Wednesday, April 10, 2002
Nomo shuts out Bonds, Giants
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Hideo Nomo made up for the last time he faced Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants. Nomo pitched four-hit ball into the eighth inning, holding Bonds in check, as the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped San Francisco's six-game winning streak with a 3-0 victory Tuesday night.
In Nomo's last outing on April 3, he allowed four runs on six hits in three innings of a 12-0 loss. He gave up a three-run homer to Bonds.
“I threw a lot of pitches that were easy to hit,” Nomo said of his first start. “This game, I located the ball well and threw first-pitch strikes. In order to succeed you need to throw first-pitch strikes.”
Shawn Green homered for the Dodgers, who have won four straight after dropping their first three games of the season to the Giants at Dodger Stadium.
Nomo (1-1) struck out three and walked two in 7 2-3 innings. He is 6-0 with a 1.04 ERA against the Giants in San Francisco.
“I don't think you'll see Nomo have many bad starts,” Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said.
The Giants (6-1) had been the last unbeaten team in the majors. Their 6-0 start was their best since opening 7-0 in 1930. The franchise's best start was 9-0, set by the 1918 New York Giants.
Nomo didn't shy away from baseball's single-season home run leader Tuesday night, but didn't give him much to hit, either.
Bonds, who hit 73 home runs last season and leads the NL this year with five, singled in his first at-bat but grounded out in his next two trips against Nomo.
“I don't know,” Bonds said when asked about the difference between Nomo's starts. “He didn't fall behind a lot.”
In the eighth, Nomo gave up consecutive singles to Tsuyoshi Shinjo and David Bell with two outs. Left-hander Jesse Orosco came in to face Bonds — who again grounded out.
Bonds is 3-for-23 lifetime against Orosco.
“I wanted to keep the ball away and down,” Orosco said. “I'm not going to walk him intentionally, but I'll pitch him carefully. I kept my pitches in a good spot.
“The guy is dangerous. I know Barry loves the challenge. I do, too. It brings out the best in us.”
Eric Gagne pitched the ninth for his second save.
Russ Ortiz (1-1), who hit a two-run homer against the Dodgers in his first start of the season, allowed two runs on eight hits in seven innings.
The Dodgers made it 1-0 in the first. Cesar Izturis singled with one out, went to third on Paul Lo Duca's double and scored on Green's groundout. It would have been worse for the Giants if it weren't for Shinjo, whose spectacular diving catch of Brian Jordan's fly to center ended the inning.
The Giants came close to scoring in the fifth. Reggie Sanders walked and went to second one out later on Benito Santiago's single. With two outs, Ortiz walked to load the bases, but Shinjo grounded out to end the threat.
Dave Roberts added an RBI single to left-center in the seventh inning. Green hit a solo home run off Giants reliever Tim Worrell in the eighth.
Bonds has hit four of his homers this season against the Dodgers — a pair in each of the first two games. The only other player to open the season with a pair of two-homer games was Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews in 1958.
Bonds sat out Sunday's game with a sore left leg.
All-Star shortstop Rich Aurilia was out of San Francisco's lineup because of a left groin strain. Hitting .391 during the Giants' 6-0 start, Aurilia was injured while rounding first base Sunday on a double against the Padres.
Bell replaced Aurilia in the No. 2 spot ahead of Bonds, while Ramon Martinez, batting eighth, was in at shortstop.
Notes: The teams did not take batting practice and only a few players stretched because of a light rain falling steadily in the hours before the game. The tarp was removed from the field at Pacific Bell Park just a half-hour before the first pitch. ... Nomo made his major league debut against the Giants on May 2, 1995, at Candlestick Park. The Giants won 4-3 in 15 innings, but Nomo pitched five scoreless innings. ... Bonds was named the NL player of the week. ... Green's home run off Worrell ended a 12-inning scoreless streak by the Giants' bullpen.
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Nomo shuts out Bonds, Giants
