Dreifort Remains in Command, 4-1 : Baseball: Right-hander impresses Johnson with another quality outing in victory over Cubs.

Darren Dreifort ignored speculation earlier this season that he was bound for the bullpen because he’s supposedly unsuited to start, always believing he belonged in the Dodger rotation.

He has made believers of the Dodgers too.

The young right-hander solidified his spot in next season’s five-man group with another outstanding outing Sunday afternoon, limiting the Chicago Cubs to one run in seven innings during a 4-1 victory at Wrigley Field.

Dreifort (12-13) held the Cubs to five hits in an efficient performance as the Dodgers swept the three-game series.

Dreifort also continued to impress with his bat, helping himself with a bases-loaded, two-run double in the Dodgers’ four-run fifth inning against Cub starter Jon Lieber (8-9).

Again, Dodger pitchers kept Sammy Sosa from celebrating.

The major-league home run leader remained at 57 after failing to hit a long ball for the second consecutive game.

Sosa played well, though, going two for four, driving in the Cubs’ run with a fourth-inning single and initiating two double plays with strong throws from right field.

But that wasn’t enough to deter Dreifort and the Dodgers.

Closer Jeff Shaw finished another fine day for the suddenly rejuvenated team by working a scoreless ninth for his 31st save before a crowd of 39,921.

The Dodgers (65-71) have won five of their last six games and 12 of 16.

Manager Davey Johnson finally made it official afterward, saying Dreifort is definitely in the rotation to stay.

“He’s throwing first-pitch strikes, he’s staying ahead, he’s staying out of big innings,” Johnson said.

“Yeah, he’s made a real good case to stay where he’s at.”

Of course, Dreifort always kept hope alive.

“The decision wasn’t in my hands, you just have to go out and play regardless . . .” said Dreifort, who has had five quality starts in his last seven outings. “I never thought about [the speculation], I just did what I had to do.”

Not that Dreifort’s job has really been in jeopardy lately. Just ask his teammates.

“He has been doing this for a while now,” catcher Todd Hundley said.

“You just watch him do a little bit more, and a little bit more every time he goes out there, and it’s not a big secret why it’s happening.

“Dreif is learning more and more each time out. He’s getting more confident because he’s seeing more and more situations. He’s getting adjusted to more things.

“Take today, he’s [throwing] his fastball at the right time, he’s going with his slider at the right time. He’s just getting better with everything.”

With his command especially.

The hard-throwing Dreifort has always been able to dominate batters for a two- or three-inning stretch, but the key to his recent success is that he has been controlling games into the sixth and seventh innings because he is not laboring through long innings.

On Sunday, Dreifort threw only 87 pitches (54 strikes) while striking out four with one walk against the struggling Cubs (55-80).

With one out and runners on first and third in the seventh, Dreifort got out of the jam by getting Cole Liniak to ground into a double play.

Again, he avoided a big inning.

That didn’t happen often in the first three months of the season. Moreover, there were games during Dreifort’s rough times when he would make 87--or more--pitches in four innings.

That stirred speculation among some in the media that Dreifort simply wasn’t cut out to start.

Not so fast.

“Dreif has really shown something lately,” first baseman Eric Karros said.

“The key for any player in this game is consistency, and that’s what they [team officials] have wanted to see from him.

“There was never a question about Dreif’s ability, and now he’s putting all the other parts together.”

And now they all believe.

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