Prokopec Wild, but Winning

Luke Prokopec is in the lead for the last rotation spot with the race nearing the finish line and the stakes rising.

The Australian rookie right-hander maintained his advantage Thursday night despite his worst outing of the season in the Dodgers’ 8-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Cinergy Field.

Prokopec (3-0) gave up only one hit--Sean Casey’s run-scoring double in the sixth--but struggled with his command in five-plus innings and was charged with three runs.

Closer Jeff Shaw struck out the side in the ninth, including the final two batters with the bases loaded, to earn his ninth save and complete the Dodgers’ second victory in the three-game series before a crowd of 18,371.

“They’re not all going to be easy,” said Shaw, who has only one blown save. “They’re not all going to be seven pitches every night. It’s just not going to happen that way all the time.”

Setup man Terry Adams had a rare rough night, giving up four hits and three runs in two innings, and Mike Fetters pitched a perfect eighth.

Eric Karros had four runs batted in to put him seventh on the club’s all-time list, and the Dodgers had 12 hits, 36 in the series.

But Prokopec’s mediocre outing was the focus because it was good enough to keep him ahead of second-year right-hander Eric Gagne.

“Competition is always great,” Prokopec said. “It makes you work harder. That’s for sure.”

Gagne has been pounded in his last two starts and might be the odd man out if starter Andy Ashby (right elbow strain) is activated from the disabled list next week.

“In either guy’s case the main word you’re looking for is consistency,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “You’d like to see a guy go out there and be able to compete.

“You want to see them be consistent enough, so when they don’t go out there with their best arsenal, that they’re still able to survive, get themselves through and get us to a point and time where we are able to use our bullpen.”

The winner of the Prokopec-Gagne battle stays with the National League West leaders, who have won seven of eight.

A trip to triple-A Las Vegas--not the bullpen--might be the loser’s consolation prize.

The Dodgers are enjoying the competition, wondering who will cross the line first.

“Competition is always healthy. Competition keeps everybody on their toes,” Tracy said. “As I’ve said many times, I’m just a big believer in the fact that guys will go out there and send their own messages, and that’s what you look for.

“We can sit in the clubhouse and talk about it for hours on end. When there comes a . . . time to actually go out there and play, that’s when you want to see a response from individuals.”

Said Shaw: “We’ve got six quality starters. That’s a great problem for us to have.”

The Dodgers staked Prokopec to a 6-1 lead through the fifth against Red rookie starter Chris Reitsma (2-2), taking command with a four-run third.

But Prokopec was not sharp and Tracy figured the bullpen would get work.

“He labored his way through tonight, there’s no question about that,” Tracy said. “He had a lot of deep counts and he was out of his rhythm a little bit.”

Prokopec had no walks in his first 20 2/3 innings, but walked five Reds Thursday, throwing only 50 strikes in 95 pitches.

He had a no-hitter through the fifth, but had thrown 85 pitches, and walked two in the third to help the Reds score their first run.

Dmitri Young walked leading off the Reds’ sixth with Casey on deck, and Casey ended Prokopec’s work with a double to right-center on a 1-and-2 count.

“I obviously didn’t have the accuracy that I usually do,” Prokopec said. “A couple of guys jinxed me, talking about having no walks in 20-something innings, so I took care of that.

“All of us didn’t seem to have our best stuff tonight, but we got picked up by the offense. That’s awesome to come out of that sort of a game with a win.”

And what about his ongoing showdown with Gagne?

“That’s not my decision in the end,” Prokopec said. “My job is to just go out there and throw strikes and keep us in the game. Whatever happens, happens.”

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MALONE

SPEAKS

HIS MIND

Former Dodger general manager Kevin Malone says accounts of the incident with a fan in San Diego that led to his forced resignation are inaccurate. D10

TALKING

POINTS

Dodger Chairman Bob Daly and the agent for Carlos Perez are discussing the pitcher’s options as he wraps up rehab assignment. D10