Friday, August 8, 2003
Gagne set the major-league record for consecutive
saves to start a season, and Adrian Beltre's tiebreaking two-run homer
helped Andy Ashby end a personal five-game losing streak as the Los
Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 on Friday night.
Gagne got three outs for his 47th consecutive save
and 39th without a miss this season - breaking Jose Mesa's major league
record set in 1995 with Cleveland.
Gagne struck out Sammy Sosa on a 2-2 fastball, then
fanned Moises Alou and retired Aramis Ramirez, who homered in the
second inning for Chicago's only run.
"It's fun," said Gagne, in only his
second season as a reliever after setting a franchise record with 55
saves last year. "I wasn't really more fired up, but maybe a
little more nervous. You always want to challenge people, and tonight I
won."
