Dodgers Thrown for Two Losses

Raul Mondesi was back in the Dodger lineup Sunday, but on the eve of what was projected to be one of the biggest series of the first half of the season, the Dodgers look like a team suffering from arrested development.

The Colorado Rockies beat the Dodgers, 3-2, in 12 innings before 41,964 fans who left Dodger Stadium wondering what could possibly happen next to a club that was supposed to contend for the National League West Division championship.

Mondesi sat out Saturday’s loss to the Rockies after he was arrested early that morning in Glendale for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was hitless in four at-bats Sunday with a walk and two strikeouts, including one with a runner on and one out in the 12th with the Dodgers trailing, 3-1.

Before the game, Mondesi issued a statement that said he regretted the impact that the incident had on the team and fans.

The Dodgers got more bad news during Sunday’s game when veteran right-hander Ramon Martinez was forced to leave the mound after 4 2/3 innings because of stiffness in his right shoulder. Martinez was examined by Dr. Frank Jobe after he departed and will be reexamined today.

Reliever Scott Radinsky capped the day with a throwing error on a bunt play in the 12th inning that set the stage for Todd Helton’s game-winning two-run single.

Dodger Manager Bill Russell said the Mondesi situation did not distract his team Sunday, but he acknowledged that other situations have made for a tumultuous season. The Dodgers will open a two-game series at San Diego on Tuesday trailing the division-leading Padres by 9 1/2 games.

Not exactly where Russell figured the Dodgers would be when they meet their division rivals for the first time after 68 games.

“There have been a lot of things going against us,” Russell said. “With Randy Johnson [trade rumors], the Nomo situation--we’re just trying to get reestablished and get something concrete going here.

“All of a sudden, it seems like something happens. Ramon’s out now for we don’t know how long. There’s always something going on here. Hopefully we can weather this storm and play well in San Diego.”

The Dodgers will need more offense than the three hits they managed against former teammate Pedro Astacio on Sunday.

Astacio, who was traded to the Rockies last August for second baseman Eric Young, had his best outing of the season. He gave up one run, struck out six and walked only one in nine innings. The only inning he faced more than three batters was in the fourth, when Jim Eisenreich’s bases-loaded groundout tied the score, 1-1.

Astacio retired the last 14 batters he faced. Thomas Howard’s lead-off single in the fifth was the last hit he surrendered and that was quickly erased when Astacio got Charles Johnson to ground into a double play.

Jose Vizcaino’s first-inning double and Young’s leadoff double in the fourth were the other hits against Astacio, who was pitching against his mentor, Martinez, for the first time.

The only run Martinez gave up came on a solo home run by Larry Walker in the third that staked the Rockies to a 1-0 lead. Martinez had given up four hits and had struck out six when he was replaced by Dennis Reyes after surrendering a two-out single to Mike Lansing in the fifth.

“I was trying to throw hard and get my good fastball, but I was uncomfortable,” said Martinez, who missed 10 starts last year because of a partial tear in his rotator cuff. “This [pain] is in the front of the shoulder, not the back like last year.

“I came out because I didn’t want to take a chance and keep going out there and make it worse.”

The Dodgers wasted a potential scoring chance in the 10th inning when reliever Dave Veres gave up a leadoff single to Eric Karros, then promptly picked off pinch-runner Roger Cedeno.

Vinny Castilla led off the Rockies’ 12th with a single against Radinsky (2-3), who came on after Antonio Osuna pitched three scoreless innings. Jeff Reed, the next batter, put down a sacrifice bunt between the mound and first base that Radinsky fielded cleanly before hesitating on his throw. The ball rolled into right field and put runners at second and third. Helton then stepped up and hit a pitch up the middle to give the Rockies a 3-2 lead.

The Dodgers pulled to within, 3-2, in the 12th on Eisenreich’s two-out single against Jerry Dipoto that scored Vizcaino, who reached on a fielder’s choice. But with Cedeno, who had walked, at third, and Eisenreich at first, left-hander Chuck McElroy came on to retire Bobby Bonilla on a fly ball to center field to end the game.

Rocky reliever Mike DeJean (2-0) earned the victory by pitching a scoreless 11th inning.

So, the Dodgers are off to San Diego to play the Padres, a team riding a seven-game winning streak after sweeping the second-place Giants.

“We cannot get too far behind,” Martinez said of the division race. “The last couple of games, we haven’t hit much. That’s the thing that concerns me a little bit.”

It’s only one of many concerns for the Dodgers.

* J.A. ADANDE

Raul Mondesi’s arrest should not be considered just another event in a season that constantly generates news. C10

* WELCOME BACK

Raul Mondesi was offered encouragement from teammates and he wasn’t verbally abused by fans in his return to lineup. C10