Brown Grinds, Karros Is Clutch

A vintage pitching performance by Kevin Brown nearly went for naught Friday night.

But the Dodgers answered the Milwaukee Brewers’ only rally by scoring in the eighth inning to open a six-game home stand with a 2-1 victory in front of 36,074 at Dodger Stadium.

Eric Karros bounced a single up the middle against reliever Juan Acevedo to drive in Mark Grudzielanek from second base with one out and snap a 1-1 tie.

The victory was the Dodgers’ third in a row and put them eight games above .500 for the third time this season. They trail the San Francisco Giants by 2 1/2 games and the Arizona Diamondbacks by 1 1/2 games in what is becoming a claustrophobic National League West Division race.

“We have the opportunity to have some fun from here on in,” Dodger Manager Davey Johnson said. “We’ve been getting strong effort. This team has plenty of heart.”

Home is where the heart must start. The victory gave the Dodgers (58-50) a 27-23 home record, no better than their mark on the road.

“We feel good now,” left fielder Gary Sheffield said. “These are the kind of games we need to win, especially at home.”

Mike Fetters (4-1) recorded the last four outs after Brown surrendered a run-scoring single by Marquis Grissom with two out in the eighth.

Until then, Brown was dominant. He challenged batters with first-pitch strikes, bore down with runners on base and appeared to need only a razor-thin offensive cushion. Brown equaled his career high with 12 strikeouts and walked one, going 7 2/3 innings.

But Grissom gave him fits, getting three of the six Brewer hits, including a line drive to left that drove in pinch-runner James Mouton with the tying run.

“We were able to tie the score against Brown, which is not an easy thing to do,” Brewer Manager Davey Lopes said.

Fetters replaced Brown and Grissom was thrown out trying to steal for the second time by Todd Hundley. Fetters worked a flawless ninth, striking out Richie Sexson and Jeromy Burnitz.

“We got the big hit by Karros,” Johnson said. “We’ve had a hard time scoring sometimes.”

Paul Rigdon, a right-hander with a career earned-run average of 7.40, stymied the Dodgers, giving up five hits in seven innings. Only Adrian Beltre’s line-drive home run to left field in the second inning marred the performance of the right-hander, who was making his second start with the Brewers after being acquired from the Cleveland Indians on July 28.

The home run was the 11th for Beltre.

The Dodgers had a chance to extend their lead with two out in the fourth when Beltre doubled to right field, Alex Cora was walked intentionally and Brown bunted for a single to load the bases. However, Tom Goodwin, who struck out in his first two at-bats, flew out to center.

Brown stayed strong, and the seventh-inning stretch became an impromptu ovation for him after he struck out the side for five strikeouts in a row.

“Sometimes when [Brown] is throwing that well, we get in a lull,” Sheffield said. “You never want to get comfortable with one run.”

The Brewers (45-64) had two runners on base only in the second, and Brown struck out Raul Casanova to end the threat.

Casanova opened the eighth by spraying a double down the right-field line.

Pinch-hitter Tyler Houston advanced Casanova to third by grounding out to second, and Mouton ran for Casanova.

Ron Belliard popped up for the second out, but Grissom singled and it appeared the Dodgers were in trouble.

The hits by Grudzielanek and Karros made amends, however.

“I looked at the schedule a long time ago and saw that this month is the month we need to make a move,” Johnson said. “I understand I’m on the hot seat, but I’m proud of where this club is.

“There’s a good feeling on the club. Things are going our way and we can build on this momentum.”