Dodgers Pay Back Angels with Victories

Sparked by Jeff Weaver’s victory over his brother, Jared, and a timely pitcher, catcher, to first base double play, the Dodgers avenged a pair of losses last month to the Angels by winning two games of the teams’ three-game weekend series at Angel Stadium. LA captured 6-4 and 5-3 victories Saturday and Sunday after dropping the series opener, 5-4.

With the bases loaded and none out in the fifth inning of the series finale against Dodger starter Clayton Kershaw (4-5), the Angels seemed primed to overcome the 1-0 LA lead established in the top of the inning. However, Kershaw induced Bobby Abreu to hit a bouncer to the mound. Kershaw fielded it cleanly, tossed the ball to catcher Brad Ausmus for the force play at home, and Ausmus then fired to first to nip the speedy Abreu. With two out and runners on second and third, Torii Hunter popped up to retire the side. Ausmus visited Kershaw on the mound before Abreu came to the plate. “I just told him, “If it comes to you, come to me and we’ll get a double play,” the catcher said on Dodgers.com.“I didn’t actually think it would happen.” Kershaw’s toss to Ausmus was far from a sure thing considering the pitcher had thrown a sacrifice bunt attempt into center field trying to get a lead runner earlier in the inning. Juan Pierre was the offensive standout for the Dodgers, ripping two doubles and a single to pace a 12-hit attack against John Lackey (2-3 and Kevin Jepsen. Pierre also drove in three runs. Matt Kemp, Rafael Furcal, and Casey Blake each had two hits, and James Loney socked a two-run homer. The Dodgers were 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Jonathan Broxton earned his 17 th save despite allowing two runs and three hits in 1 1/3 innings to make the finish more exciting than Dodger fans would like.

In the eighth time brothers faced each other on the mound in major league history, Jeff Weaver (4-1) allowed two runs and six hits in 5-plus innings to outperform his more renowned younger brother. Ronald Belisario, Ramon Troncoso, and Broxton protected a 6-2 lead achieved mainly on a two-run triple by Andre Ethier, solo home run by Russell Martin, his first of the year, and additional RBI from Blake and Orlando Hudson. “You always want to see your brother do well,” Jeff Weaver said afterwards on the Dodger website. “It’s hard to put into words how I feel. Now, I’ll go upstairs, give him a big hug, and we’ll put all of this behind us. Mentally and physically, I’m exhausted. With a couple of days of buildup, once it’s all done, you kind of go flat. There was a lot of emotion both sides had to deal with.”

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Dodger Chatter: Broxton may be suffering the lingering effects of his sore toe. Against the Angels, he allowed four runs on four hits in 2 1/3 innings. What are the Dodgers going to do with Juan Pierre when Manny Ramirez returns? The speedy Pierre is hitting .337, with an on-base average of .392 and 17 stolen bases in 22 attempts. Ramirez is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment Tuesday at Albuquerque. Meanwhile, Eric Milton (back tightness) pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings Sunday for Class A Inland Empire and is expected to rejoin the rotation as soon as Friday. No rehab date has been set for Eric Stults, who still struggles with a sprained thumb. Rumor has it the Dodgers may soon claim veteran pitcher Jared Washburn from the minors.

By: Bob Trostler
Los Angeles Dodgers Correspondent

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