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Eric Gagne picked up his first relief save for the Dodgers since undergoing surgery almost a year ago, striking out two and forming half of the first French Canadian pitcher-catcher unit in the major leagues. (Russell Martin was the Quebecois catcher.) Buuuuut—close observers fear all is not right. Gagne mixed in different pitches than usual, winced visibly on the final pitch of the game and looked unhappy leaving the field. A caller to the Dodgers talk show on KFWB said he watched Gagne warm up before the game and saw him crouch and massage his forearm; another caller claimed that reporters on the Dodger Stadium elevator said that Gagne was injured again.
On the Dodger Thoughts blog, fans looked at video and dissected every pitch. One concluded that "clearly, something's wrong with Gagne....clearly." Maybe, but there's nothing but good news in the game stories filed by the wires and print reporters. Meanwhile, rookie outfielder Matt Kemp clubbed his fourth home run since joining the team and the Dodgers beat the Mets 8-5.
* Aha!: Ken Gurnick at MLB.com had a different take: "Eric Gagne converted his first save in nearly a year on Tuesday night, but the grimace on his face and slow readings of the radar gun told the rest of the story. Gagne admitted his elbow was 'a little sore and stiff' after he put down the Mets in order in the ninth inning...Afterward, clubhouse comments were carefully worded."
Photo: AP Photo/Francis Specker via Yahoo