A Round Trip Just the Ticket for Young

At 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Eric Young touched down at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

He hit the ground running.

And hitting. And throwing. And fielding.

One day after being traded to the Dodgers from the Colorado Rockies for pitcher Pedro Astacio, two hours after arriving at Shea Stadium from Cincinnati where the Rockies were playing, one hour after putting on a Dodger uniform for the first time in nearly five years, Young acted as if he’d never left. He instantly becoming an integral part of the team as he and Eric Karros led the Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the New York Mets in front of a crowd of 25,971.

The victory enabled the Dodgers to remain two games back of the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, who also won Tuesday night.

Young had singles in his first three at-bats on his second tour of duty with the Dodgers, drove in a run, scored a run, stole a base, fielded his position at second base flawlessly and turned a difficult double play.

Karros hit his 25th home run in the eighth inning to drive in what proved to be the deciding run.

It all seemed so unreal to Young. Here he was, a native of nearby New Brunswick, N.J., playing in the stadium where he had boyhood dreams of major league stardom, wearing the uniform of the Dodgers--the team that gave him his start--and performing in front of his parents, who were in the stands.

“I had to pinch myself. It was great to have on a Dodger uniform,” said Young, who was claimed by the Rockies from the Dodgers in the 1992 expansion draft. “I probably gained some respect if I didn’t have it before. When you have a night like this, it’s easy to be accepted by everybody. It’s a great beginning. Hopefully, I’ll have many more nights like this to remove any doubts if anybody had any.”

If anyone indeed had any, they weren’t expressing them in the Dodger clubhouse Tuesday night.

“You’ve just got to watch him play. I don’t think anybody needs to explain anything,” Karros said when asked to explain what the acquisition of Young means to the Dodgers. “He showed it all.”

Among the things Young, 30, showed Tuesday night was the ability to turn the double play, sorely needed by a club that is last in the league in that statistic.

In the fourth inning with a runner on first, New York catcher Todd Hundley hit a grounder to Todd Zeile at third. Although Young was playing far to the right of second base, he arrived in plenty of time to take Zeile’s throw and complete the double play.

“That was the most impressive thing he did,” Karros said. “He came from short right field.”

Young singled to center in the first inning off New York starter Brian Bohanon (3-2) and stole second, but was left there. Young singled off the pitcher’s glove in the third, but failed to advance.

In the Dodger fifth, with Brett Butler at second via a bunt single and a sacrifice, Young singled to right to drive him in. Mike Piazza’s double sent Young home.

But the Dodgers didn’t get much time to enjoy that 2-0 lead. It took New York four batters to even things in the bottom of the fifth off Ismael Valdes (8-10).

With runners on second and third and one out, Bohanon singled down the right-field line to tie the score.

“To have the pitcher do that kind of deflated us a little bit,” Karros said.

It was Karros, however, who again inflated the Dodgers in the eighth.

“In that situation,” Karros said, “with two out and nobody on, the thing I have to do is drive the ball into the gap or hit a home run. I don’t do anybody any good if I hit a single.”

Not to worry.

Karros drove a low fastball from Bohanon 378 feet into the seats in left-center to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.

Back-to-back doubles by Raul Mondesi and Zeile accounted for the final run.

Todd Worrell pitched the ninth to pick up his 30th save.

When it was over, Young was asked how he could perform so well so soon after flying in.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe I’ll try it again tomorrow, take a short flight and come back before the game.”

Not a chance. The Dodgers let him loose once. They are not about to let him take off again.

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SUDDEN IMPACT

A look at how Eric Young fared in his first game with the Dodgers after Monday’s trade from Colorado:

* First inning: With one out, singled to center. Stole second. Stranded at second when Karros struck out.

* Third inning: With two outs, singled to left. Stranded at first when Piazza grounded out.

* Fifth inning: With two out and Brett Butler on second, Young singled to right, scoring Butler. Young scored on Piazza’s double.

* Eighth inning: Struck out leading off the inning.