Blunder on Basepaths a Bad Start

The Dodgers, whose offense was completely shut down in the series, perhaps could have changed their fate in the first inning.

Certainly, it would have given them much-needed momentum.

Instead, a baserunning blunder by Mike Piazza took the Dodgers out of a potentially big inning and the Dodgers were down 5-0 before they knew what hit them.

The situation unfolded when rookie Todd Hollandsworth hit a one-out double to left field against Tom Glavine. Piazza followed with a flare to right field, and Hollandsworth stopped at third.

Piazza, thinking that Hollandsworth would be attempting to score, took a wide turn after touching first base. The throw from right fielder Jermaine Dye to catcher Javier Lopez was perfect. Hollandsworth stayed at third, and Piazza was caught in no man’s land.

Lopez held the ball, looked toward Hollandsworth, back at Piazza, and threw to shortstop Jeff Blauser. Blauser chased Piazza back to first, threw to second baseman Mark Lemke, and Hollandsworth broke for home. Lemke fired the ball to Lopez and Hollandsworth was tagged out.

“When Piazza hit the ball, I didn’t think Hollandsworth was going to score,” Glavine said. “I felt like it was hit deep enough that he’d have to wait and see whether the ball was going to be caught. Once Jermaine did not catch the ball, he came up firing and threw a great throw back to the infield. Mike [Piazza] got off first base too far, and it kind of got crazy from there.

“I was screaming and hollering for Javy [Lopez] to throw the ball to somebody because I’m looking to trade a run for an out there and get away from a big inning. . . . As it turned out, we had the rundown and Lemke made a great throw to the plate, and that turns out to be a big situation.”

Eric Karros then struck out, leaving Piazza stranded, and the Dodgers failed to score until the seventh inning.

“I was trying to make something happen,” Piazza said. “If there was a play at the plate, I didn’t want to be standing at first base. That’s bad baserunning, too.

“It was a gamble.

“And it didn’t work out.”

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Dodger Manager Bill Russell will be provided a one-year contract extension this week, according to sources. An official announcement is expected Monday.

When asked what he anticipates for the future he said: “With a few acquisitions of a few players we could be better. This team will get there. They are just like the teams I played for in the ‘70s.”

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Dodger center fielder Brett Butler said he will delay any decision on whether he will retire until this winter.

“It’s too early to decide now,” Butler said. “We will go through this and see how my body feels and talk to the Dodgers about it. I’ve got to see how my body feels. Initially, it will take a few months for that and it will be decided before spring training.”

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Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox on his team advancing to its fifth consecutive National League championship series:

“‘I expect to win. You think you’re going to win, sometimes you win. I’m pretty upbeat. The club is good. We’re always giving ourselves a chance to win. . . . But it’s hard to do, I don’t care who you got.”

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Dodger rookie Todd Hollandsworth on the playoffs abruptly ending:

“It gives us something to build on. We wanted to come farther than we did last year, but we didn’t. But there’s a good group of guys here with a lot of heart and we battled to the end.

“I know we aren’t happy with the way we played down the stretch, but we overcame a lot of adversity and this team has a lot to be proud of.”

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The National League West, which has sent two teams to the playoffs each of the last two seasons, has combined for only one playoff victory in 13 games.