Park, Kreuter Connect for Another 1-0 Victory

Chad Kreuter, personal catcher for Chan Ho Park, speaks to the South Korean right-hander with his mitt.

“I give him a low target or set up on the corner and give him a good visual,” Kreuter said. “I’ve learned some Korean phrases, such as, ‘Do you understand?’ and I use clear, precise English with him. Otherwise, it’s all body language and a good target.”

Park hit the mitt Sunday in a 1-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in front of a Fan Appreciation Day crowd of 46,393 at Dodger Stadium. He made 123 pitches in eight innings and only 11 were hit into fair territory.

Park (17-10) struck out 13 to give him a career-high 204, joining Kevin Brown (208) to become the first Dodger pitchers since Don Sutton and Bill Singer in 1969 to record 200 strikeouts in the same season.

The Dodgers (83-73) continue to play well in meaningless games behind strong pitching. Their starters have a 1.73 earned-run average over the last 14 games--including 10 victories--and opponents have scored only five runs in the last six games.

This was the Dodgers’ sixth one-run game in a row and third 1-0 victory this week.

“Everybody who has gone out there has kept us in the ballgame,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “It’s been fun to watch, just a little too late.”

The next Dodger loss or New York Met victory eliminates the Dodgers from wild-card contention.

Shawn Green scored the lone run in the fourth inning on a wild pitch by Matt Clement (13-16). Green hit a one-out single up the middle and advanced to third on a double by Adrian Beltre, who batted cleanup because Gary Sheffield remains sidelined with a lumbar strain and Eric Karros was given the day off.

Jeff Shaw notched his 27th save and his 15th in as many chances since the all-star break. Shaw walked Ryan Klesko to open the ninth, but with one out center fielder Tom Goodwin made a sliding catch of Ed Sprague’s looper and doubled off Klesko, who was running on the pitch.

Park pitched out of two jams. With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth, he speared a line drive by Ben Davis and doubled off Sprague at first. Ruben Rivera hit a leadoff triple in the fifth, but Park got a groundout and two strikeouts.

With every superb outing Park produces down the stretch, he raises the ante in off-season contract negotiations. He still walks too many batters--four Sunday gives him 123 this season--but he will get a lucrative deal as long as he continues to follow Kreuter’s command.

Hit the mitt, hit the jackpot.

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Vin Scully, who is in his 51st season as Dodger broadcaster, was honored in a pregame ceremony by the American Sportscasters Assn. as Sportscaster of the Century.

Scully thanked Dodger fans, calling them “the nicest” in baseball. If a handful more fans than usual are nice enough to show up for the last three home games, Dodger attendance will reach 3 million for the fifth year in a row and 15th time since 1978.

Home attendance is 2,878,165. Three more games at the average of 36,900 would leave the Dodgers 11,135 short of 3 million.