Park Still Can’t Shake His Slump

Chan Ho Park is trying to keep the faith.

The Dodger starting pitcher wants to believe in himself, and he wants to trust himself on the mound. But more than anything, Park desperately wants things to be as they once were for him.

His confidence continued to erode Sunday night in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 8-5 victory before 48,682 at Bank One Ballpark.

Park lasted only 2 1/3 innings in his shortest outing this season, and the second shortest in his three-year career. Diamondback starter Willie Blair (2-7) survived a shaky start to pitch seven solid innings, and Gregg Olson pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his fourth save.

Park dropped to 4-3 with a 5.43 earned-run average. He was out of sync from the outset in losing for the third time in four starts.

Of course, it didn’t help that the Dodgers committed four errors--leading to four unearned runs. Their winning streak ended at three games and they dropped a game under .500 at 24-25.

But the Dodgers were understandably more concerned about Park, who was visibly shaken after his latest setback.

“I don’t know anymore,” said Park, who struggled to express his thoughts as he sat slumped in the visitors’ clubhouse.

“Obviously, I really don’t know what the problem is, because this keeps [happening]. Maybe I’ve lost how to throw hard. . . . maybe I’ve lost how to pitch my breaking ball.

“I keep trying to forget what happened in the last game, and go on to the next game. But. . . . maybe I’m just worried about what’s wrong.”

He has reason to be.

On Sunday, he gave up five hits and five runs (two earned). David Dellucci’s one-out, two-run home run to right-center in the third gave the Diamondbacks a 5-4 lead--and sent Park to the clubhouse.

He threw 71 pitches, 38 strikes. In comparison, Darren Dreifort and Ramon Martinez threw 96 and 105 pitches, respectively, in their complete-game victories against the Diamondbacks the last two games.

Park has failed to pitch at least five innings in six of his 11 starts this season, including the last two.

“I need to forget this and get that old feeling back,” said Park, who went 14-8 with a 3.38 ERA last season.

“I need to find what that was. I need to relax and be confident. I need to believe in myself, but it’s hard.”

His problems are more alarming now to team officials than earlier in the season, because the Dodgers are carrying only 10 pitchers, instead of the customary 11. Less than three innings from a starter won’t cut it.

“He hasn’t quite yet learned how to handle adversity and setbacks,” pitching coach Glenn Gregson said. “I compare it to a hitter in a batting slump, who changes his stance every time he doesn’t get a hit. I find him searching on the mound, instead of trusting his stuff.”

Manager Bill Russell said the Dodgers will continue to support the 24-year-old right-hander--but the rest is up to Park.

“He’s obviously got no idea of what he’s doing right now,” Russell said. “Everyone struggles in this game, but it’s just all part of major league baseball and growing up.”

After Park squandered a 3-0 first-inning lead, Gary Sheffield put the Dodgers ahead for the last time in the third with his first homer since joining the team last Friday. His two-out solo homer--his seventh home run overall--to right against Blair gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.

As in the first two games, the Dodgers staked their starting pitcher to an early lead.

Sheffield singled with two out in the first, and Bobby Bonilla singled to put runners on first and third for Raul Mondesi.

Mondesi hit his 11th homer into the left-field seats, giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

With the way Dreifort and Martinez pitched in the series’ first two games, that many runs would have been enough.

But on Sunday, Park was on the mound.