Hollandsworth Takes Blame for 4-2 Loss

Life was a party for Todd Hollandsworth in 1996, and he had reason to believe the good times would continue.

The Dodger outfielder was selected the National League rookie of the year, and he seemed poised for success off the field with his movie-star image. Hollandsworth appeared to be on top of the world.

But those days seem a distant memory.

Little has gone right for him since, and his problems continued Monday night when he committed a key eighth-inning error that helped the Atlanta Braves defeat the Dodgers, 4-2, in front of a crowd of 32,330 at Turner Field.

The left fielder was handcuffed by a line drive hit by Andres Galarraga, and his error put two runners in scoring position with none out. Two batters later, Javy Lopez hit a two-run single against a drawn-in infield, capping the three-run inning, which ruined another strong start by Hideo Nomo.

A day after getting 13 hits in routing the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-5, the Dodgers had only five hits.

With two out and runners at first and second in the ninth, Raul Mondesi struck out swinging against Atlanta reliever Kerry Ligtenberg, who also struck out Mike Piazza in the inning. Ligtenberg got his second save in securing the victory for starter Kevin Millwood (4-1).

And when the game ended, one Dodger quickly assigned blame.

“It’s my fault, put it on my shoulders,” said Hollandsworth, who is hitless in his last 15 at-bats with six strikeouts.

“It was just hit so hard, it handcuffed me. There was nothing I could do with it, so blame it on me. Plain and simple, that’s just the way it is. It’s hard, but all I can do is keep my head up and try to get through it.”

Hollandsworth entered the game in the eighth as a defensive replacement for Matt Luke, who has moved ahead of him. The Dodgers went ahead, 2-1, on a leadoff home run to left by Todd Zeile--his fourth--in the top of the inning.

Manager Bill Russell let Nomo pitch into the eighth. He had thrown 97 pitches to that point and would face Keith Lockhart to open the inning. Lockhart, who singled to left-center in the third, was among the few Braves who hit Nomo hard.

He did again in the eighth, sending a fastball from Nomo, on a 3-and-1 count, into the right-field seats to tie the score, 2-2. Russell then removed his starter, who gave up two runs and five hits. He threw 101 pitches, 60 of which were strikes, and struck out five with three walks.

“He earned the right to go back out there,” Russell said. “His pitch count was OK, and he was pitching great. He wanted to go back out there, and you have to have faith in your starters.”

After Chipper Jones singled to center against loser Mark Guthrie (1-1), Jim Bruske faced Galarraga. As soon as he hit the ball, Hollandsworth sensed he was in trouble.

“I took a step up, thinking I would get it on one bounce,” he said. “But on one bounce, all of a sudden, it was already behind me.”

The ball rolled to the wall, and Jones and Galarraga went to third and second. After Ryan Klesko struck out swinging, Lopez singled--adding to Hollandsworth’s nightmare.

He is batting .236 with two home runs and 10 RBIs, and his position in left is no longer guaranteed. He batted .247 with only four home runs and 31 RBIs in an injury-plagued 1997 season, and was demoted in June to triple-A Albuquerque for 16 days.

As if that weren’t enough, Hollandsworth lost his arbitration hearing in spring training.

“It’s hard when things are going this way, but all I can do is try to make the most of my opportunities when I get them,” he said. “I’ve come to the ballpark ready to play each day, and that’s what I’m going to keep doing.

“It’s frustrating, because I wasn’t [0-15] over two games, it’s been seven or eight games. I have no say or control over what they think is the right thing to do for this ballclub, my job is just to do what’s asked of me.”

And increasingly, the Dodgers are asking less of Hollandsworth.