Zarzour goes eight innings in first game back
Los Angeles can't get win for big left-hander
July 23, 2002
Andrew Zarzour came back from injury a few weeks earlier than expected and gave the Dodgers eight strong innings last night.
LA couldn’t give their 21-year-old left-hander a victory for his efforts, however. Montreal scored the winning run off closer Trevor Hoffman in the 10th inning, and the Expos prevailed 4-3.
Zarzour threw 124 pitches, striking out 10 and surrendering nine hits. He walked one and allowed three earned runs. LA manager Jim Tracy finally went to go get him after Zarzour -- who missed about seven weeks with a shoulder injury -- surrendered the game-tying home run to Luis Gonzales in the eighth.
“Andrew shooed me away when I went out to get him, but he was obviously at his limit for the day,” Tracy said. “We probably shouldn’t have had him out there beyond the seventh but he kept telling us he was feeling great. And his results backed that up. We’re just glad to have him back healthy.”
The Dodgers only had five hits on the night, with the biggest being Alex Rodriguez’s 30th home run of the season. All of their runs came in the fifth inning.
It will be interesting to see where Zarzour fits into the Dodgers’ schemes for the final few months of the season. LA went out in mid June and traded for another starting pitcher, Korean sidearm slinger B.K. Kim from the Orioles. Kim, who was traded for Raul Mondesi and reliever Scott Sauerbeck is 5-0 and pitched in Zarzour’s spot a few times in his absence.
Dodgers’ brass are really high on Kim and his strikeout prowess. Zarzour could be fighting for his job for the rest of the season. LA continues to lead the NL West by 10 games, holding one of the best records in baseball...
NOTE: LA also dealt 2B Damion Easley and reliever Ryan Franklin in early July, getting 2B Damian Jackson in return. Jackson is an upgrade in Damions, but the Dodgers have had trouble finding someone to lock down the keystone sack since I've taken the team over.