Manny's Grand Slam lifts the Dodgers to Victory

Sports Betting News - July 23rd, 2009 - Written by Bruce

Manny Ramirez made the most of his one at bat on Wednesday night. In dramatic fashion he entered the game with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth. Without much of a warm up to speak of, Ramirez broke a 2-2 tie sending a massive home run into the "Mannywood" section over the left field fence for a grand slam. Ironically it was Manny Ramirez bobblehead night at Dodgers Stadium. Manny was held out of the starting lineup due to being hit by a pitch the night before. The home run was enough to give the Dodgers a 6-2 win over the visiting Cincinnati Reds. Manager Joe Torre wanted to be careful with his star hitter and decided to keep him on the bench to start the game. That set the stage for Manny's biggest moment of the season.

The home crowd could sense something special may happen as they were chanting his name, "Manny, Manny, Manny", while he was still in the dugout putting on his batting helmet. Red's starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo loaded the bases with one out in the 6th inning which led to reliever Nick Massett being brought in the game. Manager Joe Torre seemed to have found the perfect spot for his All Star hitter to come in as a pinch hitter. Ramirez definitely did not disappoint as he hit the very first pitch he saw out of the park sending the crowd in an uproar. After the game Torre commented, "Just the way he was sort of stalking around the dugout, I could feel something would happen if he had the opportunity".  This was Ramirez's 21st career grand slam, which is second all time trailing only Lou Gherig who has 23.

Many people wondered how Manny would respond coming off his lengthy suspension. It is safe to say that the slugger has done plenty to show that he is still one of the premier hitters in the game. Ramirez is batting .348 with 11 HRs and 37 RBIs on the season even with the fifty game suspension. Since returning he picked up right where he left off hitting .347 with 4 HRs and 17 RBI's in 16 games. When being interviewed after the game Ramirez said, " It was one of the best moments in my career. I'm just glad it happened in L.A.". This was the first career pinch hit home run for Manny. The Dodgers are now a major league best 61-34 while the Reds dropped back to 44-50.