beautiful_mess38
Aug 16, 2006, 07:53 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Dodgers are on the club's best run since 1899, and they swear they're not giving it much thought.
"It makes for good reading, it makes for a lot of good conversation for a lot of people," manager Grady Little said after Los Angeles beat the Florida Marlins 4-0 Tuesday night for its sixth straight victory and 17th in 18 games.
"We just feel like we're playing good baseball," added Little, whose team extended its NL West lead to 3 1/2 games over San Diego. "All the components are working very good for us right now."
One of those components, rookie Chad Billingsley, was at his best in the latest victory, allowing three hits over seven innings and striking out a career-high nine. The 22-year-old right-hander is 4-1 with a 1.76 ERA since the All-Star break.
The Dodgers made a winner of Billingsley (4-3) by scoring four times off three relievers in the seventh -- after he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Kenny Lofton hit a one-out RBI double to snap a scoreless ti
The 39-year-old Lofton also downplayed the Dodgers' streak, saying: "I think the media puts more into it than we do. We just try to win ballgames."
The last NL team to win 17 of 18 games was the 1986 New York Mets, who went on to win the World Series. No team in franchise history had won 17 of 18 since the Brooklyn Superbas went 20-1 during one stretch in 1899.
"It makes for good reading, it makes for a lot of good conversation for a lot of people," manager Grady Little said after Los Angeles beat the Florida Marlins 4-0 Tuesday night for its sixth straight victory and 17th in 18 games.
"We just feel like we're playing good baseball," added Little, whose team extended its NL West lead to 3 1/2 games over San Diego. "All the components are working very good for us right now."
One of those components, rookie Chad Billingsley, was at his best in the latest victory, allowing three hits over seven innings and striking out a career-high nine. The 22-year-old right-hander is 4-1 with a 1.76 ERA since the All-Star break.
The Dodgers made a winner of Billingsley (4-3) by scoring four times off three relievers in the seventh -- after he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Kenny Lofton hit a one-out RBI double to snap a scoreless ti
The 39-year-old Lofton also downplayed the Dodgers' streak, saying: "I think the media puts more into it than we do. We just try to win ballgames."
The last NL team to win 17 of 18 games was the 1986 New York Mets, who went on to win the World Series. No team in franchise history had won 17 of 18 since the Brooklyn Superbas went 20-1 during one stretch in 1899.