Dodgers Know Why 13 Is a Bad Number

Tom Prince thought he would make the play, and Raul Mondesi thought his great night would end in a Dodger victory.

They were both wrong.

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Dodgers, 3-2, in 13 innings on Jeromy Burnitz’s two-out, run-scoring single to right before what remained of a crowd of 32,910 at Dodger Stadium Monday night. Mondesi’s throw to the plate eluded Prince, the Dodger backup catcher, as Fernando Vina scored the go-ahead run.

“It was a good throw, and I was trying to make the play, but you can’t make the play without the ball,” said Prince, who entered the game in the ninth inning. “The ball was there, I just didn’t make the play. No excuses, I just didn’t get it done.”

Vina scored from second when Burnitz, the Brewers’ cleanup hitter, singled to right against reliever Frank Lankford (0-2). A one-hop throw home by Mondesi, the Gold Glove right fielder, handcuffed Prince as Vina crossed the plate.

Mondesi had a career-high five hits in six at-bats . He gave the Dodgers their first run with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, doubled and singled three times. The homer was Mondesi’s fourth and the second in his last three games.

“I want to have a great game, but I also want to win,” said Mondesi, who raised his batting average to .250. “Our bullpen did a great job, our offense just didn’t do enough.”

The run Lankford gave up ended a scoreless streak at 34 innings for the bullpen. .

“Our pitchers have done an outstanding job,” Manager Bill Russell said. “Once again, we had many opportunities tonight, and we just didn’t get the big hit when we needed it.

“We had opportunity after opportunity, but that’s been our problem. We won three in a row, but it just wasn’t our night.”

The Dodgers--coming off a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs--had tied the score with two runs in the bottom of the ninth against Brewer closer Doug Jones. He began the game tied for the major league lead with eight saves, but suffered his second blown save in as many days.

Mondesi led off the ninth with a home run to left on the first pitch from Jones, and Eric Karros hit a line drive to the gap in left that bounced over the left-field wall for a ground-rule double. Trenidad Hubbard ran for Karros, who was playing in only his third game after undergoing left knee surgery March 24.

Hubbard went to third on a sacrifice by Matt Luke, and scored on Jose Vizcaino’s single through the middle on a 2-and-0 count.

That was all for Jones.

Left-hander Mike Myers struck out left-handed pinch hitter Thomas Howard, and was relieved by Chad Fox. After Eric Young walked, Roger Cedeno struck out, sending the game to extra innings.

Dodger starter Chan Ho Park pitched 7 2/3 innings, which was his longest outing of the season. He gave up six hits, among them a solo homer by former USC All-American Geoff Jenkins in the second inning.

Jenkins, the Brewers’ first-round selection in the 1995 free-agent draft, hit his second home run since being promoted from triple-A Louisville to replace injured first baseman John Jaha. On a 2-and-2 count, Jenkins sent a pitch from Park into the pavilion in right-center to give Milwaukee a 1-0.

Jenkins--the 1995 Pacific 10 Conference player of the year--became the first Brewer to hit a home run in his debut Friday against Orel Hershiserin San Francisco.

Park threw 100 pitches, 64 of which were strikes, and didn’t appear to be bothered by the lower back stiffness he has experienced since spring training.

The Dodgers had a golden opportunity to score the in the eighth inning against Brewer reliever Bob Wickman. But Dodger hitters failed to produce when it counted.

With two out, and Mike Piazza on deck, Cedeno walked. It was Wickman who gave up a game-winning three-run homer to Piazza in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 9-6 victory at Milwaukee last Wednesday.

This time, Piazza singled through the middle. But the threat ended when Todd Zeile struck out swinging on a 2-and-2 pitch.