Monday, August 26, 2002
Braves 7, Dodgers 5
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Chipper Jones patiently waited for Kazuhisa Ishii to throw him a pitch he could drive. After Ishii walked two batters, Jones hit a three-run homer, and the Atlanta Braves went on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 Sunday night.
“I'm a guy that's always aggressive. And if he throws something over the plate that I'm looking for, I'm going after it,” said Jones, who hit a 2-2 pitch to left field for his 22nd homer and 11th in 25 games. “In that situation with two strikes, the curveball is his best pitch. So, if he gets it up, you have to make him pay for it. And he got it up.”
The Dodgers lost for just the fourth time in 17 games. Their lead in the wild-card race fell to 3 1/2 game over San Francisco, who beat Montreal 8-4.
Javy Lopez also homered during the Braves' five-run first. Mark DeRosa went 3-for-4 with a two-run triple, helping the NL East-leading Braves beat the Dodgers for only the third time in 12 meetings and avoid a three-game sweep. Atlanta has yet to be swept this season.
“You never want to get swept, especially against a team you might face in October,” Jones said.
Damian Moss (7-5) got the win despite allowing five runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. The left-hander, who came in holding opponents to an NL-best .200 batting average, gave up singles to his first two batters after plate umpire Joe West ordered him to get a different fielder's glove.
West determined that Moss was using a two-toned glove, which is against the rules. But the rookie explained that the glove was one color, and that the laces were black. So he changed to the glove he used in his other 22 starts — one with frayed laces that made him feel like he was tipping his changeup.
“That's the umpire's discretion,” Moss said. “If he thinks it's a two-toned glove, it's a two-toned glove. I'm not going to gripe about it. I've been pitching with the other glove the whole year, so it didn't bother me. I'll just get it re-laced.”
John Smoltz got three outs for his major league-leading 45th save in 49 chances.
Ishii (13-9) had his shortest outing in 26 big league starts, throwing 38 pitches and getting only three outs while surrendering Jones' homer and a two-run shot by Lopez.
Ishii allowed four hits and two walks, increasing his major league-leading total to 100. During his 10 seasons with the Yakult Swallows, the only time the left-hander had more than 77 walks was 1998 (105).
“I made a really conscious effort to start off strong, but it just didn't work out that way,” Ishii said through an interpreter. “The results weren't what I expected. Maybe I was trying too hard.”
The Dodgers nearly got Ishii off the hook in the second inning, parlaying three doubles, Eric Karros' infield hit and a fielding error by shortstop Rafael Furcal into four runs.
Mike Kinkade and Marquis Grissom had RBI doubles, Karros scored when Furcal botched a potential double-play grounder by Jolbert Cabrera, and Kinkade came home on a groundout by Cesar Izturis.
Kevin Brown, in his third relief appearance since undergoing back surgery on June 11, took over for Ishii and struck out five of his first six batters. But he walked two in the third inning and both runners scored on DeRosa's two-out triple to center, giving the Braves a 7-4 lead.
Dodgers manager Jim Tracy wouldn't bite when the subject of Brown's imminent return to the rotation came up, but Ishii can certainly hear footsteps after going 2-7 in his last 12 starts with a 5.43 ERA and 46 walks in 61 1-3 innings.
“Going to the bullpen is not really my decision,” said Ishii, who leads the staff in victories. “It's just important for me to pitch in my best condition, and that's what I want to concentrate on.”
The Dodgers got a run closer in the bottom half when Adrian Beltre led off with a double, advanced on a passed ball by Lopez and scored on a groundout by Karros.
Right fielder Gary Sheffield, 2-for-9 with five walks and an RBI in his first series at Dodger Stadium since being traded to Atlanta on Jan. 15, played Izturis' short flyball into a triple with two outs in the fourth. But it didn't cost the Braves, as Grissom grounded out.
Notes: The series drew a combined crowd of 154,859, breaking the previous high for a three-game set with the Braves at Dodger Stadium. They drew 148,223 in September 1991. ... All five of Sheffield's walks in the series came on 3-2 counts. ... Brown had nine strikeouts over four innings, allowing two runs and four hits. ... Ishii has allowed 18 homers, equaling the career-high total he gave up last year with the Swallows. ... DeRosa's three-hit game was the fourth of his career and first since July 25, 2001, against Cincinnati.
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Braves 7, Dodgers 5
