Dodger Rally Falls One Shy in the Ninth

Working on three days’ rest worked to the advantage of Met pitcher Mark Clark. Clark, who no-hit the Montreal Expos for five innings on May 1, gave up three hits in seven innings as the New York Mets beat the Dodgers, 3-2, Wednesday night before 33,716 at Dodger Stadium.

“Actually, being a sinker-ball pitcher, the more tired your arm is, the better sink you’re going to get on your sinker, and that’s what happened,” said Clark (3-5), who didn’t give up a run and registered four strikeouts in earning the victory. “I think I threw 13 or 14 ground-ball outs, and that’s a sign right there that I had a pretty good sinker.

“I wouldn’t recommend it [pitching on three days’ rest], but every now and then it’s going to happen and if you show you can do it they’re going to be more apt to put you in there and let you do it. I did my job, and the bullpen did their job.”

The Dodgers, who wasted opportunities to tie the game in the seventh and eighth, scored two unearned runs off reliever John Franco in the bottom of the ninth, but Franco struck out rookie center fielder Roger Cedeno on a called third strike with runners on first and second to earn his eighth save.

“[Cedeno] is a good young player, but tonight I won the battle,” Franco said. “He hadn’t seen me before and tonight I made the pitches when I had to make the pitches.”

Eric Karros, who had two hits in four at-bats to extend his hitting streak to five games, led off the ninth with a single to center and Raul Mondesi singled off the glove of second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, who allowed the runners to advance when he threw wildly to third in an attempt to get Karros.

Mike Blowers grounded out to shortstop to score Karros after Delino DeShields struck out and Mondesi scored when shortstop Rey Ordonez fell down while trying to field pinch-hitter Billy Ashley’s grounder. Ordonez pulled first baseman Rico Brogna off the bag as he tried to throw from a sitting position.

“Those guys are going to make the plays behind me nine out of 10 times,” Franco said. “Those things are going to happen, but the end result is that we won the ballgame and they didn’t cost us.”

Franco walked catcher Tom Prince but got Cedeno to end the game.

The Dodgers had a chance to tie the game after Karros singled with one out in the seventh and DeShields singled to left with two outs, but Blowers flew out to the warning track in center.

Clark was magnificent, retiring 12 in a row after Hideo Nomo’s second-inning single. Acquired from the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Ryan Thompson and pitcher Reid Cornelius on March 31, Clark allowed only four base runners before he was relieved by Henry.

Making his third career start against the Dodgers, Clark has allowed one unearned run in 20 innings in three wins over the Dodgers. The first two victories came in 1992, while he was with the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the eighth inning Clark was relieved by Doug Henry, who walked Cedeno with two outs. Franco then walked pinch-hitter Mike Busch. Mike Piazza had a chance to tie the game, but he forced Busch at second.

Nomo, who came into the game with a 5-0 record and a 2.25 ERA in six games at Dodger Stadium this season, yielded three runs on two doubles, a double steal and a wild pitch in the first inning. Nomo is 13-3 at Dodger Stadium over the last two seasons.

“He didn’t have his control in the first inning, and that made the difference,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said of Nomo, who had eight strikeouts to go over the 300-strikeout mark in his two-year major league career. He now has 305.

Bernard Gilkey, who drove in four runs in Tuesday’s 6-4 loss to the Dodgers, doubled in Lance Johnson, who led off with a double to the gap in right center, and Alfonzo, who followed with a walk. Gilkey, who advanced on a wild pitch, scored on Jeff Kent’s fly ball to right.

“It was a shaky inning, but he settled down and kept us in the game,” Piazza said of Nomo.