Dodgers sweep Friars

Game One: 2004 Dodgers (0-0) at 1978 Padres (0-0)

The reigning champion Dodgers opened their KOD14 season at the 78 Padres. With the Dodgers relying on power and hoping to give Eric Gagne a chance to save games late, they were not expecting a strong performance by Jeff Weaver.  However, Weaver threw a complete game, spreading 5 hits and 1 run, while striking out 4 Padres.  The Padres scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the 4^th as Gene Richards opened the inning with a double and two batters later, Dave Winfield brought him home with an RBI single.  Gaylord Perry held the Dodgers scoreless until the 6^th inning when he gave up a solo homerun to Jayson Werth.  The Dodgers then exploded for three more runs in the 7^th inning as Jeff Weaver reached base on error, Cesar Izturis bunted him to second with a sacrifice. Joey Cora lined for the second out, but Perry began to struggle. A single by Adrian Beltre made it 2-1 with Weaver coming in. Then Shawn Green hit a 2 run homer to bring the score to 4-1, Los Angeles.  Weaver faced only 10 batters over the final 3 innings to record his first win.

Game MVP: Jeff Weaver (LAD) 9IP, 1ER, 5 hits

Game Two: 2004 Dodgers (1-0) at 1978 Padres (0-1)

Odalis Perez faced off against Randy Jones in game two of the series. San Diego struck quickly and hard, scoring 1 run in the second as Fernando Gonzalez picked up his first RBI of the season. And then in the 3^rd, Dave Roberts opened with a single, Randy Jones sacrificed him to second on a bunt, Gene Richards hit a deep triple to make the score 2-0. The Perez walked Ozzie Smith, and Oscar Gamble hit the Padres' second triple of the inning, bringing Richards and Smith in to score. Dave Winfield then singled to center allowing Gamble to score.

And the Padres had a commanding 5-0 lead after 3. There was no noise until the 6^th inning – and when the Dodgers make noise, they are capable of making big noise. With 1 out, Jayson Werth doubled, and Joey Cora doubled him home. Shawn Green struck out and it looked like Jones was going to get out of the inning. But Paul LoDuca singled, Juan Encarnacion singled, Olmedo Saenz reached on an error, Izturis sigled, Milton Bradley doubled and Adrian Beltre singled. However Bradley was thrown out at home, ending the 6^th inning with the Dodgers taking a 6-5 lead. The Padres answered quickly with a run in the bottom of the 6^th to tie the game at 6 as Bill Almon picked up an RBI single. But just to show that they could, the Dodgers responded in the top of the 7^th, with LoDuca picking up his second RBI of the game on a single to left center. The Dodgers held on to their 7-6 lead and Eric Gagne picked up his first save of the season, although he faced 5 batters in the 9^th to make it interesting.
Game MVP: Dave Winfield (SAN) 5ABs, 1 2B, 4 hits, 2 runs scored, 1RBI

Game Three: 1978 Padres (0-2) at 2004 Dodgers (2-0)

The Dodgers once again had a starting pitcher perform well above expectations in this game. Kazuhisa Ishii went 7.2 innings before leaving the game with a blister. He faced only 28 batters giving up 3 hits and striking out 5.  The Dodgers did not have a lot of power today, but they had enough. In the second inning Paul LoDuca picked up an RBI singling home Werth. And then in the 8^th inning Jayson Werth hit a solo homerun to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. The Padres made the game interesting in the top of the 9^th as Gene Tenace hit a solo homerun off of Duaner Sanchez, but that was the only run they scored. And the Dodgers improved to 3-0 with a 2-1 victory. 

Game MVP: Kazuhisa Ishii (LAD) 7.2 IP, 3 hits allowed, 3 walks, 5 Ks

Game Four: 1978 Padres (0-3) at 2004 Dodgers (3-0)

Game Four saw another offensive explosion with the Padres and Dodgers combining for 15 runs. The Padres opened the scoring in the first on an RBI single by Gene Tenace. The Dodgers answered right back in the bottom of the first with Jose Hernandez hitting a 2-run HR. The Dodgers expanded their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the 2^nd as Paul LoDuca hit a solo homerun.  And in the bottom of the third, the Dodgers took a 3 run lead as Joey Cora brought in Izturis who lead off the inning with a triple. The Padres' bats woke up in the top of the 4^th as Tucker Ashford closed the gap to 4-3 with a 2 run homerun, bringing Tenace around to score. The bats stayed silent until the 7^th when the Padres erupted for 4 runs, including a two run homer by Dave Winfield followed by a solo homer by Gene Tenace. The Padres felt good going in to the bottom of the 8^th with a 7-4 lead. But Eric Rasmussen ran out of gas. Izturis lead off with a double, Cora singled, and Beltre singled to make the score 7-5. Rasmussen calmed down and got Jose Hernandez to strike out, and Shawn Green to fly out allowing Cora to score. With a 7-6 lead and 2 outs, Rasmussen claimed he had enough left to finish the inning. But Werth singled, Encarnacion singled, and LoDuca singled, giving the Dodgers an 8-7 lead. Clearly frustrated the Padres seemingly went on strike in the top of the 9^th as Smith and Gamble both tried to bunt their way to safety. And then perhaps the most curious call of this young season, power hitter Dave Winfield tried to bunt. He struck out and the game and series ended with a Dodgers sweep.

Game MVP:Paul LoDuca (LAD) 2 hits, 2 RBIs (GWRBI)

--submitted by Keith MacDonald--