Dodgers Let Go of Game Early, 7-3

The “O” in Oakland might as well have stood for opportunity for the Dodgers as they returned home Monday.

All was quiet after the hubbub of recent weeks. Ramon Martinez, their most consistent starter, was on the mound, and the no-longer-great Athletics were in town. But instead of at least keeping pace with San Francisco and San Diego, the Dodgers lost to Oakland, 7-3, in front of 27,027 and fell to 8 1/2 games behind San Francisco in the National League West.

The Dodgers were in trouble right from the beginning. The disastrous first began with Ramon Martinez walking leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson and ended with Oakland ahead, 4-0, after scoring three unearned runs with the help of a rare gaffe by catcher Charles Johnson, who didn’t commit an error all last season with the Marlins.

“It was a play I definitely should have had,” said Johnson, who also holds the major league record for consecutive errorless games--an impressive 172 in a row that ended on opening day this season. “Errors are always tough to take, but that’s real tough, a play that needed to be made. That’s not a difficult play.”

Martinez loaded the bases with only one out after allowing Scott Spiezio to extend his hitting streak to 17 games with a single and then walking Matt Stairs.

For a moment, Martinez looked as if he would get out of the jam on an inning-ending double play when Mike Blowers hit a little comebacker to the mound. But Martinez’s easy toss to Johnson went right off his glove--perhaps because Johnson was already thinking of the throw to first for a double play--and Henderson and Spiezio scored before he recovered.

“When it hit me in the glove, I thought I had it, but I went to squeeze and bring the ball to throw it and evidently I lost it somehow,” said Johnson, who committed his fourth error of the season, and his second as a Dodger.

“It was one of those plays that could have gotten him out of that jam. He couldn’t have written it any better. He threw it to me, and I throw it to first base. . . . I was shocked when I didn’t have the ball in my glove.”

After that, catcher Mike Macfarlane drove in another run with a sacrifice fly, and shortstop Miguel Tejada drove in another with a single.

The tone was set, and although Martinez pitched five scoreless innings before allowing another run, the A’s blew open the game in the seventh on Jason Giambi’s three-run homer. The loss ended a five-game winning streak for Martinez, who gave up seven runs--three unearned--on six hits over seven innings, striking out five and walking five.

Oakland starter Blake Stein--one of the three pitchers Oakland got for Mark McGwire last season--dominated the Dodgers for most of the game, striking out a career-high 10, and giving up only one run on Paul Konerko’s homer before Eric Karros’ two-run homer with one out in the ninth ended his night.

Billy Taylor came on to get the final two outs. Stein (2-3) allowed three runs on five hits, walking one.

Before Konerko’s homer, Stein had retired 11 batters in a row.

Konerko’s homer was his second in three games after hitting the first one of his major league career Saturday against Seattle, and his blast Monday gave him eight RBIs in the past three games. Manager Bill Russell has taken due notice of the way Konerko is swinging the bat and started him in left field after using him at other spots during the Seattle series. Konerko might prove part of the answer in left with Todd Hollandsworth out because of shoulder surgery.

But Konerko was advising caution--clearly remembers his early-season difficulties, when he started at first base on opening day but ended up hitting .197 when he was sent down to triple-A Albuquerque on April 24.

The first inning took care of the Dodgers, as it turned out, ending their two-game winning streak.

“We should have gotten out of that first inning,” Martinez said. “Just the little thing we missed, that was the game. This is baseball. Anything can happen. But it was kind of surprising to see C.J. do that. Probably he expected the ball a little lower.

“But it’s only one game. We can start tomorrow. Maybe this might be the only game we’re going to lose [on the home stand].”