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Tuesday, Aug. 15 7:05pm ET
Dempster keeps Dodgers in the dumps | |||||
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GAME LOG
MIAMI (AP) -- Ryan Dempster had his best stuff Tuesday night, which was more than enough to shut down the reeling Los Angeles Dodgers. Dempster gave up three hits in eight innings to help the Florida Marlins beat Los Angeles 7-3. He struck out eight, walked two and retired 15 of 16 batters during one stretch. "Command-wise, that was as good as I've felt all year," said Dempster (11-8). "I was still throwing 95 mph in the eighth inning. That showed good endurance and strength for me." Pinch-hitter F.P. Santangelo broke up the All-Star right-hander's shutout bid with his first homer of the year on the first pitch of the eighth. It was the first run given up by Dempster in 14 career innings against the Dodgers. "A victory is good enough," Dempster said. "Shutouts are hard to come by." The Dodgers, hurt by sloppy defense for the second night in a row, have lost eight of 10 to fall 6½ games behind NL West leader San Francisco. "We do have a playoff-caliber team, but the door is shutting," said second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, who made a costly error. "Everything is going wrong at once -- no hitting, no pitching, no defense. It's no good." Dodgers slugger Gary Sheffield was ejected in the eighth inning by rookie umpire Dan Iassogna. Sheffield was called out on strikes, then ejected after he drew a line in the dirt with his bat, indicating he thought the pitch was wide. "Frustration just built up," Sheffield said. "I haven't seen a ball down the middle of the plate in three weeks. "I've been playing 13 years. Dempster has been playing one or two years, and he's getting calls. It seems to me like it shows a lack of respect." The Marlins, who jumped on Kevin Brown for nine runs in the first two innings of Monday's 11-2 victory, raced to a 5-0 lead after three innings against rookie Matt Herges (8-2). Florida's Luis Castillo finished 3-for-4 with a walk, raising his average to .355. Henry Rodriguez and Preston Wilson each had two hits and two RBI. Braden Looper gave up a two-run double to Chad Kreuter in the ninth before Antonio Alfonseca retired the final three batters. Dempster pitched around two errors by shortstop Andy Fox in the first. Fox speared a sharp grounder by Eric Karros with a lunging stop to end the inning and save a run. "The key to the game was the first inning," Florida manager John Boles said. "Dempster had to get five outs that inning, and he did it. That's a real sign of a guy coming into his own as a major league pitcher." Florida took advantage of sloppy fielding by Grudzielanek to score four runs in the third. Dempster led off with an infield single and Castillo walked. Mark Kotsay hit a routine grounder to Grudzielanek, whose soft toss to first sailed wild for an error, scoring one run. Rodriguez hit another grounder off Grudzielanek's glove for a two-run single, and after Wilson singled, Derrek Lee singled home another run. Wilson's sacrifice fly gave Florida a 1-0 lead in the first. He doubled home a run in the seventh, then scored on a fielder's choice. Herges, 0-2 in two starts after going 8-0 in relief, pitched six innings and allowed five runs, four earned. "We know we're a good team," he said. "I don't see us rolling over even if we lose 20 in a row." Game notesThe start was delayed by rain for the second consecutive night, this time by 43 minutes. ... Dempster shut out the Dodgers over seven innings in his only other appearance against them on Sept. 7, 1999. ... Castillo's infield hit in the first inning was his 44th, most in the major leagues. The three-hit game was his 10th this year. ... Neat feat: The Dodgers are just two games above .500 but have a winning record both at home and on the road. ... Herges lost on the road for the first time in seven decisions. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Los Angeles Clubhouse Florida Clubhouse RECAPS Tampa Bay 3 Boston 1
NY Mets 4
Florida 7
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