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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Gary Sheffield was selected the player of the
week in the National League for only the second time this season. His teammates wonder why
he hasn't received the honor more often.
Sheffield hit his major league-leading 32nd home run in the
eighth inning Monday night, snuffing out a late Pittsburgh comeback
as the Los Angeles Dodgers handed the Pirates their season-high
sixth consecutive defeat, 9-6.
|  | | It's a low-five for Gary Sheffield, right, from third base coach Glenn Hoffman, but Sheffield's fifth homer in five games since the All-Star break puts him atop the majors with 32. |
"He's unbelievable. I mean, it's been just one clutch hit after
another," Dodgers reliever Jeff Shaw said after preserving Darren
Dreifort's first victory in six starts. "Sheff is having a great
year. After he missed a couple of games with his ankle, you would
think he would take a couple of steps back. But he hasn't broken a
stride since then. He's racking up player of the week honors every
week."
Dreifort (5-7) won for the first time since June 7. The
right-hander, 0-4 over his previous five starts, allowed three runs
and four hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and did not
allow a base on balls after walking his first two batters.
Dreifort also got the go-ahead RBI when hit on the left foot by
reliever Chris Peters with the bases loaded in the sixth.
Pittsburgh shortstop Pat Meares mishandled Eric Karros' routine
grounder leading off the sixth for his 14th error of the season,
tying first baseman Kevin Young for most on the team.
Pirates starter Bronson Arroyo (0-3) walked Chad Kreuter with
one out and was relieved by Peters, who walked Kevin Elster, then
plunked Dreifort and forced in another run with a walk to Todd
Hollandsworth to put the Dodgers ahead 5-3.
"I wasn't swinging the bat real well, but I was just fortunate
to take one off the toe," Dreifort said. "A lot of the credit has
to go to our clubhouse guy, Mitch Poole, for doing a good job with
the shoes."
Poole, the senior member of the Dodgers' clubhouse staff,
reshines each player's shoes every day and pounds the mud out of
the cleats after each game. He also is an accomplished artist, and
paints baseballs for Dodgers players whenever they pitch a
no-hitter or achieve some other career milestone.
"Dreifort's shoes are almost black. That's why it came off so
good," Poole said with a laugh. "(F.P.) Santangelo brought the
ball in and showed it to me. He said, 'You're the one who does the
shoes, right? Well, here's your first major league RBI.' Then he
took the ball away from me because the umpire needed to see it."
Pittsburgh, which has lost 22 of its last 30 road games,
narrowed the gap to 7-6 with three runs in the eighth off Terry
Adams. Warren Morris singled and scored on Wil Cordero's
double-play grounder. Brian Giles, 3-for-4 with three RBI, doubled
and scored on Young's 16th homer of the season and 100th with the
Pirates.
But Shaw, who has been plagued by shoulder and elbow problems
this season, got four outs for his 13th save in 20 chances and
first since June 18 against St. Louis. It put the Pirates (38-53) a
season-worst 15 games under .500.
"There were a lot of expectations coming out of spring
training. I don't think we're far away," All-Star catcher Jason
Kendall said. "I mean, it's not like we're getting our butts
kicked every night. We just can't put anything together on a
consistent basis. Once we do that, and show ourselves that we can
do that, I think it'll be all right."
Jim Leyritz drove in two more runs for the Dodgers with a
pinch-hit single in the seventh off Scott Sauerbeck, who surrendered
two more in the eighth on Alex Cora's single and Sheffield's homer
to left. Sheffield has five homers in five games since the All-Star
break.
Giles drove in Pittsburgh's first three runs with a run-scoring double
in the first inning and a two-run homer in the third. It was his
22nd homer of the season and 100th of his career. Giles leads the
Pirates with 76 RBI.
The Dodgers scored three in the second on Elster's run-scoring double
and Hollandsworth's two-run single off Arroyo, who was looking for
his first victory in five major league starts. The right-hander,
recalled Sunday from Triple-A Nashville, was charged with five runs -- four earned -- and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Game notes
Shawn Green attempted an inside-the-park homer when his
sinking liner to right-center got between Giles and right fielder
John Vander Wal. But Giles retrieved the ball and second baseman
Morris relayed to Kendall for the out. The last Dodgers
inside-the-park home run was by Mitch Webster, on June 21, 1994, at
San Diego. ... The Dodgers play their final series ever at Three
Rivers Stadium beginning on July 31. They are 88-88 there since the
ballpark opened in 1970 -- including victories in the first two
games of the 1974 NL Championship Series. They lost all six games
at Three Rivers in 1974, and were 5-1 in 1995 and 1997.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Los Angeles Clubhouse
RECAPS
Oakland 11
Colorado 10
Colorado 10
Oakland 9
(2nd game)
Boston 7
Montreal 3
Cleveland 8
Houston 6
Detroit 3
Cincinnati 1
Philadelphia 10
NY Yankees 8
NY Mets 7
Toronto 5
Tampa Bay 8
Atlanta 6
Baltimore 5
Florida 3
Chi. White Sox 11
Milwaukee 2
Chicago Cubs 3
Kansas City 1
St. Louis 8
Minnesota 3
Arizona 7
Seattle 0
Anaheim 3
San Diego 2
San Francisco 10
Texas 8
Los Angeles 9
Pittsburgh 6
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