It’s a Sudden Loss for Penny
Brad Penny’s outing was like a spring drive through the Midwest, pleasantly uneventful except for a brief spate of hair-raising weather that spoiled the evening.
The Arizona Diamondbacks unleashed a hailstorm of hits in the second inning against the Dodger right-hander, producing all their runs in a 3-2 victory Monday at Chase Field.
Problems are mounting for the Dodgers, who fell to 2-9 in one-run games. Outfielder Ricky Ledee will be placed on the disabled list today because he strained his left groin on a check swing in the sixth inning. His replacement, Andre Ethier, will make his major league debut today as the starting left fielder.
Ethier, acquired in the off-season trade that sent Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez to the Oakland Athletics, was batting .349 with one home run and 12 runs batted for triple-A Las Vegas. He was promoted ahead of right-handed hitting outfielder Joel Guzman, who is batting .323 with five home runs and 20 RBIs.
“Andre is a left-handed hitter who has played very well,” General Manager Ned Colletti said. “When opportunity knocks, there’s usually somebody standing at the door, and he’s the guy.”
The Diamondbacks crashed down the door in the second inning. The last six batters in the lineup reached base on three doubles, two singles and a walk. None of the hits were cheap and the one that drove in the third run was by pitcher Claudio Vargas.
Penny couldn’t command his split-finger pitch, leaving him unable to change speeds effectively.
“I didn’t have it at all,” he said of the splitter. “I was lucky not to give up more runs. Guys made good plays behind me.”
Despite not striking out a batter, Penny was solid before and after the barrage, as were new bullpen additions Joe Beimel and Jonathan Broxton, who each pitched a scoreless inning.
“Brad really showed me something,” Manager Grady Little said. “He went through a stretch where he was operating without all his artillery and he battled.”
The Dodgers needed firepower on offense as well. They managed only one earned run and were somnolent after the second inning. Their best opportunity was extinguished on a home-to-first double play on a comebacker by Sandy Alomar Jr. with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth.
Olmedo Saenz doubled with two out in the ninth against closer Jose Valverde, but Jason Repko’s drive up the middle was gobbled up on one hop by shortstop Craig Counsell.
That wasn’t the best play made by the Diamondbacks, however. Right fielder Shawn Green took a home run away from J.D. Drew with a runner on base and two out in the third.
“That balls goes out and we get a lead and who knows what happens,” Drew said.
Green has this last laugh thing down pat. Traded by the Dodgers before last season, he homered and made a pivotal diving catch in a Diamondback victory when he returned to Dodger Stadium less than a month into the season.
He was at it again Monday. Green dropped Kenny Lofton’s fly ball in the first inning for a three-base error that led to a Dodger run. But he doubled to drive in a run and scored during the three-run second inning, then made the big catch on Drew’s drive, bracing himself against the fence, leaping and doing a pirouette after the ball hit his glove.
Several Dodger hitters are struggling, and Green’s catch seemed to signal that the scoreboard would be filled with only zeroes thereafter. Among those slumping are cleanup hitter Jeff Kent (.186) and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal (.200).
The run in the first inning was a gift, with Lofton scoring on a groundout by Drew after reaching third on Green’s error. Nomar Garciaparra doubled to open the second and scored on Alomar’s single.
“A couple of guys are really struggling,” Little said. “But they aren’t going to be hitting .190 and .200 all season. They know that and we know that. We will just be happy when they get started.”
