Braves Can’t Get Enough of Perez

Dodger Manager Davey Johnson has been upset with himself because he failed to remove pitcher Carlos Perez after the sixth inning in his previous start.

Perez was then pounded in the seventh inning for the second time in as many outings to that point, prompting the frustrated manager to say he wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Perez didn’t give him the chance Monday.

The struggling left-hander was chased after only 3 2/3 innings during a horrible performance in an 11-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium.

Johnson removed Perez after a two-run double by Brian Jordan in the fourth gave the Braves a 6-0 lead, stirring mock applause among a crowd of 31,454 that apparently wanted Perez (0-3) gone shortly after his opening pitch.

Perez gave up eight hits and six earned runs.

His ERA increased from 6.59 to 8.31.

Much more is expected from the Dodgers’ No. 4 starter, who signed a three-year, $15.5-million contract in the off-season.

“It’s never pretty when the pitching isn’t good,” Johnson said.

“It almost looked like they knew what was coming. He’d make a pretty good pitch and they’d hit him pretty hard. Not much more to say than that.”

Johnson may bump Perez from his next start with two days off scheduled over the next seven days.

“You’ve got to figure on how guys are pitching,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to figure that the guy who hasn’t pitched well more than likely is going to miss a start.”

The Dodgers had hoped for a strong start to the six-game homestand after going 2-5 on their first trip. Instead the team expected to win the National League West and challenge the powerful Braves for the pennant lost for the sixth time in eight games, dropping to 7-7 after beginning the season 5-1.

Atlanta starter John Smoltz (2-0) held the Dodgers in check through six strong innings.

Smoltz gave up four hits and one run, Raul Mondesi’s homer in the sixth, which gives him the National League lead with six.

Smoltz also contributed a run-scoring single against Perez as the Braves took a 2-0 lead with two runs in the second inning.

Todd Hundley and Dave Hansen also hit homers--the second for each--against Atlanta reliever Justin Speier. After Perez’s work, though, the Dodgers needed a lot more than three solo shots against the Braves, who supported Smoltz and two relievers with 18 hits.

Trailing, 11-2, after the seventh, Johnson replaced five of the eight position players, figuring things were out of hand.

Of course, Perez’s performance wasn’t the only bad news for a team suddenly reeling in the early going.

Reliever Robinson Checo was awful in his Dodger debut. Checo, acquired Friday in the five-player deal that sent Dave Mlicki to the Detroit Tigers, was pummeled in 3 1/3 innings.

The right-hander gave up eight hits--including a two-run homer to Bret Boone in the sixth--and five earned runs.

He has a 13.50 ERA after one game.

Dodger officials said at the time of the trade that Checo’s powerful arm should give a boost to the bullpen--exactly how wasn’t apparent Monday.

Johnson held a conference on the mound with Checo, but didn’t remove him, after Boone’s run-scoring single in the seventh gave the Braves an 11-1 lead.

That triggered an exodus to the parking lots, though fans wouldn’t have missed many Dodger highlights had they left much earlier.

But Perez’s performance was the most disturbing news for the Dodgers.

He pitched well through six innings in his first two outings. Perez faced the minimum through six against the Colorado Rockies on April 8, but gave up five hits and four runs in the seventh in a 4-2 loss.

He failed to make it out of the seventh against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, giving up 11 hits and six runs in 6 1/3 innings in a 6-2 loss last Thursday.

He failed to get out of the fourth Monday, and might get some time off this week to think about it.