Football
19y

Arizona hands L.A. first home loss

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- After spending hours upon hours in the Los Angeles Dodgers' clubhouse during the past five years, Shawn Green
felt a bit strange being in the visitors' locker room at Dodger Stadium.

He'd better get used to it.

Playing in Los Angeles for the first time since being traded over the winter, Green hit an RBI single to cap a three-run first inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers 4-2 on Monday night.

"I'm definitely glad to get it out of the way. It was nice to play the Dodgers the first time in Arizona," Green said, referring to a three-game series between the teams in Phoenix earlier this month. "I was definitely excited to be out on the field. It felt good to contribute."

Green got confused upon entering the stadium Monday afternoon.

"It took me a little while to get in," he said. "I had to drive around the parking lot and ask a few people where I was supposed to park, so that was a little weird."

Javier Vazquez pitched eight strong innings and Troy Glaus,
another newcomer, put the Diamondbacks ahead for good by hitting a two-run double off Derek Lowe in the first.

Green's single made it 3-0 and gave Arizona enough runs for the victory thanks to Vazquez and two relievers.

"He looked like the guy I played with four years ago in Montreal, who goes out and dominates a game, gets ahead of batters and throws his good off-speed stuff whenever he wants," Dodgers outfielder Milton Bradley said of Vazquez.

Vazquez (2-2) allowed five hits, including solo homers by J.D. Drew and Jeff Kent, walked two and struck out nine. It was his second consecutive effective outing after he gave up 17 earned runs in 12 innings in his first three starts for the Diamondbacks.

"That's not pretty," Vazquez said of those numbers. "The first one was terrible. The two starts after that, I threw the ball better. The results didn't show it."

Vazquez threw first-pitch strikes to 23 of the 29 batters he faced.

"It's so important to get ahead of the hitters," he said. "All my pitches were working. I had a great changeup, which helped me out a lot."

Javier Lopez struck out Drew to start the ninth before Brandon Lyon got the final two outs for his major league-leading ninth save in 10 chances.

The loss was the Dodgers' first at home in six games this season and their fourth in five games overall after they went 12-2 to begin the season. They lead the NL West by 1½ games over the Diamondbacks.

Lowe (1-2) entered with a 1.27 ERA in his first four starts, but he issued a four-pitch walk to Craig Counsell to start the game and Alex Cintron singled. After Luis Gonzalez popped to short, Glaus lined a two-run double to right-center and Green followed with an RBI single.

Glaus played six-plus seasons with the Angels before signing a four-year, $45 million free-agent contract with the Diamondbacks during the offseason.

"There was no emotion for me. I've always been a visitor here," he said with a smile.

Drew homered into the right field bullpen with two outs in the fourth for the first Los Angeles hit, making it 3-1. The Diamondbacks got that run back in the seventh when Counsell hit a one-out single, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Gonzalez.

Kent hit his sixth homer in the bottom of the inning to complete the scoring. Kent hit a full-count pitch, the 10th of the at-bat, over the left field wall.

Pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee walked and Cesar Izturis singled with two outs in the Los Angeles eighth before Vazquez struck out pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz on three pitches to end the inning.

Lowe allowed 10 hits and four runs in seven innings while walking one and striking out seven.

"The biggest thing tonight was poor location," he said. "I'm not an overpowering pitcher, and if you leave the ball out over the plate and make mistakes, they'll make you pay for it."

Game notes
Green said his best memory in his five years with the Dodgers was their 4-0 victory over St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs last October -- the team's only postseason win since 1988 ... Dodgers closer Eric Gagne threw off a mound for the first time since going on the disabled list April 1 with a sprained ligament in his pitching elbow. "He felt great. He had no pain," trainer Stan Johnston said. There is no timetable for Gagne's return. ... The Diamondbacks have a 10-4 record against NL West teams this season, including 2-2 against the Dodgers. Arizona was 21-55 against division opponents last season. ... The opener of a nine-game homestand was just the sixth home game for the Dodgers this season. They've played 13 road games -- most in the NL. ... The Dodgers have hit 11 homers at Dodger Stadium in their six home games while allowing only one. ... Dodgers catcher Jason Phillips went hitless in three at-bats to snap his 10-game hitting streak.

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