NewsLeach becomes reliable lefty in bullpen
Los Angeles (47-25) at Chicago (34-37), 11:05 a.m. PT
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
06/25/09 1:33 AM ET
CHICAGO -- Veteran Will Ohman now has a second injury (elbow). But even if he was healed from his first injury (shoulder), he'd have a hard time getting the situational left-handed reliever role back from rookie Brent Leach.
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The 26-year-old Leach was promoted to the Major Leagues from Double-A Chattanooga on May 2 out of desperation following yet another injury to Hong-Chih Kuo's elbow, but he's now the lefty manager Joe Torre relies on.
"If Ohman was coming back, we'd have to find a way to keep [Leach] the way he's been going," Torre said. "I remember when I didn't want to bring him in a game down by five runs. It's a nice story. This guy came to fill in and he just gradually earned his stripes. He's been fearless."
In 22 appearances, Leach is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA, allowing only two runs in his past 11 innings. At Chattanooga before the callup, he had an 0.69 ERA.
A sixth-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of Delta State in Louisiana, Leach wasn't even drafted out of high school. He rebounded from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery as a sophomore, but he said a growth spurt in college to his current 6-foot-4 frame added the velocity that attracted the scouts.
Leach has had a rapid arrival to the big leagues, especially considering that midway through the 2007 season, with a 0.45 ERA at Class A Inland Empire, he tore the latissimus dorsi muscle under his armpit and needed to have it surgically reattached. He came back healthy and strong in 2008, splitting time between Class A and Double-A, then with less success in the Arizona Fall League.
As do many of the young Dodgers pitchers, Leach credits Class A pitching coach Charlie Hough with making a significant impact on his career and his life.
"There's something special about Charlie," Leach said. "He just makes you believe in yourself. It's all upstairs. Throwing a knuckleball, you've got to be tough to do what he did. He doesn't change how you pitch. He takes what you're doing and shows you how to make it work."
For Thursday's day game, Torre said Brad Ausmus will start behind the plate, Russell Martin will start at designated hitter and Mark Loretta will start at first base for James Loney. Casey Blake will start at third base, which Torre explained is why he removed Blake Wednesday night after the seventh inning with the Dodgers trailing by six runs. Juan Castro came up in Blake's spot with one out and none on in the ninth inning and struck out.
"I took Blake out because I knew he was playing tomorrow and even with a six-run [Chicago] lead, I wasn't sure I wanted to do that," he said. "In this park, a ball in the air is always a danger. The combination of heat and the ballpark, you pretty well know anything can happen."
Pitching matchupLAD: RHP Chad Billingsley (9-3, 2.83 ERA)
Billingsley took a three-run lead into the sixth inning against the Angels but couldn't protect it and was unable to become the first 10-game winner in the National League this year. He was done in by walks, issuing five of them, with three of those scoring. He made 112 pitches in six innings, but only 61 of them were strikes and the Angels would have scored more if not for big defensive plays in the first and second innings. CWS: LHP Clayton Richard (2-1, 4.03 ERA)
It was a short and uneven outing for Richard on Saturday in Cincinnati, as the left-hander was unable to get through five innings for his third time in eight starts this season. The southpaw gave up five runs on six hits over three innings, with just three of them being earned, while striking out four and walking one. Richard didn't help his cause with his second error in as many starts, starting a three-run Reds rally in the third. But the White Sox offense came to life and took Richard off the hook in a 10-8 victory during the third annual Civil Rights Game played at the Great American Ball Park. Richard has never faced the Dodgers. Tidbits
The Dodgers last allowed six homers in a game Aug. 2, 2001, against Cincinnati. They allowed seven homers in 1954. ... The Dodgers scored three runs in the second inning on Wednesday on two errors, two walks, a passed ball and Loretta's RBI single. ... Best Buy will be the presenting sponsor for a pair of community events hosted by Andre Ethier and Loney. On Friday, Ethier and Best Buy will host a $4,000 shopping spree for children from the community group A Better L.A. at the West Hollywood Best Buy. Following next Wednesday's game with the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium, Loney will host a video-game party as part of his Loney's Lounge initiative for children from Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Los Angeles. Tickets
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• Friday: Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 4-5, 3.76) vs. Mariners (Jason Vargas, 3-2, 3.24), 7:10 p.m. PT
• Saturday: Dodgers (Eric Milton, 2-0, 2.89) vs. Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 7-3, 2.74), 7:10 p.m. PT
• Sunday: Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 2-3, 3.44) vs. Mariners (Garrett Olson, 2-2, 4.95), 1:10 p.m. PT
Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
