This Victory Is Grade-Eh

You might want to frame that ticket stub, or at least stash it in your wallet, to prove you were here on Sunday. October is not yet on the Dodgers’ schedule, but something magical is happening around Dodger Stadium, and this evening might be remembered as the most magical in a memorable summer.

Greg Maddux, the four-time Cy Young Award winner, nearly threw a no-hitter for the home team. Barry Bonds, the seven-time most valuable player, nearly beheaded him.

And yet, in an unpredictable moment that triggered a wild celebration on the field and in the stands, the star of stars was a Canadian kid 11 months removed from double A.

Russell Martin hit a walkoff home run in the 10th inning, lifting the Dodgers to a 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants, and a three-game sweep of their traditional rivals. The first-place Dodgers won for the 15th time in 16 games, matching the best stretch since the club moved from Brooklyn. The other L.A. teams that went 15-1 went to the World Series, in 1965 and 1977.

Maddux gave up singles to two of the first three batters, then retired the next 22, all for no decision. He left after eight innings, giving him a prime seat when Martin led off the 10th against San Francisco reliever Vinnie Chulk.

The first pitch was a slider, a ball. The second pitch was another slider, over the plate, hit deep to left field. Martin dropped his bat, raised his right arm, and headed toward first base. He raised his right arm again, then paused in horror as left fielder Todd Linden faded to the wall.

The ball cleared the wall, by a foot or two. Martin pumped his arm toward the sky, again and again. His teammates hopped, skipped and jumped toward home plate.

As he approached the plate, and the waiting mob, Martin tossed his helmet aside, then disappeared into a sea of blue. And the first player out of the dugout and rushing toward the plate was Julio Lugo, an everyday shortstop in Tampa Bay and a reluctant utilityman here.

He’s not crazy about his role, but he could get used to this pennant race stuff.

“Coming in here and seeing 50,000 people in the stands, your mind-set is totally different,” he said. “It’s like MasterCard -- priceless.”

Once his teammates let him out of their grasp, Martin gave a television interview and a curtain call, then headed toward the clubhouse. A team official intercepted him and redirected him to the owner’s box, where Frank McCourt extended a hug and a high-five.

When Martin finally got back into the clubhouse, he sounded almost sheepish about the fist pumps that accompanied his first major league walkoff home run.

“It’s not cool,” he said. “I had to do it. Everybody fist pumps. I didn’t purposely do it. Maybe I should start something new. Everybody does a fist pump now.”

For the Dodgers this was a game worth celebrating, by whatever means. In the first inning, with two on and one out, Bonds stepped to the plate, the first time a 300-win pitcher had faced a 700-homer hitter.

“It’s always an honor to face the best, good or bad,” Maddux said. “At least you’ll have a bar story to talk about.”

Bonds hit a liner straight back toward Maddux, but the 15-time Gold Glove winner speared the drive and turned it into a double play. Maddux was perfect thereafter, leaving Manager Grady Little to explain why he removed him for a pinch-hitter after eight innings and just 68 pitches, with the score tied.

“When he goes out there and goes to pitch an inning eight times, that’s a lot to ask,” Little said. “The guy is 40 years old, and he just pitched eight innings.”

Said Maddux: “You’ve got to do what you can to score. Hitting for a pitcher is usually a good chance to do that.”

The Giants’ Jason Schmidt matched Maddux with eight scoreless innings, scattering five hits.

In his first start after the Dodgers acquired him from the Chicago Cubs, Maddux threw six no-hit innings, then left after a rain delay. So, in his first three starts for the Dodgers, he has nearly thrown two no-hitters.

The fans rewarded him with a standing ovation after the eighth inning, without any prompting from the scoreboard and before pinch-hitter James Loney appeared on deck. And, in this magical summer, the fans even stuck around.

“Sticking with it for nine innings of zeroes,” second baseman Jeff Kent said, “was pretty cool.”

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Command performer

A look at Greg Maddux’s three starts with the Dodgers:

*--* DATE SCORE IP H ER BB SO NP DEC. ERA Aug. 3 Dodgers 3, at Cin. 0 6 0 0 3 3 72 W 0.00 Aug. 8 at Dodgers 4, Col. 2 6 7 2 1 2 81 ND 3.00 Aug. 13 at Dodgers 1, S.F. 0 8 2 0 0 4 68 ND 0.00 TOTALS 20 9 2 4 9 221 1-0 0.90

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Los Angeles Times