Hansen Supplies a Spark in Ninth

Three hundred and sixty feet never felt as long a journey to Dave Hansen as it did Friday night.

Hansen, who thrives in late-inning pinch-hitting appearances, was making his season debut after suffering a broken finger in spring training. Hansen, who was activated from the disabled list, delivered again in the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. His leadoff double into the right-center gap set the stage for the Dodgers’ 4-3 victory in front of 40,643 at Dodger Stadium.

“It seemed longer,” Hansen said of his game-winning journey around the bases. “It was exciting. By that time I was running on adrenaline. That’s all I had left.”

With the victory, the Dodgers moved into first place in the National League West at 13-10.

Hansen’s double was followed by Angel Pena’s hard bunt back to the third-base side of the infield.

Phillie reliever Wayne Gomes fielded the ball cleanly and seemed to have Hansen nailed at third. But Gomes paused, double-clutched, and instead threw to first, getting Pena on the sacrifice.

“My bad,” Gomes said to his third baseman, Scott Rolen.

A batter later, Gomes would feel worse.

That’s when Alex Cora lofted a deep fly ball to left field for a game-winning sacrifice fly, with Hansen easily trotting home.

“He’s a professional hitter,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said of Hansen. “That’s all there is to it.

“It’s about executing the plays as best as we can and putting the onus on them.”

Dodger reliever Terry Adams (2-1) earned the win with two innings of scoreless relief. Gomes (2-1) suffered the loss.

For the third consecutive spot start, Luke Prokopec did not walk a batter. But against the Phillies on Friday night, the rookie right-hander gave up a pair of solo home runs and did not earn a decision.

“It was unfortunate I didn’t get a win, but at least I kept it close,” Prokopec said. “I made a couple of mistakes but the guys were there to pick me up.”

Prokopec gave up three runs on six hits and struck out five in his seven innings.

Philadelphia starter Amaury Telemaco also gave up three runs on six hits. He struck out six and walked one.

The Dodgers got on the board first.

Jeff Reboulet, getting his second consecutive start at second base in place of the injured Mark Grudzielanek, continued his hot hitting.

Reboulet, batting second, doubled over the head of left fielder Pat Burrell with one out in the first inning.

Shawn Green followed with a single up the middle, just past a diving Jimmy Rollins at shortstop, which scored Reboulet.

The Phillies tied it with three consecutive two-out singles off Prokopec in the second.

Travis Lee began the rally with a grounder that just got under the glove of Reboulet before Burrell singled up the middle to put runners at first and second.

Marlon Anderson then singled up the middle past a diving Reboulet, driving in Lee. Telemaco then bounced a slow grounder toward third that Hansen handled before making the throw to end the inning.

The Dodgers grabbed the lead in the third.

With Cora, who had singled to lead off the inning, at second base, and Reboulet, who had drawn a two-out walk, at first, Green fisted another run-scoring single into right-field, bringing home Cora. It was Green’s team-leading 19th RBI of the season.

But the Phillies tied it up again in the fourth.

With one out, Burrell crushed an 0-2 Prokopec fastball, lining the ball into the left-field pavilion for a solo home run. It was Burrell’s third home run of the season.

The Dodgers regained the lead in the fifth.

After Cora led off the inning with a double into the right-center gap, Prokopec dropped a sacrifice bunt that allowed Cora to move to third. Tom Goodwin then singled to left over a drawn-in infield to score Cora. But Goodwin tried to sneak an extra base out of the hit and was thrown out at second by a few steps by Burrell.

The Phillies evened things up again in the seventh when, with one out, No. 8 hitter Anderson took Prokopec over the center-field fence on a 1-0 pitch.