Dodgers’ Painful Day Ends With Loss in 10th

Dodger catcher Mike Piazza sat alone in the doctor’s office Saturday morning wondering if he would be able to play, and by the time the game ended, the only thing throbbing worse than his right knee was his head.

In a dizzying day of events, the Dodgers set a bizarre record, then lost their starting pitcher, nearly lost their starting catcher, lost an argument to umpire Bob Davidson, and ultimately, lost to the Chicago Cubs, 4-3, in 10 innings in front of a paid crowd of 43,519 at Dodger Stadium.

“It was a long, frustrating day,” said Piazza, who underwent an MRI test that revealed tendinitis and fluid in his right knee. Yet the Dodgers were relieved to learn that there is no ligament tear or cartilage damage.

“My knee has been real stiff for the last week or so,” Piazza said. “It doesn’t bother me hitting, but I can sure feel it when I’m behind the plate or running. There’s nothing I can do except just play through it.”

The Dodgers, who played their record 454th consecutive game without a left-handed starter, lost right-handed knuckleballer Tom Candiotti after the first inning when he left the game because of a strained right knee. Candiotti said that he felt tightness while warming up, and while throwing his warmup pitches in the second inning, he realized he couldn’t pitch any longer. He will be reexamined today.

“I was already loose in warming up when I tweaked my knee,” Candiotti said. “My spike caught a piece of the rubber. I tried to pitch with it, but it just got worse. I just felt like I didn’t have any drive off my back leg.”

He was relieved by left-hander Joey Eischen, who could replace Candiotti in the rotation if he’s unable to make his next start. Yet, despite Eischen’s fine five-inning stint that was marred by Scott Servais’ two-run homer in the seventh, and Piazza’s three hits and two RBIs, things fell apart in the 10th.

After Brian McRae’s one-out single, third-base umpire Davidson called a balk on reliever Antonio Osuna. Davidson then ejected third-base coach Joey Amalfitano. Manager Tom Lasorda argued with Davidson, who has had frequent run-ins with the Dodgers--he called the forfeit last year. Lasorda even invited reporters to the video room after the game to show that a balk should not have been called.

Lasorda ordered Mark Grace to be intentionally walked after the balk, then watched Sammy Sosa slap a single into left field, scoring McRae with the game-winner.

Lasorda moved into the third-base coaching box in the bottom of the 10th, and before he knew it, the Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs for third baseman Mike Blowers. Blowers, facing Doug Jones, the third Cub reliever of the inning, grounded to short for the final out.

“I can’t wait for this month to end,” said Blowers, who has a career .203 average in April, and is batting .188 this season. “Just a few more days.”

The game overshadowed the Dodgers’ piece of history when they started a right-handed pitcher to eclipse their own major league record set from 1902 to 1906 in Brooklyn.

“That’s an amazing stat,” said Lasorda, a left-hander. “That’s history right there. Maybe I’ll have to start just to break the record.”

The game’s ending certainly ruined Piazza’s night. He already had two hits, including a run-scoring single, and stood at the plate in the seventh inning waiting to be intentionally walked. With Todd Hollandsworth on third base, two outs, and the Dodgers trailing, 3-2, it made perfect sense.

After all, the player hitting behind Piazza, right fielder Raul Mondesi, is hitless in his last 19 at-bats. Mondesi not only has failed to produce a hit since replacing Eric Karros as the cleanup hitter, but he’s batting .115 with runners in scoring position this season.

Yet Cub Manager Jim Riggleman, not willing to risk putting the winning run on base, permitted starter Jaime Navarro to pitch to Piazza. It was only a matter of seconds before he was second-guessing himself, watching Piazza line a double into the right-center gap, scoring Hollandsworth for a 3-3 tie. The inning ended with Mondesi popping up to short, but the damage was done.

“The guy is amazing,” Riggleman said of Piazza, who is batting .375 and has an 11-game hitting streak. “You can teach a guy to throw one way to right-handed hitters, and say if you do it effectively, you can win 20 games. But with Piazza, you’ve got to throw him completely different because the guy is so strong.

“I tell you what, if you were starting a baseball franchise and had your choice of guys to pick from, Piazza might be the guy you’d take.”