Dodgers Taken Out of the Park

While Chan Ho Park wasn’t especially sharp against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night--he did walk a season-high five batters--he made only one mistake.

Unfortunately for Park and the Dodgers, the Pirates’ John Vander Wal converted the mistake into a three-run home run in a 5-1 victory in front of 23,596 at Dodger Stadium.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Pirates at Chavez Ravine, dating back to last July 18.

For the Dodgers, who could muster but four hits, it was a lackluster loss to their first non-National League West division opponent since opening day, when the Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium.

Park (2-2) took the loss, his second in a row, after giving up three runs on four hits in seven innings. He struck out only one to go with the five walks.

Pittsburgh starter Omar Olivares (1-2), a former Angel who joined the Pirates in a March 28 trade with the Oakland Athletics, went 5 1/3 shutout innings, giving up three hits while striking out seven.

“We suffered offensively tonight, that goes without saying,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said. “There were a couple of situations that could have gotten us back into the game. . . . There was little else offensively to speak of.

“There was virtually no room for error and we did nothing offensively.”

The Pirates got to Park in the third.

With one out, Olivares doubled off the left-field wall before Park walked Jason Kendall for the second time in the game.

Derek Bell grounded out, with Olivares and Kendall moving up.

Three pitches later, Vander Wal crushed a 2-1 Park offering, sending the ball deep into the empty right-field pavilion for the 3-0 Pirate lead.

It was Vander Wal’s fourth home run of the season.

“He expected a curveball and I threw a curveball, right down the middle,” Park said. “He hit it good. Tough luck.”

Park was also hit three times--in the glove, on the hand and in the stomach--on a trio of comebackers. He said he felt fine.

The Dodgers threatened in the fifth, when they had two runners on base after two pitches.

After Chad Kreuter led off with a first-pitch single into right field, Alex Cora attempted to bunt but was hit by an Olivares pitch in the leg.

Park was up next, but he couldn’t get a sacrifice bunt down and struck out while trying to bunt.

Tom Goodwin followed with a line drive that Pittsburgh first baseman Kevin Young snared. Young then stepped on first to double up Cora for the inning-ending double play.

Olivares left the game in the sixth inning.

After walking Gary Sheffield with one out and starting Shawn Green with a first-pitch ball, Olivares was lifted by Pittsburgh Manager Lloyd McClendon in favor of left-hander Terry Mulholland.

Mulholland got Green to line out to left field for the second out before Eric Karros popped up to short.

Right-handed reliever Bronson Arroyo replaced Mulholland in the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning.

Gregg Olson replaced Park in the eighth and, courtesy of a walk and wild pitch, Pittsburgh padded its lead when Aramis Ramirez’s one-out single to left field drove home Vander Wal.

Tracy replaced Olson with Matt Herges, who gave up a run-scoring double into the left-field corner to Young.

Cora’s relay throw to Kreuter at the plate had Ramirez beaten by two steps, but Kreuter could not hold onto the ball and the Pirates had a five-run lead.

The Dodgers broke up the shutout in the ninth on Kreuter’s two-out double into the right-center gap, scoring Karros from first.

Tracy said he was happy with Park’s performance and wouldn’t dwell on the three-run homer.

“You get into a situation sometimes where you over-magnify things,” Tracy said. “I don’t want to get there.”

*

* STROLL INTO HISTORY

Stolen base leader Rickey Henderson ties Babe Ruth’s career record of 2,062 walks. D5