Dodgers calm in eye of the storm, downing Padres 3-2
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Before the game, a relaxed Tom Schieffer, MLB’s monitor of the Dodgers’ baseball operations, sat in the stands and chatted up a few members of the media, while upstairs owner Frank McCourt’s unexpected traveling media show finally landed in Los Angeles.
McCourt conducted a series of mostly scheduled interviews. Later during the game, a desperate-looking McCourt went into the right-field pavilion to visit with fans. Later he returned to his regular box seat.
Uncertainty and chaos surrounded the Dodgers, but on the field all was comparative calm. And based on recent history, very familiar.
The Dodgers knocked off the San Diego Padres, 3-2, on Friday night behind some solid defense and solo home runs from Juan Uribe and Matt Kemp, as Andre Ethier doubled to extend his career-high hitting streak to 25 games.
That tied him with Steve Sax, Paul Lo Duca and Willie Davis for the second-longest hitting streak in Dodgers history. Davis also holds the record at 31 games, set in 1969.
Ted Lilly, rocked by the Cubs in his last start, had little trouble with the light-hitting Padres (team batting average .208). Lilly (2-2) went six innings, allowing one run on five hits and a walk. He struck out four.
Jonathan Broxton and his ‘barky’ elbow was once again shaky, giving up a run in the bottom of the ninth, before finally stranding runners on the corners to record his sixth save when Tony Gwynn Jr. made a diving, game-saving catch for the final out.
The Dodgers struck first, scoring a run in the bottom of the first after Jamey Carroll led off with a double against Clayton Richard. Carroll advanced to third on a Jerry Sands groundout and scored on an Ethier groundout.
The Padres got to Lilly for their only run in the third to tie the score. Chase Headley doubled, advanced to third on a Lilly balk and scored on Nick Hundley’s basehit.
It remained 1-1 until Uribe, starting his first game in a week after sitting out with a sore thigh, drilled his third home run of the season to center field.
Three innings later, Kemp hit his sixth home run of the year, this one off Ernesto Frieri. It was the first home run of the year given up by Frieri in 12 outings.
Kemp and Ethier also made a pair of diving catches in the seventh inning.
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-- Steve Dilbeck