L.A. Bullpen Shows Cubs Who’s Boss

Dodger owner Rupert Murdoch attended his second game Saturday night, and sat in the stands among the fans.

The bullpen gave the boss and his guests something to cheer about.

Three relievers combined to continue the group’s success in a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs before a sellout crowd of 53,755 at Dodger Stadium.

Mark Guthrie (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning to earn the victory, and Scott Radinsky pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to secure his team-leading fourth save. The Dodgers, who had only three hits, scored the go-ahead run on an error in the sixth by Cub starter Jeremi Gonzalez, after Raul Mondesi hit the tying two-run home run in the fifth.

But the relievers played the biggest role, the Dodgers said.

After starter Darren Dreifort gave up two runs in five innings, Guthrie, Brad Clontz and Radinsky shut down the Cubs as the Dodgers won the second game of the three-game series. Mickey Morandini’s single in the sixth off Guthrie was the Cubs’ only hit against them.

The bullpen has not been charged with an earned run in 24 2/3 innings in seven games.

“These guys are doing an amazing job,” Manager Bill Russell said. “And this isn’t a fluke, because they have a lot of talent.”

Murdoch attended the home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 7, but he sat in a box with former owner Peter O’Malley. This time, he was closer to the action.

The Dodgers scored the winning run in the sixth, thanks to some help from Gonzalez.

Wilton Guerrero, pinch-hitting for Guthrie, hit a line drive to left-center. Cub center fielder Lance Johnson slid to prevent the ball from rolling past him, but Guerrero, hitting .375 as a pinch-hitter, still wound up with a double.

Eric Young then laid down a sacrifice bunt that Gonzalez fielded between the mound and the third-base line. He turned to throw to third, but no one was covering. He hurried his throw to first, and hit Young in the back with the ball, Guerrero scoring to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.

“Jeremi is just so athletic, he always believes he can get that lead runner,” Cub Manager Jim Riggleman said. “The ball just got away from him when he turned to go to first.”

The Dodgers knocked him down several times with line drives--but they couldn’t knock him out.

Gonzalez gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits in seven innings, and had a career-high 10 strikeouts. He threw 110 pitches, 70 for strikes.

Gonzalez had a perfect game through four. He struck out six to that point, including the side in the third.

But the Dodgers got to him in the fifth.

Todd Zeile opened the inning with a single to right, and Mondesi quickly tied the score.

On a 2-and-0 count, he sent a pitch from Gonzalez halfway up the left-field pavilion. Mondesi’s third homer traveled an estimated 428 feet--and provided a boost for the struggling star.

“I haven’t been hitting, but tonight I helped my team,” said Mondesi, who is batting .212. “I know that when we start hitting, with our pitching, we’re going to win a lot of games.”

Dreifort won the fifth starter’s job in spring training, but he hasn’t had much work in his new role. Because of the schedule, he was making only his second start.

And this one went better than his first.

He pitched five strong innings, giving up four hits. He walked two and struck out six while throwing 84 pitches, 47 strikes.

His problems came in the fourth, when Sammy Sosa had a run-scoring double and Mark Grace singled in Sosa for a 2-0 lead.

“He’s a great athlete, so we’re confident we can use him in any role,” Russell said of Dreifort. “He’s the type of guy who just wants to go out there and compete as often as he can.”