Just when you think the wild and wacky NL West had begun to define itself, the Los Angeles Dodgers had to go and upset the apple cart one more time last night. With several thousand fans already gone from Chez Ravine, Nomar Garciaparra capped off an incredible comeback as LA moved shockingly back into first place.
The Dodgers win 11-10 and hit seven homeruns, yet the Padres still found a way to emotionally recover and score in the 10th.
But on a night when Grady Littles charges would not be denied, leadoff batter Kenny Loften walked and Nomar followed with the unlikely blast. Those remaining from the capacity crowd of 55,831 at Dodger Stadium stood and cheered for several minutes afterward.
Garciaparra had to talk his way back into the lineup after not starting two games because of a strained left quad. Manager Grady Little relented. Things began to unravel for the Padres when JD Drew and Jeff Kent opened the 9th with dingers. San Diego then went to their ultimate stopper Trevor Hoffman who is just 3 saves shy of Lee Smiths major league record of 475.
No problem right? Wrong. Two pitches later, the score was tied, courtesy of Russell Martin and Marlon Anderson.
In a year where all 5 teams within the division, Colorado, Arizona, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, have all sat upon the perch at one time or another, why should we be surprised?
This week both, combatants from last night will play series against identical teams in Pittsburgh and Arizona. The tricky part will be the last week when both take to the road with San Diego in St. Louis and Arizona while the Dodgers go to Colorado and then close against hated rivals San Francisco. If you want to do some baseball betting at the sportsbooks, check out their odds first.
I look for the Dodgers with their big name players to get it done, although there will be more fireworks to come!
Bob Acton
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