Park Looks Like a Million

And the price keeps going up.

Chan Ho Park, who reportedly might seek a record $20 million per season next year, rebounded from his worst outing of the season on Friday at Oakland and had arguably his best Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Park threw a complete-game two-hitter, beating the Brewers, 5-0, in front of 32,844 at Dodger Stadium.

In Park’s first complete game of the year, the eighth of his career, the right-hander struck out nine and did not walk a batter while throwing a leisurely 110 pitches, 77 for strikes.

Park (9-6), who was pounded by Oakland for seven runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings last week, retired the last 17 Brewers he faced. It could have been more had center fielder Tom Goodwin, shortstop Alex Cora and second baseman Mark Grudzielanek not let a ball hit by Richie Sexson drop in between them in shallow center in the fourth inning as Park had sat down the four batters before the gift single.

“I had a good focus and took it one pitch at a time,” Park said. “I just forgot about the game at Oakland and just concentrated on tonight’s game. I tried to throw more fastballs and I just wanted to focus on the fastball and throw strikes.”

Besides forgetting about his debacle in the East Bay, Park shaved off his goatee immediately after that game as a sort of fresh start and has remained clean-shaven since.

Against the Brewers, Park’s fastball was setting up his off-speed pitches to perfection. He also shut them out for seven innings on opening day.

“When he’s got his stuff, he’s as good as anyone in the [National League],” Brewer Manager Davey Lopes said. “He was dominating tonight.”

Said Brewer right fielder Jeromy Burnitz, who was 0 for 3: “He was even locating his off-speed pitches. It’s so tough to pick up his off-speed pitches when he’s on.”

Dodger Manager Jim Tracy was impressed with Park’s ability to rebound after being shelled in Oakland.

‘He bounced back like a premier pitcher would,” Tracy said. “It doesn’t get any better than what we saw out there tonight from that guy. That right there is what he’s capable of doing every night.”

The Dodgers (53-42) ran their winning streak to five games, after losing five of their previous six, and are a season-best 11 games over .500.

They are also two games behind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West.

Not bad for a jet-lagged club that has traveled from Oakland to Pittsburgh to Los Angeles over the last five days.

The Dodgers scored in the first inning.

With Grudzielanek on first with a one-out single, Gary Sheffield was hit by an Allen Levrault pitch in the lower left leg.

Sheffield would later leave the game because of a contusion. He was listed as day-to-day.

Shawn Green followed with a sharp grounder to Sexson at first base. He threw to shortstop Jose Hernandez to start what seemed to be an inning-ending double play.

But after Sexson’s throw forced Sheffield at second, neither Sexson nor Levrault covered first base. Hernandez’s throw went over the first-base bag and into the Brewer dugout, allowing Grudzielanek to come home on the error, which was charged to Levrault.

The Dodgers padded their lead with a three-run seventh inning.

After Chad Kreuter drew a one-out walk, Alex Cora singled to right, putting runners at first and second.

Park tried to bunt the runners over, but Levrault couldn’t throw a strike and walked Park on four pitches to load the bases.

Lopes lifted Levrault for left-handed reliever Ray King to face the left-handed hitting Goodwin, who was 0 for 3 at that point.

But Goodwin came through, singling off of a drawn-in Ronnie Belliard at second base, Kreuter and Cora scoring on the hit. Park moved to third, from where he scored on Grudzielanek’s sacrifice fly.

Green made it 5-0 in the eighth with his team-leading 23rd homer.

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