Thursday, June 28, 2007

Post-Game 79 Thread: Johnson Yanked Early (Dodgers 9, Snakes 5)

DODGERS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 5

The Dodgers got to Randy Johnson early and often Thursday evening in Arizona, starting with a two-run Russell Martin HR in the first and ending with two more runs in the third frame. Johnson exited before the bottom of the third having given up 6 H, 3 ER, and 69 pitches. Not a nice welcome back from his herniated disk-catalyzed respite.

Martin and Jeff Kent had two RBI each and Freed James Loney and Tony Abreu had one RBI each. Every starter except Luis Gonzalez got a hit, including Randy Wolf who went 2-for-4 from the plate and also pitched six innings of three-run ball (two runs of which were charged to Wolf but stimulated by Brett Tomko, who then calmed down to get out of the sixth inning).

Nomar Garciaparra took the day off. Wilson Betemit was a late-game substitute and came very close to hitting one out in deep center--still, he is batting sub-.200 on the year.

Takashi Saito came in for the save when Tomko was on fumes in the ninth. He now has 42 strikeouts and 3 walks on the year, for an impressive 14:1 ratio. That is crazy talk. Saito got the last two outs to preserve the victory.

The 3-1 series win over the Snakes gave the Dodgers a 6-4 roadtrip. Now they face the Padres, Braves, and Marlins at home in a 10-day, 10-game homestand. No rest for the weary! Especially with a first-place showdown on the line against the friars...

UPDATE 6/29 9.28a: I want to shout out to True Blue LA for a hilarious line about the game that I wish I had read beforehand:

I may be having a bad day. But at least my team isn't starting Augie Ojeda at short. Brings back memories of Augie Doggie from the Hanna-Barbera cartoons!

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