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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
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| Sheffield |
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kevin Brown didn't let a line drive off a leg
stop him from beating the Florida Marlins.
Brown didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning and won his
fifth straight start as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated Florida
1-0 Monday night behind Gary Sheffield's sixth-inning homer.
Once again, Brown had to overcome a physical hardship to get the
job done.
In the fourth inning, Cliff Floyd smoked him with a line drive.
But Brown scrambled after the ball and threw out Floyd before
striking out his next three batters.
Brown started the season on the disabled list because of a
strained right Achilles' tendon. He also left one of his starts
with a strained lower back.
"If someone wants to take the bull's-eye off of me, they can
have it," said Brown, who did not win more than four consecutive
decisions last season, going 13-6 in 33 starts with a
league-leading 2.58 ERA.
Brown (5-1) allowed two hits in eight innings and lowered his
ERA to 1.31, taking over the NL lead from Chicago's Julian Tavarez.
Brown struck out 10, reaching double digits for the first time this
season, the 22nd time in his career.
Brown walked his first batter and did not allow another runner
until two outs in the sixth, when Luis Castillo bounced one over
the mound and beat the hurried sidearm throw from second baseman
Mark Grudzielanek. Castillo led the majors last season with 59
infield hits.
Alex Gonzalez got the Marlins' other hit, a single to center
with two outs in the eighth.
Jeff Shaw pitched a perfect ninth and took over the NL saves
lead with his 10th in 11 chances.
A.J. Burnett (0-1) gave up just three hits in six innings but
walked five. The right-hander, who struck out seven, was sidelined
since the first week of spring training because of a stress
fracture in his left foot. Before Sheffield's ninth homer, Burnett
held the NL West leaders to a pair of singles by Tom Goodwin.
"It was a tight game and the guy across the way was pitching a
good game, so you had to limit your mistakes," Brown said. "You
have to give A.J. credit. Sheff just took advantage of one of his
mistakes."
Burnett escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third by retiring Eric
Karros on a called third strike after walking the previous two
batters. He also issued consecutive walks opening the second, but
Chad Kreuter grounded into a double play and Alex Cora struck out.
"It was fun," Burnett said. "I really enjoyed watching Kevin
Brown pitch. I just tried to keep my guys in the game. I was
anxious to be out there and I got erratic at times. But I was able
to correct myself when I needed to.
"I had a good feel for the curveball tonight," Burnett said.
"When you have confidence in your pitches, you can throw them at
any time. I had trouble finding my release point, but I battled."
Game notes
Sheffield also homered for the only run in the Dodgers'
opening-day victory over Milwaukee. ... Florida 3B Mike Lowell did
not start for the second straight game, after getting hit on the
left arm by a pitch from Milwaukee's Mark Leiter on Saturday night.
He pinch hit in the eighth and struck out. ... Los Angeles 3B
Adrian Beltre may return from the disabled list as early as next
Saturday night against Atlanta. His season has been delayed because
of a botched operation on Jan. 12 in the Dominican Republic to
repair a ruptured appendix. ... The Marlins made room for Burnett
by optioning rookie reliever Joe Strong to Triple-A Calgary. ...
Burnett made an errant throw trying to pick off Goodwin at first
base, the first error this season by a Marlins pitcher. The team
entered with 14 errors, the second-fewest in the majors behind
Milwaukee's 13.
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RECAPS
Chi. White Sox 7
Texas 4
Philadelphia 5
Houston 0
Chicago Cubs 7
Milwaukee 6
St. Louis 7
Pittsburgh 0
NY Mets 10
Colorado 9
Cincinnati 5
Arizona 4
Los Angeles 1
Florida 0
San Francisco 6
Montreal 2
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