Piazza Delivers Early, Bullpen Doesn’t Late : Dodgers: Three relief pitchers fail to hold Braves in the eighth inning, which results in a 6-5 loss.

Fred Claire sat quietly in the clubhouse holding a cold drink, perhaps to not only cool him during a hot day, but also to prepare him for the heat ahead after his bullpen had blown another game.

That comfortable lead that Mike Piazza’s three-run homer and four runs batted in had given the Dodgers evaporated in the late innings Sunday, and this time the bullpen didn’t wait until the ninth to lose it. Through the mistakes and graciousness of three relievers, the Atlanta Braves scored four runs in the eighth inning and won, 6-5, to sweep the three-game series at Fulton County Stadium.

“The pen has been working together as a unit, but we haven’t been pitching as well as we can,” said Todd Worrell, in perhaps the understatement of the season. “It makes it tough on everyone when you are not pitching well and not getting key outs.”

Worrell, called in to bail out Darren Dreifort, gave up a two-run double to Jeff Blauser, the only batter he faced, which put the Braves ahead to stay.

Dreifort had relieved left-hander Al Osuna after Osuna had walked left-handed batter David Justice to lead off the inning. But Dreifort, who hadn’t pitched in six days, fared worse. A walk and three hits later, the Braves had narrowed the gap to 5-4 and had the winning and tying runs on base awaiting Worrell.

“He (Dreifort) is keeping the ball on the ground, and that is what he is supposed to do,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “Tomorrow (the opposition) may hit three ground balls right at somebody, today they didn’t.”

Dreifort, 0-4 with a 5.27 earned run average and six saves, gave up three hits, including two ground balls and a line drive single.

One of those grounders, a single down the first base line by Dave Gallagher, bounced off of umpire Eric Gregg, but it was ruled fair and scored Terry Pendleton for the second run of the inning. Roberto Kelly followed with a single to right field.

“If that’s where he was trying to hit it, he did a good job,” Dreifort said.

Claire said he plans no changes in the bullpen, saying he will stand behind his pitchers. But the Dodgers have blown 12 of 21 save opportunities to amass only nine saves, the second fewest in the league. And though the bullpen has accounted for 11 of the team’s 29 victories, some of those have been because it fails to hold the lead but the Dodgers come back to win.

“You don’t just overhaul a bullpen and I have no intentions of doing that,” Claire said. “We do have talented people and everybody is hurting for pitching, that seems to be the nature of the business. We have to give them our support and keep believing that they are going to get the people out.”

Claire thought he was getting a premier closer when he signed Worrell before the 1993 season, but Worrell, who has been injured most of his Dodger career, has only seven saves since joining the team. That Claire did not require Worrell to have a physical examination before he was signed will continue to stir criticism unless Worrell comes through.

But how long do you stick with a bullpen that has played a big part in the Dodgers’ record of 15-13 in one-run games?

“I’m not really contemplating anything,” Claire said. “We have four very solid right-handers and today, left-hander (Osuna) got us out of one inning, but came back and walked the leadoff hitter in the eighth. You can’t pitch effective relief and walk the first hitter. I’d rather see the guy get a base hit than a walk.

“But that is the nature of relief. You live in the ninth and you die in the ninth. . . . Today was a case of not getting a big hit and not getting a big out.”

With a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning, the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out against reliever Gregg Olson, who was making his second appearance as a Brave.

Mark Wohlers (5-0) relieved Olson and got out of the jam, striking out pinch-hitter Henry Rodriguez before pinch-hitter Dave Hansen grounded out.

In the ninth, Wohlers stranded Brett Butler, who singled and stole second base, and Piazza, who was intentionally walked, by getting Tim Wallach to fly out.