Dodger Bullpen Not Up to Task, Reds Win in 11

Terry Mulholland and Mike Trombley?

In the late afternoon Tuesday, after the trading deadline passed and before the Dodgers played the Cincinnati Reds, Jim Tracy and Dave Wallace took turns explaining how the Dodgers had enhanced their pennant hopes with the addition of two largely anonymous middle relievers instead of, say, a shortstop or another starting pitcher.

As the evening turned out, the Dodger manager and the interim general manager did not need to say anything. How the Dodgers lost spoke volumes about the need for the trades.

The Reds scored twice in the 11th inning, in the almost-daily appearance of reliever Matt Herges, and defeated the Dodgers, 3-1, at Dodger Stadium. With Arizona winning, the Diamondbacks slithered within one-half game of the first-place Dodgers.

Eric Gagne pitched eight terrific innings, and Jeff Shaw retired the Reds in the ninth. With the score tied, 1-1, Giovanni Carrara and Jesse Orosco handled the 10th.

For the 11th, Mulholland or Trombley would have come in handy. Instead, Orosco walked Ken Griffey Jr., then yielded to Herges, who leads National League relievers in innings pitched and has been scored upon in eight of his last 14 innings.

“He wasn’t tired,” catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “He had a day off.

“He’s getting put in tough positions, but I look at the board and he’s still 93, 94, 95 [mph] and hitting his spots. He’s just in one of those modes where the ball is finding spots.”

Before the game, Tracy and Wallace emphasized that the arrival of Mulholland and Trombley would ease the burden on Herges.

“Obviously, getting these guys will help,” Lo Duca said. “It’s going to help the whole bullpen, but I really don’t think he’s tired.”

Herges, the losing pitcher in Sunday’s game, gave up a run-scoring double to Ruben Rivera and a run-scoring single to Jason LaRue.

That was half as many hits as the Dodgers managed all game, and that was in a game the Reds started Jose Acevedo, a rookie burdened with a 6.44 earned-run average.

Shortstop Alex Cora extended his hitting streak to 10 games, but the heart of the batting order--Gary Sheffield, Shawn Green, Lo Duca and Eric Karros-- was hitless in 16 at-bats. (With an asterisk: Griffey robbed Green of a home run with a spectacular leaping catch, extending his right arm above the outfield fence.)

Gagne, banished to the bullpen and then demoted to the minor leagues earlier this season, sparkled yet again. If not for injuries to Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Darren Dreifort, Gagne would almost certainly be sweating through summer at triple-A Las Vegas.

But here it is Aug. 1 and Gagne is as reliable as any Dodger pitcher. He made five starts in July, working at least six innings in all of them and posting a 3-0 record and 3.15 ERA. He pitched eight innings Tuesday, stopping the Reds on one run and four hits.

“In my time here, I don’t think he’s had a better start,” Tracy said. “The eight innings he threw for us were nothing short of spectacular.”

If the second inning is any indication, Gagne might have developed the poise to pitch in a pennant race. Sean Casey homered to start the inning. One out later, Dmitri Young tripled off the center-field wall.

But Gagne did not flinch, striking out LaRue for the second out and then walking Pokey Reese so he could pitch to Acevedo. The Cincinnati pitcher fouled out to end the inning.

If further proof of pride and poise was necessary, Gagne provided it in the eighth inning. With two on and two out and the score tied, 1-1, Griffey strode to the plate. Orosco, whose one and only job is to retire left-handed batters such as Griffey, was warming up in the bullpen.

But Tracy stuck with Gagne and the pitcher rewarded his manager. With Gagne paying no attention to Reese at second base, Reese stole third. Gagne had to pitch carefully to Griffey, of course, but if he pitched too cautiously he would risk a wild pitch, with Reese scoring the go-ahead run.

Gagne struck out Griffey, looking, at a nasty curveball. The crowd roared its approval. Gagne pumped his fist and skipped into the dugout, where his teammates swarmed him to offer congratulations.