Dodgers’ Six-Pack Is Very Refreshing

Remember the Braves’ pitching staff when they had only two effective starters? Their battle cry was (Warren) Spahn and (Johnny) Sain and pray for rain.

The Dodgers can relate.

For them, it has become Brown and frown.

Ace right-hander Kevin Brown halted yet another Dodger slide Wednesday, one that threatened to send them to their lowest point of a disappointing season, by pitching his club to a 7-2 victory over the AL West-leading Texas Rangers in front of a Dodger Stadium crowd of 46,539.

That ended a three-game Dodger losing streak and enabled the club to climb back to .500 at 29-29. They have yet to fall more than one game below .500 all season.

Get a solid pitching performance from the starter, a soaring home run, an explosive inning, a balanced hitting attack, nearly flawless defense and the Dodgers can look like the club many thought they would be back in the spring when visions of a World Series were dancing in the head of General Manager Kevin Malone.

The Dodgers might be able to do this every night if Brown had a rubber arm. He not only leads the club on the payroll sheet with his $105-million contract, but in nearly every meaningful pitching category as well.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the rest of their starting staff has struggled through this season with performances that can be described as mediocre at best.

To call the performance of Texas right-hander Mark Clark, the Rangers’ starter Wednesday, mediocre would be a compliment.

He was coming off a disastrous performance. Clark had lasted only 2 1/3 innings against the Diamondbacks at Arizona before departing shell-shocked, having been blasted for four home runs and eight runs.

Although he entered the game with a career ERA of 4.23 against the Dodgers, for three innings Clark held them to one hit.

But in the fourth, all the tension and frustration of recent days seemed to explode in an offensive outburst that put six Dodger runs on the scoreboard and, ultimately, Clark in the showers. The key hit came after Gary Sheffield had singled and Raul Mondesi walked.

Up came Eric Karros, who had gone 44 at-bats without a home run, the most by any Dodger starter. On the second pitch from Clark, Karros erased that streak with a drive that landed halfway up the bleachers in left-center, estimated at 424 feet from home plate. It was Karros’ eighth home run and gave him 29 runs batted in.

Before the inning ended, Angel Pena, starting behind the plate in place of Todd Hundley, drove in a run on a single and Eric Young knocked in two more when his ground ball went under the glove of third baseman Todd Zeile.

A six-run lead and Brown on the mound? Was this one in the bank or what?

Not quite.

The Rangers responded in the fifth inning. With two out, they loaded the bases and Rusty Greer lined a single into center field to drive in a pair of runs.

With two runners still on board and the ever-dangerous Juan Gonzalez at bat in search of his 1,000th RBI, Brown was able to shut the Rangers down by getting Gonzalez on a ground ball to third.

It was to be the last gasp for the Rangers (35-23), who would not get another hit off Brown (7-3) or reliever Jamie Arnold, who pitched the ninth.

Young’s RBI single in the sixth inning accounted for the final Dodger run.

“I’ll take that any time,” Brown, who struck out six and walked three, said of the run support. “It gives you some breathing room. It was much appreciated against a team like that.

“I had great command, I was hitting the spots, but I was behind on the count a lot. Going out there with a six-spot makes it a little easier. They are throwing thunder over there.”

Said Karros, “When you give a pitcher a lead like that, you feel like you are going to win. It’s been a collective lull. We just haven’t had the big pitch or the big hit.”

Wednesday marked the second consecutive night the Dodgers collected 11 hits. The difference between victory and defeat was Brown.

But, unfortunately for the Dodgers, he won’t be available again for four more games.