With bad stomach, Ethier shows his heart
SAN DIEGO -- christian louboutin shoes Teammates were quick to congratulate Andre Ethier on his two-run pinch-hit single Tuesday night and even quicker to get to the hand sanitizer. Ethier was a late scratch from the starting lineup with a sour stomach, the third Dodgers player stricken in the past week, sacs en cuir but he recovered enough to make the difference in a 2-0 win over the first-place Padres. "I just sac blanc said, 'Good job, dude,' but I'm not going near him -- that dude is sick," said outfielder Matt Kemp. "He's a clutch hitter. He came through when we needed him today. That's what he does, man." Ethier and whatever contagion he had were sent back to the team hotel before reporters arrived in the clubhouse. "He tried to play," said manager Joe Torre. "He was in and out of this thing. I explained to him, with us shorthanded [13 pitchers, four bench players], I didn't want him starting and having to come out in the fifth inning. We're really hamstrung. I'd rather sac noir save him for a spot, and it couldn't be a more perfect spot. It worked great." Ethier was batting in the seventh inning for Chad Billingsley (9-5), who followed up last week's sac shopping complete-game shutout against the Mets with six more scoreless innings on three hits, outdueling former teammate Jon Garland. The Dodgers have won five of their past six (four of them shutouts)
with their starters allowing one earned run in 43 innings. "Guysfeed off each other," said Billingsley, 10-4 lifetime against San Diego. "Hitting'scontagious. Pitching's contagious. It's kind chaussures hommes of fun." Torre went with his new late-inning formula, using lefty Hong-Chih Kuo for two overpowering innings (five consecutive strikeouts), so Jonathan Broxton, who had the stomach bug a week ago, was needed for only a three-out save (his 20th) as Torre stayed away from rookie Kenley Jansen. The game was the first in a crucial 10-game stretch with seven against the Padres, who were something of a novelty atop the division when the Dodgers swept a three-game series at PETCO Park in May but have demonstrated unexpected staying power. The Dodgers, who Torre said have "underachieved" so far, are 5-1 against San Diego and 25-8 against the National League chaussures requin West. The winning rally started with two outs in the seventh. Blake DeWitt singled and hustled to third on a single by Garret Anderson, who started for Ethier. Padres manager Bud Black decided requin chaussures to walk Russell Martin (4-for-7 against Garland) intentionally to load the bases. Black said it was worth bringing up Ethier (3-for-7 against Garland) to get Billingsley out of the game for a pinch-hitter. Ethier rifled a 1-1 pitch up the middle. "Billingsley is pitching great, and he and Jon are in a duel," said Black. "We forced them to make a move. Jon had to get one out. You take a calculated risk that Jon can get that out. I thought it was Jon's game. He was throwing the ball really well." Said Torre: "I'm sure with Garland out there, he determines his own fate. I can understand that. Probably why that didn't surprise me." Both Rose of Sharon starters had to escape hairy jams to keep the game scoreless that long. With no outs in the fourth inning, Adrian Gonzalez defeated the defensive shift with a single to left, Chase Headley lined a single past Billingsley and Yorvit Torrealba loaded the bases with a bouncer back to the box that Billingsley was only able to deflect. THH
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