Dodger Report : Brown Dominates Cubs

Sammy Sosa leads the major leagues in home runs, and Kevin Brown hasn’t given up many, especially recently.

Brown didn’t come close to giving up a homer to the Chicago Cub right fielder or his teammates Saturday afternoon in tossing a two-hitter during the Dodgers’ 6-0 victory at Wrigley Field.

Brown (16-6) was again dominant in pitching his first shutout of the season and winning his seventh consecutive decision before a crowd of 35,944. The right-hander needed only 101 pitches (73 strikes) to overwhelm the Cubs while getting his 16th career shutout.

Sosa, who has 57 homers, went hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout. Brown, who gave up only two singles to Jeff Reed, struck out eight and walked one while lowering his earned-run average from 3.24 to 3.10.

“Brownie was real, real good today,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “He threw a lot of first-pitch strikes, and when he does that, it’s over.”

For the second time in as many games, the Dodgers provided more than enough offense by taking the homer spotlight away from Sosa. After hitting three homers in an 8-6 victory Friday, the Dodgers hit four in support of Brown.

They got solo shots from Eric Karros (No. 30), Raul Mondesi (No. 26), Todd Hundley (No. 21) and Mark Grudzielanek (No. 6). Hundley and Grudzielanek homered in the first two games of the series for the Dodgers (64-71), who have won 11 of 15. Grudzielanek went three for four on Saturday to raise his team-leading average to .321, 10th in the National League.

Karros became only the fifth player in the franchise’s Brooklyn-Los Angeles history to have at least four 30-or-more homer seasons, joining Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella and Mike Piazza.

After giving up 16 homers in his first 142 1/3 innings, Brown has not given up one in 72 1/3 innings, and Sosa and the Cubs found out why.

“Brownie threw awesome, just great,” Hundley said. “He was up [in the strike zone] when he wanted to be, he was down when he wanted to be. It was just classic Kevin Brown. He’s just one of the best.”

Pitching a shutout anywhere is significant, but doing it in the “Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field” is really something, many Dodgers said. Brown wasn’t as impressed.

“I got guys to hit ground balls at people instead of in the holes, and that makes all the difference in the world,” said Brown, who is scheduled to make six more starts. “Obviously, all the hoopla going on with Sammy chasing the record again is out there, but you still have to just do your job.”

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As expected, right-hander Eric Gagne was recalled from double-A San Antonio on Saturday, and Johnson said Gagne will start Tuesday against the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium.

Gagne, 23, was selected the Texas League pitcher of the year after going 12-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 26 starts. He led the league with 185 strikeouts, was second in ERA and third in victories.

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Left-hander Carlos Perez was treated for a contusion he suffered after being hit with a line drive on his right shin while pitching for triple-A Albuquerque. An MRI exam was negative.

TODAY

DODGERS’ DARREN DREIFORT (11-13, 5.19 ERA) vs. CUBS’ JON LIEBER (8-8, 4.11 ERA)

Wrigley Field, 11:15 a.m. PDT

TV--Channel 5 Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330)

* Update--Dreifort has victories in two of his last three starts and three of five. The right-hander has given up only four earned runs in 23 1/3 innings while striking out 15 and walking two during that span.