Dodgers Get Their Bell Rung in Philly

The temperature is rising, the National League West race tight and the Dodgers are trying to stay cool.

They turned to another veteran starter Friday night to help hold off the pursuing pack, but the heat only increased in a 10-5 loss to the surprising Philadelphia Phillies before 16,298 at Veterans Stadium.

James Baldwin (1-1) struggled a night after the Pittsburgh Pirates pounded Chan Ho Park for seven runs while ending a Dodger winning streak at four games, helping the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks pull within a half-game of the first-place Dodgers (65-51).

The third-place San Francisco Giants are a game behind the leaders, completing a field that’s in a sprint for the division title.

“A loss is definitely critical at this point, but these guys have the guts to go out there and still fight for it,” Baldwin said.

“These guys are not going to give up and that’s the difference between the way this team has been playing all year. They have the fight in them.”

The second-place Phillies (63-52) provided a reason for their fans to remain at Veterans Stadium despite rain, high heat and humidity, pulling within a game of the first-place Atlanta Braves in the East. Rookie right-hander Nelson Figueroa (4-2) overcame five walks in five-plus innings for his second victory in a row and third in his last four starts.

The Dodgers hoped for another playoff-push boost from Baldwin, who pitched eight strong innings in each of his first two starts.

However, the right-hander struggled with his command, giving up six hits--including standout rookie Jimmy Rollins’ 10th home run--and five runs in six innings during his first ineffective start since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox.

“Obviously, he wasn’t as sharp as his first two times, but he would have once again had to be pretty spectacular in order to be able to do that,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “The only real bad inning he had was the [three-run] third.

“What happened was the timing, his mechanics and his delivery in the third inning got out of whack a little bit. That helped to create the three-run inning for him. Other than that he battled. He left the game after the sixth inning and it’s a one-run ballgame.”

The Dodgers again showed resiliency, cutting the lead to 5-4 in the seventh on Shawn Green’s run-scoring groundout.

But the bullpen faltered as the Phillies scored five runs in their half of the inning to break the game open, 10-4.

The big blow was Pat Burrell’s grand slam, homer No. 17, to left field against struggling setup man Matt Herges.

Herges relieved Terry Mulholland, who gave up a two-out walk and single to put runners on first and second.

Herges, who has given up runs in six of his last 12 appearances, gave up a run-scoring double to Scott Rolen and Burrell’s third career grand slam on a full count after the Dodgers intentionally walked Bobby Abreu.

“We liked the matchup with the man we had on the mound,” Tracy said. “We chose to intentionally walk Bobby Abreu and Burrell hit the grand slam. I don’t think [Herges’ problems have] anything to do with his stuff. When you look up there at the board, you still see 93, 94 mph.

“It was just a matter of a couple of mis-located pitches. He missed down and out over the plate on the ball that was hit. You throw a ball down there to Pat Burrell, I’ve seen it happen before. That’s his ‘nitro zone.’ You get it down there, you run the risk of having happen what happened tonight.”

The Dodgers wasted Green’s team-leading 32nd home run in the opener of the three-game series after another shaky pitching performance from a team unaccustomed to them recently.

“Obviously, you expect better [from Baldwin and Park], because they give it to you every time,” catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “They throw so many good games, they’re bound to have a bad game.”