Gagne’s Effort Lost in Evening Fog, 3-2

Before his team’s 3-2 loss to San Diego Saturday night, Dodger Manager Davey Johnson talked about his new Canadian pitcher, Eric Gagne.

Johnson said he liked everything about the right-hander, a recent arrival from the Texas League . . . except his glasses.

“I like his style--he goes right after you, he’s got three pitches and gets ‘em over the plate,” Johnson said.

“The one thing that worries me is those glasses--they fog up on him.”

And many wondered if they had fogged up in the seventh inning Saturday night, this time because of anger. Johnson removed Gagne from the game in the seventh at a time when the pitcher was winning, 2-1, and seemingly in complete command.

The Dodgers brought in reliever Matt Herges, just recalled from triple-A Albuquerque, with disastrous results.

The Padres, before 41,067 at Dodger Stadium, pulled even at 2-2 after the first of back-to-back home runs in the eighth. First, Wally Joyner’s drive bounced off Raul Mondesi’s glove--breaking the webbing--and carried over the right-field fence.

San Diego soon took the lead when Wiki Gonzalez became the sixth player in the 37-year history of Dodger Stadium to reach the loge level (orange seats) with a solo home run for the winning margin.

And no, Gagne wasn’t unhappy at being lifted after pitching a seven-inning two-hitter, striking out seven.

“I was pretty tired, and I knew I’d come out after 100 pitches [he had 102],” he said.

He grinned, and added: “I need to work on getting the ball down lower so I can give up singles instead of home runs.”

He referred to a tape-measure home run by Ruben Rivera on Gagne’s first pitch of the sixth inning.

“Mr. Gagne was outstanding,” Johnson said.

“But I’ll continue to hold him to a hundred pitches. He had a long season [at double-A El Paso] and I don’t want to put a strain on his arm this late in the season.

“I know the fans wanted to see him stay in the game. Go ahead and blame me. But I didn’t want to see him out there tired and give up runs and blemish what he’d done tonight.”

The Dodgers had forged a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when Gary Sheffield hit his 30th home run with Alex Cora on base.

Gagne came out after Dave Hansen pinch-hit for him in the seventh inning.

Padre starter Woody Williams retired eight of the first nine Dodger hitters before Cora singled to start the fourth. He came in on Sheffield’s homer, a drive that landed 10 rows deep in the left-field pavilion.

It was an eight-batter inning for the Dodgers, who loaded the bases after Sheffield’s blow on a single by Eric Karros and walks to Mondesi and Adrian Beltre.

But Gagne struck out swinging to end the fourth.

San Diego ended Gagne’s four perfect innings to start the game when Phil Nevin led off the fifth with a single to right.

Leading off the sixth, Rivera easily bettered Sheffield’s long home run on the first pitch of the inning--a rocket that landed 445 feet away in the pavilion’s blue seats in left-center.

It was only the second hit Gagne surrendered. He finished the inning by striking out Quilvio Veras.