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L.A. slides past Colorado 1-0 on Furcal's late single
The Associated Press
Photo by JAE C. HONG/AP
Manny Ramirez’s replacement in left field, Juan Pierre, slides safely back into the first-base bag in front of the Rockies’ Garrett Atkins during Wednesday’s game in Los Angeles. Ramirez returns Friday to the Dodgers’ lineup.
The Dodgers played their 50th and final game without Ramirez, beating the Colorado Rockies 1-0 on Wednesday on pinch-hitter Rafael Furcal's RBI single in the eighth inning. During Ramirez's absence, the Dodgers went 29-21.
Ramirez was suspended for violating baseball's drug policy May 7. He is eligible to return for Friday night's game at San Diego.
"It's not until you lose somebody like Manny that you realize that there's no safety net out there," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "I continue to talk about how fortunate we've been with the number of close games we've won."
The Dodgers' sputtering offense has scored eight runs over the last five games.
"This ballclub feels pretty good about themselves," Torre said. "I mean, they're at a frustrated stage right now because we haven't scored runs, and they're fighting it a little bit. But they've played hard. As a team, we've pretty much gotten a lot out of what we have."
Center fielder Matt Kemp is excited for Ramirez's return: "We get a great hitter back, somebody that can help us drive in some runs and get some things going."
Torre doesn't expect Ramirez to make an immediate impact after just five minor league rehab games.
"It's still going to take him some time to settle in, but I think it'll help everybody else, too," Torre said. "I'm going to get the same player back. I mean, I think his ability goes far beyond what caused the suspension. But it's going to take some time for him to get in game shape and for him to get comfortable."
Juan Pierre, who has started every game in left field during Ramirez's absence, will return to being a part-time player despite hitting .318 with 21 RBIs, 31 runs scored, 15 walks and 21 stolen bases.
"Juan came in and did an excellent job. He's an All-Star in my book," Kemp said. "If it wasn't for what he's done for our team, we wouldn't be in this position right now."
The defending NL West champions got off to a 21-8 start and were on a seven-game winning streak with a 6½-game lead in the division when Ramirez was suspended.
The Dodgers lost four of their next five, then went on a 12-3 run and increased their division lead to a season-best 9½ games with a 1-0 win against Arizona on June 3. They've leveled off since then, going 13-11, But still entered Wednesday with a six-game lead over San Francisco.
"I'm not surprised by what they've done in his absence - not with the addition of Orlando Hudson and what he's meant to their infield defense, the professional they have at third base in Casey Blake and the kind of year that Andre Ethier is having," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.
"They're a very talented team with a tremendous amount of athleticism, but the biggest thing has been the improvement of their bullpen."
Ramon Troncoso (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the win, and Jonathan Broxton pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 19th save for the Dodgers.
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