Dodgers Still Can’t Get Started

The Dodgers had eagerly awaited August because their schedule supposedly would become easier.

They figured they would make a run in the National League West against teams with losing records, positioning themselves for the playoffs.

When are they going to start?

Things aren’t going according to the Dodgers’ plan, and the Chicago Cubs added to their problems Monday night in a 7-3 victory at Dodger Stadium.

Chicago second baseman and leadoff batter Eric Young tormented his former club in his first game at Chavez Ravine since being traded in December, overshadowing a solid effort by Dodger rookie pitcher Matt Herges in his first major league start before 31,697.

Young was three for four with a walk, scored twice and drove in a run. Ricky Gutierrez, Chicago’s No. 2 hitter, had a two-run triple against Herges (8-1) in the third inning, and extended the Cubs’ lead to 5-2 in the seventh with a two-run home run against reliever Antonio Osuna after Young walked with one out.

Osuna also gave up Sammy Sosa’s 35th homer in the ninth. The leadoff blast that barely cleared the wall in right-center moved Sosa into a tie with Dodger left fielder Gary Sheffield for the major league lead.

The Dodgers didn’t have much success against Cub rookie right-hander Ruben Quevedo (1-3), who got his first big-league victory and complete game.

Mark Grudzielanek had a run-scoring double in the first, Shawn Green hit his 20th homer in the fourth and Adrian Beltre closed the scoring with a ninth-inning single.

The Dodgers had only seven hits against Quevedo, who was making his fifth career start and began the game with a 7.28 earned-run average.

The Dodgers (58-53) also lost the last two games against the struggling Milwaukee Brewers in their previous series, and are 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading San Francisco Giants.

That’s seemingly not the way to seize their August opportunity.

“Of course it’s frustrating because we’re at a crucial time of the season, and we’ve had three tough losses in a row,” Green said. “But by no means are we out of it, it just makes our jobs tougher.”

Young enjoyed making things tough Monday.

“I was trying to put the pressure on,” said Young, traded with recently reacquired pitcher Ismael Valdes for reliever Terry Adams and two minor leaguers.

“It was good to get on base. I always love coming back to L.A.”

Cub Manager Don Baylor was pleased too.

“E.Y. has played that way all year,” said Baylor, whose team improved to 52-59. “I don’t expect anything else.”

After being promoted to the rotation, Herges said he hoped to pitch at least five innings in his first start.

He worked six, giving up five hits and three runs. Herges struck out three and walked two while throwing 79 pitches, 47 for strikes.

Herges’ only big trouble came in the Cubs’ three-run third as they took a 3-1 lead. He gave up three hits--the key one being Gutierrez’s two-run triple.

Other than that, Herges wasn’t bad. Relying on a fastball clocked at 95 mph, he retired the side in order in the second, fourth and sixth.

Young, who doubled in the first, also contributed to Herges’ problems in the third.

He singled with one out to put runners at the corners with Gutierrez on deck. Gutierrez tripled into the gap in right-center, driving in Jeff Reed and Young.

“Herges pitched well,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “The only bad pitch I thought he made was the fastball he left over the plate to Gutierrez [in the third].”

And Osuna?

“I don’t know what his problem was,” Johnson said of Osuna, who gave up five hits and four runs in three innings. “That’s one of the few times all year our bullpen hasn’t kept us in the game.”

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