Dodgers Find Signs of Life in Their Bats

They had seen signs of improvement, but the Dodger hitters knew they were capable of more.

Their beliefs were reinforced Friday.

On another chilly afternoon, the Dodgers hit three home runs and set season-high totals in hits and runs in an 11-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs before a crowd of 20,175 at Wrigley Field.

Catcher Mike Piazza paced the attack by hitting his fourth homer and driving in four runs, and third baseman Todd Zeile hit his second homer and extended his team-high hitting streak to 10 games. The Dodgers produced 14 hits in support of starter Chan Ho Park (2-0), who pitched six strong innings but was forced to leave the game after aggravating his back injury. Frank Lankford pitched three innings to earn his first save.

After enduring the cold and snow during a two-game series against the Colorado Rockies, the Dodgers were unfazed by temperatures in the low 50s on Friday. They have won eight of 11 after opening the season with a four-game losing streak, and they said the reason for their turnaround is clear.

“You’ve got to produce in this game to win, and that’s what we did today,” Manager Bill Russell said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about, about getting some consistency out of our offense. What we did today, that’s what this team is capable of. It’s as simple as that.”

The Dodgers had one more hit than the previous season high they established twice. Their run total exceeded the nine they scored in a victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the home opener at Dodger Stadium.

Park gave up a two-run homer to Mickey Morandini in the first inning, but retired 15 in a row at one point.

He told Russell and pitching coach Glenn Gregson he wasn’t in much pain, but they removed him after the Dodgers took an 11-2 lead in the seventh.

“My back hurt a little less today than in my last start, and a little less than the time before,” said Park, who singled in four at-bats and improved to 6-1 against the Cubs. “I’m feeling much better now.”

The Dodgers chased Cub starter Mark Clark (2-1) after 2 1/3 innings. He gave up five runs and seven hits and was hit hard.

“We didn’t get any cheap ones,” second baseman Eric Young said. “Everything was working from the top [of the lineup] on down.”

Young went two for four with two runs, and stole his sixth and seventh bases. Hollandsworth scored two runs and hit a solo homer, his second, in the Dodgers’ four-run seventh against reliever Terry Mulholland, who also gave up Zeile’s homer as the Dodgers batted around.

“This gives us a chance to have a little fun,” said Zeile, who is batting .357 (15 for 42) during his streak. “You could hear a pin drop in the dugout and clubhouse at the beginning of the season, but everyone is loose and confident now.

“Even though we didn’t score a lot of runs in Colorado, you could see the improvement on the last home stand. And you have to give a lot of credit to the top of the lineup.”

Young and Hollandsworth scored on Piazza’s double with none out in the first, and Young scored on Piazza’s two-out homer to right-center in the fourth against reliever Amaury Telemaco, which gave the Dodgers a 7-2 lead. The Cubs pitched to Piazza with first base open and Zeile on deck.

“I wasn’t surprised they pitched to me,” Piazza said. “[Telemaco] made some good pitches, but I got a good swing, and it obviously helps when [Zeile] is hitting the way he is behind me.”

The Dodgers won their second consecutive game for the fourth time, but haven’t had a three-game winning streak.

“We need to keep this going,” Russell said. “Hopefully, this will lead to us getting hot.”