Around 3:30 p.m. on Labor Day, while boarding an empty light-rail car at the Third Street and Washington stop, we heard a Sedona-red-wearing male say, in reference to the just-completed game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field, "Whoa. This [the game] is really the only thing going on in town."
Well, man, if "this" means another lame loss by the Diamondbacks, then you are absolutely correct.
Outplayed, outmanned, and outslugged were the D-Backs by a score of 7-2 on Monday afternoon. It was the team's fifth-consecutive loss in this totally forgettable season.
The playoff-contending Dodgers had Arizona starter Max Scherzer (9-9) on the ropes in the second inning. First, Manny Ramirez launched a long fly over the left-field fence for his fourth homer in nine games. The next batter, James Loney, took the right-hander deep to make the score 2-0. And that's basically all L.A. needed as the Dodgers pounded out 10 hits in its convincing victory.
The most interesting portion of the game occurred in the third inning. No, the Diamondbacks didn't all of a sudden get good, but rather the home-plate umpire tossed Ramirez for being a big ol' baby while arguing balls and strikes.
One piece of good news for Arizona continues to be Chris Young, the maligned hitter who continued his hot home-run streak by belting another one, making it four in the past two games.
The second game in the three-game series starts tonight at 6:40 when Arizona's Billy Buckner (2-6, 8.29 ERA) faces Los Angeles' Chad Billingsley (12-9, 3.86). TV: Fox Sports Arizona. Radio: KTAR-AM 620. More info: www.dbacks.com.
