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Sunday, Aug. 27 2:20pm ET
Wood's 11-strikeout performance is wasted | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- Kerry Wood was dominating against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who think he still has a lot to learn. Wood struck out 11 for his first double-digit strikeout game in almost two years Sunday, but his bullpen failed him as the Dodgers rallied for a 7-6, 10-inning victory over the Chicago Cubs. "By far, that was the best stuff he's had all year," Cubs manager Don Baylor said of Wood, who missed all of 1999 following elbow surgery. With the game tied 6-6, pinch-hitter Jeff Branson walked to lead off the 10th against Todd Van Poppel (2-4) and advanced on Adrian Beltre's sacrifice and Bruce Aven's groundout. Branson then scored on a 2-0 wild pitch to Alex Cora. "I stunk. I didn't do my job," Van Poppel said. Mike Fetters (5-2) picked up the win with two innings of two-hit relief and Jeff Shaw pitched the 10th for his 21st save in 28 opportunities. Friction between Wood and the Dodgers occurred in the fifth. After Aven hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot, Wood's next pitch nearly hit Cora in the head. Cora eventually popped up. In the bottom of the fifth, Dodgers starter Ismael Valdes threw a pitch near Mark Grace's head to lead off. After home plate umpire Mark Wegner warned Valdes, Dodgers manager Davey Johnson came out to argue and was tossed during the discussion. On a 3-1 count, Valdes then hit Grace in the right arm and Wegner immediately ejected Valdes and acting manager Jim Tracy. "My beef was the pitch to Cora was flagrant," Johnson said. "There was a home run and then a ball behind (Cora's) head. That is headhunting. When my guy comes close, he's warned. (Wood) is too good a pitcher to be doing that kind of stuff. You can throw a pitcher out for that. (Wegner) did nothing." "He's a young kid and I think he learned his lesson," Valdes said of Wood. "You can gain respect by not by throwing at a guy's head." Everyone on the Cubs bench knew the next batter up in the fifth would be plunked. "I've been around enough to know that was intentional," Baylor said. "`Woody' did what he had to do," Grace said. "Had the roles been reversed, we would've retaliated. Once they hit me, it was even. It was bad timing on my part (to be leading off)." Wood said he wasn't aiming for Cora's head. "I came in and looked at the tape when Cora was up there and it was way too close," Wood said. "I wasn't trying to hit him." Aven hit a pair of homers off Wood, a solo shot in the third and a two-run shot in the fifth, raising his season total to seven. "His velocity is back," Aven said of Wood. Wood, who left with a 5-3 lead, posted his 10th career double-digit strikeout game and first since Aug. 31, 1998, when he struck out 10 Cincinnati Reds. Wood gave up three runs on five hits and three walks in seven innings of his 17th start. The Dodgers rallied from a 5-3 deficit to take a 6-5 lead in the eighth on Eric Karros' two-run single and Beltre's sacrifice fly. Roosevelt Brown, called up from Triple-A Iowa on Sunday, hit his second major league home run and first this year, with two outs in the eighth off Fetters to tie the game at 6. The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out in the ninth against Kyle Farnsworth, but he got Karros to hit into an inning-ending double play. Gary Matthews Jr. hit a solo homer and Eric Young had three hits, including an RBI double for the Cubs. Jeff Huson hit an RBI double with one out in the second. Wood reached on an infield single and Young doubled to score Huson. Wood scored on Joe Girardi's groundout to make it 3-0. Aven's first homer of the game -- and first with Los Angeles -- made it 3-1 in the third. Matthews hit his third home run and first left-handed in the third to make it 4-1. Damon Buford added an RBI single in the inning. Aven's second homer scored Beltre, who singled, and pulled the Dodgers within 5-3. Valdes gave up five runs on eight hits and two walks over four-plus innings, striking out two, and fell to 0-3 in six starts since rejoining the Dodgers. Game notesWood batted left-handed against Valdes for the second game to protect a strained left oblique, which put him on the DL from July 30-Aug. 21. He batted right-handed against lefty reliever Carlos Perez. ... Aven, who was acquired from Pittsburgh on Aug. 6, was called up Aug. 24 and played in his second game for the Dodgers. It was his first two-homer game since June 13, 1999, when he did it for the Florida Marlins against the New York Mets. ... Perez, who started the second game of Friday's doubleheader, made his eighth relief appearance this year Sunday. ... Beltre's single in the fifth extended his hitting streak to a career-high nine games. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Los Angeles Clubhouse Chicago Cubs Clubhouse Cubs lose White for season to shoulder injury
RECAPS Baltimore 3 Tampa Bay 2
Los Angeles 7
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