| September 26, 2003 |
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| Los Angeles |
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| San Francisco |
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WP K. Rueter (10-5) 5IP 3H 1R 1ER 0BB 1SO 0HR 4.47 ERA
LP K. Ishii (9-7) 4IP 8H 7R 7ER 4BB 2SO 2HR 3.86 ERA
It was a battle of lefties as the Dodgers sent Kazuhisa Ishii to the
mound, who has been struggling lately, including his last start against
the Giants. The Giants counter with Kirk Rueter, who was seeking his
tenth win of the season in his final tune-up before the playoffs.
Ishii continued to struggle against the Giants as he gave up a lead off
double to Ray Durham. He walked Marquis Grissom on a full count, which
brought Rich Aurilia to the plate. After being called for a balk, Ishii
laid a low fastball over the plate where Aurilia crushed his thirteenth
hot potato of the season into left field.
Ishii was not able to get the Giants out as Barry Bonds singled to
right field, but Edgardo Alfonzo flied out to shallow center to become
the first retired hitter of the inning. Benito Santiago lined over the
head of left fielder, Jeromy Burnitz, for a double, bringing Bonds to
third. Andres Galarraga was called out on strikes and Jose Cruz, Jr.
drew a walk to load the bases, but Rueter grounded out to finally end
the inning, after Ishii made 42 pitches.
The Giants added more to the scoreboard as Alfonzo reached base when
his blooper fell between Shawn Green and Dave Roberts. Santiago drew a
walk, and Galarraga struck out again. Cruz coaxed another walk to load
the bases again, and Rueter grounded into a fielder’s choice as Alfonzo
was out at the plate. With the bases still loaded and two outs, things
were beginning to look frustrating again for the Giants.
Durham gave them a sigh of relief as he smoked a ball to center field
where he did not miss a grand slam by much. A fan appeared to have
interfered with the ball, and if the fan had not touched the ball, it
would have been gone. Nonetheless, Durham had a triple and three RBIs.
On the other side, Rueter was sailing along and retired the first 10
batters he faced. No Dodger had reached base until the fourth inning
when Jolbert Cabrera had an infield single, but was able to take second
base on a throwing error by Aurilia that was not held by Galarraga at
first.
Green singled through the left field hole, and Cabrera challenged
Bonds’ throwing arm as he raced for the plate. Bonds’ throw was wide
and the Dodgers scored their first run. Adrian Beltre singled to center
field and Green took third base, but Ron Coomer promptly hit into a
6-4-
3 double play to end the inning.
Bonds single-handedly got that run back for the Giants as he bolted his
45th season shot to right-center field over death valley. This was his
658th career roundtripper, which brings him only two away from Willie
Mays’ 660.
The Giants continued to add to their lead as Galarraga singled in the
fifth. Rueter reached on an error by Cabrera that could have been a
potential double play, and Durham doubled to drive in Galarraga.
Grissom singled up the middle to bring in Rueter and Durham as the 9th
and 10th runs for the Giants in the game. Aurilia grounded into a
comebacker and was out at first on a very close play, but the call
stayed and it ended the inning.
Leaving with a 10-1 lead, Rueter gave the ball to Jim Brower in the
sixth, who was struggling a bit with his command, but managed to get
out of the inning without any damage. Brower gave up two singles to
begin the seventh inning, but struck out the next two batters and got a
ground ball out to keep the Dodgers from inducing anymore damage.
Scott Eyre took over in the eighth and gave up the Dodgers’ first extra
base hit of the night. After his double, Cabrera tried to take third
base on a grounder hit to short by Mike Kinkade, but was tagged out on
the throw by Aurilia to Pedro Feliz, who came into the game in place of
Alfonzo.
Rookie Noah Lowry finished the game for the Giants and pitched a
scoreless inning in the ninth.
Game Notes: Jose Cruz, Jr. drew his 100th walk in the third inning...
With his homerun and single, Rich Aurilia is only one hit away from
1,000 career hits... The Giants are 19-8 in Kirk Rueter’s starts this
season... Pinch hitter Tony Torcato received his first major league
beam ball in the seventh... The Florida Marlins have clinched the Wild
Card and will be at Pac Bell Park to face the Giants on Tuesday for
Game One of the playoffs... The Dodgers were eliminated from the Wild
Card race before coming to San Francisco... Marquis Grissom was
presented with the Willie Mac Award in a pre-game ceremony.
Players of the Game: This was an explosive offensive night for the
Giants, but the pitching could not go unnoticed. This was a great tune-
up for Kirk Rueter, who looks like he’s ready to pitch in the playoffs,
and Noah Lowry had a solid outing out of the bullpen, proving to be a
great prospect for the Giants. Ray Durham had a great day with three
extra base hits and four RBIs. Marquis Grissom, after receiving the
Willie Mac Award, had a great night also, scoring one run and
collecting two RBIs. Rich Aurilia put the Giants ahead in the first
with a three-run jack, and again, we must mention Mr. Barry Bonds, who
is only two away from #660.
Sara Kwan was born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area. She
currently writes game recaps, other articles, and is the Giant Prophet for
SFDugout.com. Any comments or questions about the article, baseball, or the
meaning of life can be sent to Sara at kwanchino@alpha-q.net
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