It’s Back to Square One as Valdes, Dodgers Fall

So much for a late-season charge.

The Dodgers failed to maintain the momentum from their impressive series against the New York Mets, losing Tuesday night to the Montreal Expos, 6-4, at Olympic Stadium.

Vladimir Guerrero hit two, two-out home runs to lead the Expos before an announced crowd of 7,645. He had the biggest hit of the game, a three-run blast in Montreal’s four-run fifth inning against Ismael Valdes.

Additionally, Guerrero hit a solo homer in the seventh against struggling reliever Alan Mills, marking the third multi-homer game of his career and second this season. Guerrero’s 24th and 25th homers, combined with one of Valdes’ poorest performances of the season, proved too much for the Dodgers to overcome.

Forget about taking three of four games from the talented Mets. The Dodgers are now forced to start all over again.

“Coming off all the runs we scored in New York, this is definitely frustrating,” said catcher Todd Hundley, who hit his 17th homer in the second inning. “I don’t think this was our last shot [to start a long winning streak], but we definitely have to get something going soon. We definitely have to get something going and be consistent with it.”

Valdes has been the Dodgers’ most consistent starter this season, receiving praise from teammates and management for giving the ballclub many quality outings while working with inconsistent support. However, Valdes (8-11) simply had one of those tough nights Tuesday in his six-inning outing.

He gave up seven hits--among them two homers--and five runs. In addition to the blast Guerrero hit against Valdes, Shane Andrews hit a one-out solo homer in the sixth to give Montreal a 5-3 lead.

Valdes was down--and soon to be out.

“I just wish I could have gotten that pitch back,” Valdes said of the pitch Guerrero hit. “I feel that I just gave away this game. I feel I didn’t support my teammates.”

It didn’t start that way.

Hundley hit a two-out homer in the second against Montreal starter Mike Thurman (5-7) to stake his batterymate to a 1-0 lead. Dodger starters became accustomed to pitching with early leads against the Mets, and Hundley’s blast continued the trend.

Things looked especially good for the Dodgers when they extended their lead to 3-0 in the fifth on Adrian Beltre’s 11th homer, and a run-scoring single by Todd Hollandsworth. This season, Valdes often has shown his mettle while working with leads.

Tuesday’s effort was an exception.

His problems began with two out in the fifth. Leadoff batter Jose Vidro singled and the Expos finally were getting started against Valdes, who gave up only two hits through the first four innings.

Orlando Merced drove in Vidro with a double for the Expos’ first run. Then Valdes struggled with his command, walking Michael Barrett to put runners on first and second with Guerrero on deck.

On an 0-and-1 count, Valdes tried to throw a fastball past Guerrero. That proved to be a mistake.

Guerrero crushed the pitch, sending the ball into the second row of seats in left. That gave the Expos a 4-2 lead, and the Dodgers were playing from behind again.

“Basically, he made that one mistake walking the guy in front of Guerrero, and then he threw one down the middle to him,” Dodger Manager Davey Johnson said. “That’s what he’s going to do with it. You can’t make that mistake to the best hitter in their lineup.”

Of course, Guerrero wasn’t finished. He hit his second homer of the game against Mills, who has been out of sync for weeks.

“He’s got a hot bat right now,” Hundley said of Guerrero, who leads the Expos with 81 runs batted in. “What the heck can you do? The guy is just on fire right now.”

The Dodgers wish they were.