Dodgers’ Tale of Woe: Pitcher-less in Seattle

Dodger starter Ismael Valdes can’t explain it.

Valdes, who won a career-best 15 games last year, is having his worst season.

After losing seven times in 33 starts last season, he lost for the eighth time in 15 starts Sunday, and the Dodgers dropped their second consecutive game to the Seattle Mariners, 8-2, before 57,114 at the Kingdome.

“I’m not struggling,” said Valdes, who has lost five of his last seven decisions. “I just haven’t had the support.

“I have a lot of confidence. . . . If you lose your confidence you can’t play in this league. I know what I can do.”

Valdes (3-8), who had walked 19 in his last 80 1/3 innings going into the game, issued eight walks and gave up five runs on five hits with five strikeouts in five innings Sunday.

Pitching coach Dave Wallace was defensive when asked about Valdes.

“What do you want me to do, rip my pitchers?” he said.

First baseman Eric Karros, who hit two home runs Saturday, hit a second-inning homer to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Karros, who also had a ninth-inning single, is batting .303 with five home runs, a double, nine runs and 12 RBIs in the streak.

He shrugged off his slump during the first two months of the season, and he isn’t getting excited now that he’s producing.

“I just got lucky,” Karros said. “All those people who called in and thought I should be traded. . . . I just got lucky.

“You have good streaks and bad streaks, and at the end of the year you add it all up and see where you’re at. You can analyze this game to death, but it won’t do you any good.”

Mike Piazza, who served as the designated hitter for the third time in the Dodgers’ first four interleague games, extended his hitting streak to nine games with a third-inning single.

Piazza is hitting .503 with three home runs, five doubles, 10 runs and nine RBIs in those games.

Valdes lost his control as the Dodgers lost for the 19th time in their last 28 games.

Paul Sorrento, who hit a home run off Ramon Martinez in Saturday’s 9-8 victory over the Dodgers, hit a second-inning leadoff home run off Valdes and a two-out, two-run bases-loaded single in the third.

Sorrento, who is batting .329 in his last 22 games, hit a 2-and-1 pitch to right field for his 10th home run to bring the Mariners to within 2-1 in the second inning.

Valdes gave up back-to-back one-out walks to Jose Cruz Jr. and Ken Griffey Jr. and a two-out walk to Jay Buhner in the third inning to load the bases.

Sorrento drilled a line-drive single into left to drive in Cruz and Griffey and give Seattle a 3-2 lead.

The Dodgers, who scored 15 runs in their last two games, got two runs and four hits in the first two innings and little thereafter Mariner starter Jamie Moyer (6-2) and relief pitcher Scott Sanders retired 15 consecutive batters after Piazza’s two-out single in the third inning.

Greg Gagne doubled in Billy Ashley, who doubled off the right field scoreboard, with one out in the second for a 2-0 lead.

The Dodgers, who stranded six runners, left on four in the last two innings.

After issuing back-to-back, two-out walks to Brett Butler and Todd Zeile in the eighth inning, Sanders induced Piazza to ground into a force play.

The Dodgers failed to score after getting runners to second and third bases with none out in the ninth inning after Karros led off with a single and Raul Mondesi followed with a double.

After striking out Billy Ashley and Gagne, Sanders induced Eric Anthony to hit a fly ball to left.

* FATHER’S DAY: Ken Griffey Jr. had a lot of help from home en route to becoming one of the major leagues’ greatest hitters. C6

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How They Fared

The big winners and losers after the first four days of interleague play, with the impact on their division standing:

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Team Record +/- Seattle, AL West 4-0 +1 Baltimore, AL East 3-0 +2 Montreal, NL East 3-0 +3 San Francisco, NL West 3-1 +2 Detroit, AL East 0-3 -3 Atlanta, NL East 0-3 -1

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* Overall: American League is 27-19 (10-6 in home games and 17-13 on the road).