Dodgers Have Arizona Rattled

The Dodgers quickly wore out their welcome Wednesday night in an 11-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Many in a crowd of 25,974 at Bank One Ballpark objected to the Dodgers’ actions in taking the second game of a three-game series, sparking tension in the dugouts and raising the stakes in this budding rivalry.

Marquis Grissom stole second base in the fourth inning with the Dodgers leading, 8-0, and Arizona reliever Miguel Batista’s next pitch sailed over the head of Mark Grudzielanek.

The Dodgers were upset, Batista was ejected and the tone was set.

“I was surprised at the situation, it kind of caught me off guard,” said Grudzielanek, who delivered a run-scoring single against Russ Springer after Batista’s wild pitch.

“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was definitely obvious. But what do you do? Obviously they’re upset at it. It was [8-0] in the fourth inning. A couple of runs and they’re right back in it, so [the pitch at Grudzielanek] was definitely one of those things I thought was not the right thing to do there.”

The Dodgers had four home runs among 11 hits--including Gary Sheffield’s 20th multihomer game--and Darren Dreifort (1-1) pitched six innings after the Diamondbacks pounded him in his first start.

Staked to an 11-0 lead in the fourth, Dreifort worked with confidence in a solid six-inning performance, but the show turned ugly in the Dodgers’ five-run inning.

The Dodgers went ahead, 8-0, on Grissom’s run-scoring single and Arizona center fielder Steve Finley’s error, chasing starter Brian Anderson (0-2).

Enter Batista.

With Grudzielanek batting, Grissom stole second on Batista’s first pitch, drawing boos from the crowd because of the Dodgers’ big lead.

The Diamondbacks noticed too.

Grudzielanek ducked to avoid Batista’s pitch, stirring activity in both dugouts.

Home plate umpire Scott Higgins did not hesitate, ejecting Batista because he believed the reliever intentionally threw at Grudzielanek.

“That’s fairly early in the game to just quit playing,” said Manager Jim Tracy, alluding to the Diamondbacks’ reaction. “I’ve seen some leads in this ballpark evaporate pretty quickly.”

Arizona Manager Bob Brenly argued without success and the Dodgers did not appreciate his antics.

“We didn’t try to do anything to show them up, we were just playing aggressive,” said Sheffield, who hit his second and third homers. “Obviously, they’re a good team offensively, and they’re capable of putting up numbers at any given time.

“We just played to the scoreboard and they took offense to it, I guess. You know how it works. I don’t know all what [Batista’s] reasons were, he’s a young player, but they said they are going to crack down on the rules a little bit more this year and they showed it.”

Just when things had appeared to settle, Dreifort stirred it up in the fifth.

The Diamondbacks cut the lead to 11-2 on Reggie Sanders’ first homer, a two-run shot to right that was one of only three hits Dreifort gave up.

Damian Miller reached first on shortstop Jeff Reboulet’s one-out error, and with two out Dreifort hit leadoff batter Tony Womack with a pitch.

That triggered boos from fans who presumably believed Dreifort threw at Womack in retaliation for Batista’s effort in the fourth.

Higgins did not agree, permitting Dreifort to remain in the game to the disappointment of the Diamondbacks.

Brenly argued again, but Dreifort completed the inning, giving up two more runs, and retired Arizona in order in the sixth. The right-hander gave up four runs (two earned).

“He did well,” Tracy said of Dreifort. “He got into a situation in the fifth where they put four runs on the board, but then he came back and had a good sixth.”