Dodgers Finally Coming Around

Now they perform up to expectations.

The disappointing Dodgers have embarrassed themselves throughout most of this wasted season, but they looked good Monday night in overwhelming the Mets again during a 9-2 victory at Shea Stadium.

Starter Kevin Brown continued his dominant pitching in helping the Dodgers take three of four from the once-hot Mets. Brown (13-6) gave up only two singles in seven shutout innings while outdueling former Dodger Orel Hershiser (11-9), who gave up six hits and three runs in five innings.

Brown left before facing a batter in the Met half of the eighth because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.

Manager Davey Johnson and trainer Stan Johnston went to the mound to remove Brown as a precautionary measure with the Dodgers leading, 7-0. Brown said he expects to make his next scheduled start, Saturday against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium.

“We had a big lead, a seven-run lead, at that time, so there was no sense taking any chances,” Johnson said. “If I can’t protect a seven-run lead, I might as well turn in my manager’s card.”

The Dodgers pounded 13 hits in support of Brown before 36,345. Leadoff batter Mark Grudzielanek stirred things atop the order, going three for five with a walk, two runs and two runs batted in.

First baseman Eric Karros drove in four runs to atone for committing his fifth error of the season in the third inning. Karros had an outstanding series, driving in eight runs in the final two games.

“We haven’t had a lot of highlights this season,” Johnson said. “We played well early on and then we stumbled.

“But we came in here against one of the hottest teams in baseball and played well against them. That’s encouraging.”

The Dodgers (50-62) outplayed the Mets during the final three games of the series after dropping the opener, 2-1. They outscored the Mets, 30-11, in the three victories and outhit them, 40-24.

In the process, the Dodgers won three consecutive games for only the fourth time this season.

“We’ve been playing good ball the last couple of days, but the real test for us is to do it on a consistent basis for more than a few games,” said Karros, batting .297 with a team-leading 25 home runs and 75 RBIs. “We haven’t been able to put together a stretch over a three- or four-week period. That’s something we haven’t shown.”

The Mets (67-46) had built a 1 1/2-game lead in the National League East by winning 16 of 20 games coming into the series. The Atlanta Braves moved half a game ahead of the Mets on Monday with their victory over Houston.

Brown didn’t appear to struggle despite his blister.

“It [the blister] made it difficult on some pitches,” said Brown, whose 3.26 earned-run average is the lowest among Dodger starters. “It started around the second or third inning.

“It just started to fill up with fluid. I could have stayed out there, but that wouldn’t have made any sense [because of the big lead].”

The Mets certainly didn’t cause Brown problems.

Brown retired them in order during first, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. New York had only four baserunners against Brown, who won his fourth consecutive decision and earned his 13th victory in his 25th start.

That marked the fastest a Dodger pitcher had reached 13 victories since Ramon Martinez got that many in 24 starts during 1996. Brown struck out three and walked one during Monday’s outing. He kept the Mets off-balance throughout by mixing pitches and getting ahead in counts.

“Whenever Brownie gets in a groove like he’s been in the last five starts, you know he’s going to give you quality starts every time out,” said closer Jeff Shaw, who gave up an unearned run while pitching the ninth inning.

“You know if you give him any type of run support, any type of support at all, he’s just going to chew it up. You know he’s not going to let them [opponents] back in the game.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Star Turn

Since giving up five runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Angeles July 15, Kevin Brown has been dominant. A look: *--*

Date Opp. Inn. H ER BB SO ERA W-L 7-20 Pittsburgh 7 7 4 0 7 5.14 W 7-25 Arizona 8 3 0 3 7 0.00 W 7-30 Arizona 7 2/3 5 2 3 7 2.35 ND 8-4 Houston 9 4 1 2 7 1.00 W 8-9 New York 7 2 0 1 3 0.00 W Total 38 2/3 21 7 9 31 1.63 4-0

*--*