Dodgers Swing Back in NLCS
Posted on: Monday, 13 October 2008, 07:00 CDT
By Bob Nightengale
LOS ANGELES -- They might play in the land of the cool and hip, but the Los Angeles Dodgers showed Sunday night they have a little bully in them, too.
The Dodgers smacked the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, then flaunted their bravado with an old-fashioned purpose pitch. The Phillies lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled tonight, but the Dodgers let them know they will not be intimidated.
"Sometimes you need to make a statement," said Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, who was hit twice Sunday. "We got that done. We are not going to be pushed around."
The Dodgers, angry for not retaliating in Game 2 in Philadelphia after three brush-back pitches, took care of business early. They scored five runs in the first inning, capped by Blake DeWitt's three-run triple. They knocked out Phillies starter Jamie Moyer with one out in the second, his shortest outing since July 4, 1998.
Then, in the third inning, came the message. Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda threw behind the head of center fielder Shane Victorino. Victorino shouted at Kuroda, and, according to Martin, complained that any retaliation pitches should be directed at his ribs and not his head. When Victorino ended the inning with a groundout to first, Kuroda and Victorino started yelling at each other. The benches and bullpens emptied, and Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez had to be restrained.
"I was mad at myself," said Ramirez, brushed back in Game 2, "because of the thing that happened in Philadelphia. ... We didn't take care of it."
There were no punches or shoves. Phillies reliever J.C. Romero, who yelled at Ramirez, said he simply wanted to calm him. "Everybody is happy," Romero said. "It's good for ratings."
(c) Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Source: USA TODAY
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