Nothing, it seems, can stop the Dodgers.
Not an ugly, bottle-throwing, crowd-inciting outburst by outfielder Milton Bradley that resulted in his eighth-inning ejection Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
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L.A.'s Message in a Bottle
Bradley is ejected in the eighth inning, then Dodgers rally for five runs in the ninth to defeat Rockies, 5-4, and keep lead at three games.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday September 30, 2004 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 39 words Type of Material: Correction
Dodgers' record -- The article in Wednesday's Sports section about the Dodgers' 5-4 win over Colorado said it was the team's 11th comeback in its last 12 games. The comeback was the Dodgers' 11th in their last 12 victories.
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Certainly not the Colorado Rockies, whose bullpen, worst in the majors, blew a four-run lead in the ninth as the Dodgers rallied for a 5-4 victory. Steve Finley's two-run single capped the comeback, sending the crowd of 33,588 into delirium less than an hour after it had vented its anger at Bradley's outrageous behavior.
The victory allowed the Dodgers to remain three games ahead of the San Francisco Giants, 7-5 winners over the San Diego Padres.
After collecting only three hits against Colorado through eight innings, the Dodger comeback, the 11th in the team's last 12 games and league-leading 51st overall, was caused more by Colorado arms than Dodger bats
"This is just what we keep doing," Finley said. "I knew he was trying to come in and I was looking for something to drive to the outfield."
With one out and the bases empty, reliever Shawn Chacon walked four consecutive batters to give the Dodgers their first run of the night.
"This one hurts," Chacon said. "My mechanics are all messed up."
Enter Colorado reliever Tim Harikkala (6-6), who gave up a two-run double run to Jayson Werth and the game-winning hit to Finley.
"If you can't win this game," the Rockies' Vinny Castilla said, "what game can you win?"
In the middle of the eighth, in the pressure of a crucial game, in the tension of a tight division race, Dodger outfielder Bradley lost it.
Lost his grasp on a fly ball with the bases loaded, allowing two runs to score.
Then completely lost his composure, exploding after a fan threw a plastic bottle at him from the right-field stands, missing Bradley by at least 20 feet. One batter after the bottle was thrown, Bradley could contain himself no longer, storming to the right-field railing and slam-dunking the bottle back into the stands.
His anger still unabated, Bradley continued to gesture wildly as teammates Finley and Alex Cora raced out to try to calm their furious teammate.
Manager Jim Tracy quickly joined them, but they couldn't placate Bradley. Umpire Jim Joyce, also out in right field, threw Bradley out the game.
The Dodger outfielder, who earlier had broken his bat over his knee after striking out with runners at first and third in the sixth inning, stormed across the field toward the Dodger dugout and removed his Dodger jersey in defiance.
