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Ethier single leads Dodgers past Phillies

Aug 13, 2008 - 6:31 AM By Jonanthan Raber PA SportsTicker Contributing

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Andre Ethier has seen his playing time dwindle since the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Manny Ramirez. Still, that hasn't stopped the outfielder from making the most of his opportunities.

Ethier hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers posted a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.

Casey Blake knocked in a pair of runs and Matt Kemp added three hits and scored twice for Los Angeles (60-59), which trails the Arizona Diamondbacks (61-58) by one game in the National League West.

"You come to the ballpark ready to start every day," said Ethier, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh. "When you're not in the lineup, you have to start figuring out situations where you can help the team win. Whether it be an at-bat off the bench or two innings of defense just to help us out.

"It's just (about) being ready. And that's the thing - don't be complacent if you're not starting that day and think that you won't have an opportunity to win the game."

That's precisely what Ethier proceeded to do.

J.C. Romero (4-4) hit Russell Martin in the left foot to start the ninth. James Loney advanced the runner to second with a groundout, setting the stage for Ethier. Ethier hit a 3-2 offering into left field, allowing Martin to slide safely underneath Chris Coste's tag at home for the win.

"Ethier just fought him tooth and nail and was able to get the base hit," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.

When the Dodgers acquired Ramirez in a trade with the Boston Red Sox, it created a surplus of outfielders, leaving Ethier, Juan Pierre and the recently disabled Andruw Jones to fight for the third spot. Instead of getting upset at his declined playing time, Ethier - who has started 93 games - is embracing the situation.

"It's great," Ethier said. "Manny's brought a lot of charisma and a lot of swagger to this team and it can't help but rub off on the guys."

The Dodgers evened the score at 3-3 in the eighth thanks to a sacrifice-fly by Blake. With the bases loaded, Nomar Garciaparra had a chance to bring home the go-ahead run but grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Ramirez had reached base after being hit high on the left shoulder by Chad Durbin and was visibly upset, taking a few steps toward the mound before making his way to first. Earlier in the game, he had been brushed back on two occasions with pitches that traveled up and in.

Hong-Chih Kuo (4-2) picked up the win after tossing two scoreless frames.

Chase Utley homered for the Phillies, who reached Los Angeles rookie Clayton Kershaw for three runs in the first three innings.

Utley hit his 30th home run in the first to become the sixth player in franchise history to post consecutive seasons of 30-plus homers and 30-plus doubles. Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels added a run-scoring single in the second and Pat Burrell brought home Jimmy Rollins with a sacrifice-fly in the third to make it 3-0.

Kershaw, who was coming off the best start of his young career, settled down after the early stages. The lefthander finished with a career-high eight strikeouts, while giving up three runs on six hits with two walks in six innings.

"When you don't have your best stuff and you're facing a good team like that, it's always good to have a decent start," Kershaw said. "So that was definitely a confidence booster."

The Dodgers cut into the deficit in the sixth. Pierre and Kemp singled and two batters later Ramirez hit a 3-2 offering up the middle to cut the lead to 3-2.

Hamels, who allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, is winless in his last seven starts - the longest stretch of his three-year career. The lefthander has not pitched bad, though, as he entered the game with a 3.79 ERA in six prior starts. The Phillies' (64-55) lead over the New York Mets (63-56) in the National League East was cut to one game.

"For a team, it's tough," Hamels said. "You want to win every game, we're in a tight race, we need to win every game. Our bullpen hasn't done that often, they've come into a situation and been able to be clutch. It's tough."