News
Lowe returns to LA with Braves
Atlanta (55-53) at Los Angeles (66-42), 10:10 p.m. ET
By Sandy Burgin / Special to MLB.com
08/05/09 8:46 PM ET
SAN DIEGO -- Woody Allen once said that 90 percent of success is showing up.Derek Lowe, who returns to Dodger Stadium on Thursday night to face his old Los Angeles teammates, has taken that adage to heart and a little further.
Lowe is one of just three active players who have played 12 of more years without going on the disabled list. The other two are Brad Ausmus of the Dodgers and Livan Hernandez of the Mets.
"I really have no idea why," said Lowe in speaking to his durability. "You can't just say, 'Work hard,' because everyone works hard. I think maybe that I didn't play baseball that much as a kid was a factor. When I came into baseball, I only had probably less than 100 innings pitched in my whole life. Maybe some people have pitched or played predominantly their whole life. Also, I was a reliever for five or six years, so it didn't tax my arm.
"Maybe luck is involved, too. People have different makeups genetically. A lot of people work extremely hard and they have injuries. ... There is no one thing I can say."
The Braves, of course, have a history of pitchers being able to avoid the DL. Tom Glavine, who played 22 years, didn't make his first appearance on the DL until April 18, 2008.
As for returning to Dodger Stadium to face his former mates, Lowe said, "It's going be exciting, like it was three days ago."
It was back on Saturday in Atlanta that Lowe faced the Dodgers and beat them, thanks to the Braves rallying after Lowe was taken out for a pinch-hitter.
"I call them luck wins," said Lowe. "The guys happen to get hits before my at-bat and I get taken out of the game, but we held on. Still, you take those [wins], because there are going to be losses where maybe you shouldn't have lost, so you take them when you get them."
Pitching matchupATL: RHP Derek Lowe (11-7, 4.21 ERA)
After spending the past four seasons in Dodger blue, Lowe threw six innings and allowed three runs on five hits against the Dodgers in his most recent start. Besides a shaky fourth inning in which he walked two batters and surrendered two runs, Lowe limited the Dodgers to a solo home run by Andre Ethier. In 66 career starts at Dodger Stadium, Lowe is 33-23 with a 3.21 ERA. His last start there came on Sept. 21, 2008, when he pitched seven shutout innings against the Giants as a Dodger. LAD: LHP Randy Wolf (5-6, 3.47 ERA)
Wolf deserved a better fate than his most recent loss in Atlanta, but that's the way his season has gone. Sloppy Dodgers defense in the seventh turned a win into a loss, although he did allow nine hits and two walks in six innings, his first non-quality start since June 24. He is 4-12 lifetime against the Braves and 0-5 since 2004. Tidbits
Nate McLouth and Chipper Jones each had three hits for the sixth time this season on Wednesday. Jones has one four-hit game. ... For the second time in Rome history, the R-Braves had two big leaguers in uniform on the same night Tuesday. Buddy Carlyle, on the DL with an upper back strain, threw two scoreless innings of one-hit ball while Omar Infante, recovering from a fractured left hand, went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk in the R-Braves' 3-2 win over the Savannah Sand Gnats. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• SPSO On radio
• 640 WGST, Project 9-6-1 Up next
• Friday: Braves (Jair Jurrjens, 9-8, 2.85) at Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 11-6, 3.82), 10:10 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Braves (Kenshin Kawakami, 5-9, 4.38) at Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 8-6, 2.89), 10:10 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Braves (Javier Vazquez, 9-7, 2.99) at Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 4-5, 4.44), 4:10 p.m. ET
Sandy Burgin is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
