Big Unit beats Dodgers 2-1 in Ramirez's LA debut

[August 02, 2008]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Randy Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks ruined Manny Ramirez's debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Johnson (9-7) won his fifth straight start and climbed within seven wins of 300, allowing an unearned run and five hits over six innings in Arizona's 2-1 victory Friday night.

Ramirez, who came from Boston in Thursday's three-way trade that also included Pittsburgh, was 2-for-4 in his first game with Los Angeles. But Ramirez, wearing No. 99, grounded into a double play with a runner on and no outs in the ninth.

The first-place Diamondbacks opened a three-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West.

Johnson, a five-time Cy Young winner, struck out six to increase his career total to 4,723, second all-time behind Nolan Ryan. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh, when the Diamondbacks pulled ahead with two runs against reliever Chan Ho Park (4-3).

Tony Clark tied it 1-1 with a leadoff homer to center on Park's second pitch of the game. Chris Snyder singled and advanced on Chris Burke's sacrifice bunt before Chad Tracy batted for Johnson and walked. Stephen Drew followed with an RBI double than landed just inside the right field line.

Chad Qualls and Jon Rauch each pitched a hitless inning and Brandon Lyon got three outs for his 24th save in 29 attempts.

Lyon gave up a leadoff single to Russell Martin, bringing Ramirez to the plate with a chance to pull out a dramatic victory for his new team. But Ramirez hit into the double play and Jeff Kent popped out to second.

Dodgers rookie Clayton Kershaw allowed four hits over six scoreless innings. The 20-year-old left-hander was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth, when Los Angeles capitalized on a throwing error by second baseman Orlando Hudson to take a 1-0 lead.

Juan Pierre, batting for Kershaw, reached on Hudson's ninth error. Pierre stole his 37th base after Johnson had him picked off first and Clark threw the ball into left field. Matt Kemp drove in the run with a double to left, extending his career-best hitting streak to 19 games. But he strayed too far past third on Ramirez's infield single to first and was tagged out in a rundown to end the inning.

Once Ramirez got settled in with his new teammates, including former Red Sox Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra, he met with manager Joe Torre and donned his white Dodger uniform shunning the trademark baggy pants in favor of a slightly more streamlined look.

Ramirez was assigned a locker in the narrow and antiquated Dodgers clubhouse between Jason Johnson and Mark Sweeney. He was given No. 99 instead of his familiar No. 24, which the Dodgers retired to honor of Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston. Ramirez's second choice was 34 - ex-teammate David Ortiz' number - but clubhouse manager Mitch Poole has unofficially kept that number out of circulation out of respect for Fernando Valenzuela.

Before Ramirez's first at-bat he was welcomed with a montage of highlight footage from his days with Cleveland and the Red Sox. The sellout crowd of 55,239 chanted his first name in unison and flashes went off around the ballpark while he looked toward the upper deck behind home plate and surveyed his new surroundings.

Notes:@ When the Red Sox played their only interleague series at Dodger Stadium in June 2002, Ramirez was on the disabled list with a broken left index finger. ... Ramirez's first curtain call as a Dodger came 15 minutes before the first pitch, when a ground-level TV camera showed him sitting in the dugout and the crowd roared its approval. He stepped out of the dugout and doffed his cap, bringing more cheers. ... Johnson was exactly twice Kershaw's current age when he pitched the only no-hitter in Diamondbacks history on May 18, 2004, in Atlanta. ... Johnson is the only pitcher with at least 2,000 strikeouts for two teams. Ramirez is one of four players with 200 or more homers for two clubs.

[Associated Press]

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