you'd kill yourself,"
Tracy said. ... Peavy has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 14 of his 15
starts. ... The Dodgers have homered in 22 of 24 games, and have 123 this
season -- already just one shy of last year's total.