Recap: Los Angeles vs. San Diego
Sports Network | September 25, 2008
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Manny Ramirez blasted a two-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched a share of the NL West title with a 12-4 victory over the San Diego Padres.
Nomar Garciaparra also went deep and finished with two RBI for the Dodgers, whose magic number was reduced to one to win the division outright, thanks in part to Arizona's 4-2 loss at St. Louis earlier Wednesday.
The Dodgers can win the division before they even play the Padres Thursday night. That's because the Diamondbacks wrap up their series in St. Louis in the afternoon.
James Loney stroked a two-run double during a six-run eighth inning, while Angel Berroa and Matt Kemp also finished with a pair of RBI as part of the 17- hit attack for the Dodgers, who won for the sixth time in nine games.
Clayton Kershaw (5-5) fanned seven batters over 5 2/3 innings to win his third straight decision. The 20-year-old left-hander allowed six hits and three runs.
"We still have a little work to do, but tonight you couldn't have asked for anything better," said Dodgers manager Joe Torre. "Clayton pitched as relaxed as I've seen him. Hopefully we can celebrate tomorrow."
Shawn Estes, the first of eight pitchers used by the Padres, gave up six hits and two runs in 3 2/3 innings. Michael Ekstrom (0-1) suffered the loss in the middle test of this three-game series.
The Dodgers broke a 2-2 tie against Ekstrom in the fifth inning. Andre Ethier walked and Garciaparra followed with an RBI double to left-center field. They had runners at the corners later in the inning when Berroa executed a perfect squeeze bunt to get Garciaparra home.
Chase Headley doubled in Brian Giles in the sixth, but the Dodgers widened their lead to 6-3 in the bottom half courtesy of Ramirez's blast over the wall in left.
"When I came here, I wasn't thinking playoffs, I was just trying to fit in," said Ramirez. "It feels great."
Giles' sacrifice fly had the Padres within a pair of runs in the seventh, but the Dodgers exploded in the eighth to make it a rout. Ethier singled in a run and Loney scored two more with a double to the gap in right-center field off Dick Hayhurst. Chin-Lung Hu doubled in a run and scored on a Berroa base hit. Kemp added an RBI single.
Adrian Gonzalez doubled in a run in the fourth and scored later in the frame on a Nick Hundley base hit to give the Padres a 2-0 edge.
Garciaparra homered leading off the bottom of the inning, and it became a tie game when Kemp singled in Casey Blake.
Kemp had three hits...The Dodgers are 11-7 against the Padres this season, having won the last four meetings...The Dodgers activated shortstop Rafael Furcal from the 60-day disabled list Wednesday. He hadn't played since May 5 due to lower back surgery, but struck out in the eighth inning in a pinch-hit role. He remained in the game to play shortstop in the ninth inning...Giles' double in the fourth inning was the 400th of his career. He has scored 1,101 runs...The Dodgers left 12 men on base...Jeff Kent appeared as a pinch-hitter for the Dodgers, singling in the seventh. It marked his first game since Aug. 29.
