Dodgers Give Support to Park’s Back

Chan Ho Park is still experiencing back problems, and he is annoyed by the discomfort.

Fortunately for the Dodgers, Park’s pain hasn’t derailed him.

He pitched five shutout innings Sunday to help the Dodgers defeat the Pirates, 10-5, and win their third game in the four-game series before an announced crowd of 18,674 at Three Rivers Stadium.

The offense supported Park (3-0) with 13 hits, including six in their five-run second inning. Mike Piazza and Todd Hollandsworth were the only starters without a hit as the Dodgers won for the eighth time in 11 games.

Moreover, they dominated the Pirates in the series without a big performance from Piazza--who batted .235 (four for 17)--which was also encouraging for a team struggling for offensive consistency. And right-handed reliever Antonio Osuna, who left Thursday to be with his ailing father in Mexico, pitched the ninth after rejoining the team earlier in the day.

But Park admitted that he is concerned about his lingering back stiffness, which isn’t news the Dodgers like.

“I don’t know about it, it keeps happening,” Park said. “It goes away, then it’s just a little, and then it comes back.

“Today, it was more sore than before, than the last couple of days. The doctor looked at it, but I don’t know.”

With an 8-0 lead in the fifth, Manager Bill Russell removed Park as a precautionary measure. Park isn’t expected to miss his next scheduled start Friday at Florida, but Russell said he will continue to be monitored closely.

Park experienced stiffness in his back earlier in the game, though he isn’t sure when he aggravated the injury he suffered in spring training. He gave up two hits, and struck out three with a walk.

He threw only 69 pitches against the overmatched Pirates, but was forced to leave his third start because of back pain.

“He’s a good pitcher, and it’s obviously tougher to hit a guy when he’s on,” Pittsburgh catcher Jason Kendall said. “But that wasn’t the case with him today, and we still didn’t hit him.”

Park wanted to continue pitching, but Russell said no.

“We’ve been through this with him before,” Russell said. “It didn’t make sense to send him back out there with an [8-0] lead. The pain goes and it comes, so it’s something we just have to keep watching.”

Park may have aggravated the injury in the first. He turned awkwardly while attempting to field a single by Kendall through the middle.

Or it may have occurred at the plate in the second, when he doubled to drive in two runs. Or maybe it happened while he was running to cover a base.

“That’s the thing, I don’t know,” he said. “It could have happened when I run, or hit or pitch, but what can I do?”

Park does daily exercises for his back, and has undergone acupuncture in an attempt to ease the pain.

“Sometimes it feels fine,” he said. “Sometimes it’s nothing for a long time, but I know when it comes back.”

Russell and pitching coach Glenn Gregson have encouraged Park to cut down his batting swing. They believe that would help significantly.

“But we also don’t want to take his aggressiveness away from him, so we’re trying to find the right balance,” Gregson said. “The stiffness isn’t something that is forcing him to miss starts, so it’s something you keep working on, and evaluating, when he goes out there.”

The Dodgers didn’t need much from Park on Sunday.

They broke the game open in the second against Pirate starter Jose Silva (2-3), who gave up five runs and six hits in the second. He didn’t record an out before being replaced by reliever Chris Peters.

The Dodgers outscored the Pirates, 33-20, in the series. And they would have swept Pittsburgh if they had protected their 4-1, sixth-inning lead in the second game Friday. The Pirates rallied to win, 5-4.

“We definitely let that one slip away, but we took care of business after that,” second baseman Eric Young said. “This is definitely a good way to end a series.”

That is, if Park’s back is OK.