Prokopec Struggles in Five-Inning Stint

Kirk Rueter pitched seven scoreless innings Wednesday night to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 victory over the Dodgers before 44,232 at Dodger Stadium.

Rueter (11-9) gave up only five hits to the Dodgers, who were mathematically eliminated before the game when the New York Mets clinched a playoff berth with a victory over the Atlanta Braves.

The Giants (94-64) scored the game’s only runs in the fourth inning against Dodger rookie starter Luke Prokopec (1-1).

J.T. Snow led off with his 19th home run, and Doug Mirabelli had a three-run double for the National League West champions, who are tied with the Braves for the league’s best record.

“I didn’t have much command of anything,” said Prokopec, who gave up five hits and walked five in five innings. “I couldn’t seem to make the adjustments.”

The second-place Dodgers (84-74) dropped to 9-3 on the homestand.

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The gold-medal winning U.S. baseball team, led by Manager Tom Lasorda, is scheduled to arrive today at LAX at 9:40 a.m. on United Airlines Flight 816.

The Dodgers plan to honor Lasorda, senior vice president, during tonight’s game against the Giants.

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Pitcher Ismael Valdes is scheduled to undergo a second test Friday to determine the cause of pain in his right pinkie.

A previous test did not reveal the problem. The right-hander will not be with the club during its final series against the San Diego Padres at Qualcomm Stadium.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

KEVIN BROWN

(13-6, 2.56 ERA)

vs.

GIANTS’

SHAWN ESTES

(15-6, 4.28 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 7.

TV--Ch. 5. Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

* Update--Brown tossed a two-hitter and established a regular-season career-high with 13 strikeouts last Saturday in a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Brown--who has the majors’ third-lowest earned-run average--is 8-1 with a 1.32 ERA against the Giants. Estes is 3-6 with a 3.93 ERA against the Dodgers.