News
Dodgers suffer first loss of '09
Offense goes hitless for final 5 2/3 innings against Padres
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
04/08/09 2:19 AM ET
SAN DIEGO -- Randy Wolf and Chris Young, Padres teammates last year, had dinner last week in Arizona before Spring Training camp broke.On Tuesday night, Young out-pitched Wolf and even singled off him in a 4-2 Padres comeback win over the Dodgers.
"He's not my friend anymore," Wolf said.
One night after besting legendary nemesis Jake Peavy, the Dodgers couldn't beat Young, who was 1-4 lifetime against them. The Dodgers scored only in a two-run fourth inning on doubles by Manny Ramirez (1-for-4 with a strikeout) and Russell Martin and a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Casey Blake for a 2-1 lead.
Young went six innings and three Padres relievers followed, with Heath Bell striking out the side in the ninth inning for his first save as San Diego's new closer and third career, leaving him only 549 saves behind San Diego predecessor Trevor Hoffman.
The Dodgers went hitless the final 5 2/3 innings after Matt Kemp's infield single preceded Blake's scoring fly. Despite only five hits total (two by Kemp), they stranded four runners in scoring position and let San Diego reliever Edwin Moreno, making his Major League debut, off the hook in the seventh inning when a pair of walks brought up Orlando Hudson with one out, followed by Ramirez.
Moreno fell behind both hitters, 3-1, but Hudson struck out and Ramirez popped out.
"We had Manny up there with first and second. I'll take my chances, even if it's once a game, with that stuff," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.
Wolf allowed a second-inning run on a triple by Kevin Kouzmanoff and double by Scott Hairston, the start of a stretch in which he allowed six of nine batters to reach base. He then retired eight consecutive batters leading into the decisive three-run sixth inning, when he allowed hits to the first three Padres batters and each scored.
Left-handed slugger Adrian Gonzalez led off with an opposite-field single that defeated the Dodgers' extreme defensive shift, requested by Wolf because of his familiarity with his former teammate.
"Larry [Bowa, the Dodgers coach who positions infielders] asked me yesterday if I wanted it," Wolf said. "Playing with Gonzo, I've watched him hit a lot of times and ground balls he pulls. His power is to left-center. You play the percentages. It's just the way it works sometimes. You pitch the way you normally pitch and let the chips fall where they may."
Wolf said he didn't think Gonzalez intentionally tried to defeat the defensive shift.
"He's good," Wolf said, "but I don't think he's that good. He did a decent job hitting that pitch, but I had him 1-2 and let him back in the count."
With shortstop Rafael Furcal playing on the right-field side of second base and third baseman Blake where Furcal normally plays, Gonzalez shot a sharp grounder that eluded Blake's dive to the backhand side. Kouzmanoff followed with a single and Chase Headley doubled them home pulling a breaking ball just over the third-base bag.
Headley tagged to third when Hudson made a twisting catch of his pop foul near the Dodgers bullpen for the first out. Luis Rodriguez's sacrifice fly off Guillermo Mota scored Headley with the insurance run.
Torre said if the shift lures the pull-minded Gonzalez to go the other way, at least it keeps him in the ballpark. He also said Gonzalez's ball would have been a single even if the Dodgers had deployed what would be a normal defense for the hitter, because Furcal would be shaded toward second base.
Rather than criticize the defensive alignment or umpire's strike zone, Wolf criticized himself.
"I fell behind in counts quite a bit and wasn't able to make the pitches," he said. "I've got to be better than that in situations with runners on. I just wasn't able to do that and they took advantage of it. I felt all right. One thing I needed to be was a little more aggressive. I was picking at the corners instead of making them hit the ball and got in trouble and my pitch count went up. I need to attack the plate."
Torre defended Wolf, who was charged with all four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
"We didn't give him a whole lot to work with," Torre said. "I thought overall he pitched well. Young pitched very well. He has us going out of the zone. He moved it around and we swung at bad pitches."
Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
