Zarzour tosses 1-hit gem
LA pitcher handcuffs favorite childhood team in 5-1 win
April 28, 2001
LOS ANGELES - Andrew Zarzour grew up idolizing the Philadelphia Phillies, even sporting a red Phillies cap in some newspaper pictures on the day he was drafted by the Dodgers in 1999.
“I’m not really sure why I picked them as my favorite team,” Zarzour said. “My dad and his brother rooted for them when they were growing up, and I just kind of got in line with them I guess. I was a big fan of Steve Carlton, and thought their red uniforms were pretty cool. On draft day, I obviously forgot to take my cap off for awhile.”
Last night, Zarzour pitched against his favorite childhood club. And he admits he was as amped up as he’s been for a game since turning professional at age 18. After a few first inning jitters, Zarzour pitched a gem against the Phils, giving up a single hit and leading LA to a 5-1 win.
Zarzour struck out 10 and walked three. Philadelphia’s only base hit came in the fourth inning, a harmless single by left-fielder Marty Cordova.
The Phillies’ lone run came in the first inning while Zarzour was still settling in. Bobby Abreu walked to lead off, stole second and then reached third on a throwing error. A fielder’s choice play by Gary Disarcina allowed Abreu to score. But that was about it for offense for the visitors to Dodger Stadium.
“I felt like they had a lot of base-runners. I was sure I gave up more than one hit,” Zarzour said.
The Dodgers committed three errors for the game, and combined with Z’s three walks allowed for six base-runners. But the 20-year-old North Carolina native wasn’t to be denied on this night, finishing out his complete game with a strike out of Torii Hunter. He threw 116 pitches on the night, 72 for strikes.
The Dodgers supplied their pitcher with plenty of offensive support. Lead-off man Raul Mondesi went 4-for-4 (a homer shy of the cycle). Jeff Cirillo, Alex Rodriguez and Mike Piazza each had two hits.
Zarzour, who didn’t give up a home run for the first time in five starts, improved to 3-1 on the season. His ERA after five outings is a respectable 4.15. The Dodgers improved to 15-9 with the win, leading the NL West by a game over the Padres…
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Here are Big Z's stats for the first five games. He's given up eight HRs so far, which is pretty disconcerting. Fortunately, few of those long balls have come back to hurt him. Most are solo shots.
Code:
Date Opp. Result Start IP H R ER BB K Dec
4/4 CHN W 10-2 * 9 6 2 2 0 8 W
4/12 @COL W 6-4 * 7 7 4 4 1 7 W
4/17 ARI L 5-9 * 6 8 5 5 2 5 L
4/22 @SFN W 11-8 * 3.2 7 5 5 1 2
4/27 PHI W 5-1 * 9 1 1 0 3 10 W PoG