The Show Goes On

A stirring pregame ceremony Monday night marked baseball’s return to Dodger Stadium, inspiring fans eager for the distraction of sport.

The unfurling of an expansive U.S. flag triggered the loudest of many ovations, creating a favorable environment for the Dodgers to resume their pursuit of a division championship or National League wild-card berth.

Or so it seemed.

The Dodgers did not ride the wave of emotion, dropping the opener of their final home stand, 6-4, to the San Diego Padres before 40,676.

“It was a little bit eerie in the early part of the game,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said. “But once we got into the flow of the game, it was a baseball game like we’ve been accustomed to playing.”

Trevor Hoffman retired the Dodgers in the ninth inning for his 37th save, striking out Gary Sheffield for the last out.

Kevin Brown was superb in his fourth start since coming off the disabled list, striking out 11 in six innings.

But there was more bad news than good for the Dodgers (78-66), who dropped four games behind the leading Arizona Diamondbacks in the West and two behind the St. Louis Cardinals and idle San Francisco Giants in the NL wild-card standings.

The Padres scored four runs in the seventh to take command, 5-1, pounding Chan Ho Park in a rare relief appearance.

Tracy summoned Park--who last worked out of the bullpen April 25, 1997, against the Florida Marlins--because two relievers were not available.

Matt Herges has a strain on his left side, and Mike Trombley joined his wife in Fort Myers, Fla., for the birth of their daughter.

Park (13-11) gave up two hits, walked three, did not retire a batter and was charged with four runs.

He was booed off the mound, and the Dodgers later announced that the right-hander was forced to leave because of a strained left Achillies’ tendon.

Park was scheduled to start Thursday in the opener of a four-game series against the Diamondbacks, but those plans are on hold because he’s listed as day-to-day. Park will be evaluated by team medical personnel today.

“I was not going to bring Chan Ho in to inherit runners,” Tracy said. “[He was only going to pitch] If we felt like we had a situation that we could create, where he starts the inning fresh, and it came to us in the seventh inning. It just didn’t work out.”

The Dodgers were dominated by a 26-year-old rookie making his big league debut, getting only two infield singles against Jason Middlebrook (1-0) in his six innings.

They scored their first run against Middlebrook in the sixth when he walked Paul Lo Duca with the bases loaded.

Chad Kreuter, who entered with Park in the seventh, hit his fifth home run in the inning against Wascar Serrano, and the two-run shot cut the lead to 5-3.

But the Padres extended the lead to 6-3 in the eighth when D’Angelo Jimenez hit his second homer against Eric Gagne.

Adrian Beltre’s run-scoring single in the eighth pulled the Dodgers within two runs again, 6-4, and they had the potential tying runs on base when Jose Nunez came back to haunt them.

The Padres claimed the rookie left-hander off waivers from the Dodgers on May 11, and he delivered against his former club, striking out pinch-hitter Phil Hiatt and Kreuter to escape the jam.

Middlebrook’s control problems in the sixth resulted in the Dodgers’ first run.

Tom Goodwin, pinch-hitting for Brown, got only his 20th walk of the season. Marquis Grissom, batting leadoff for the first time since May 13, got walk No. 15 while trying to bunt.

Goodwin and Grissom advanced on Mark Grudzielanek’s sacrifice, putting runners in scoring position with Shawn Green on deck.

The Padres intentionally walked the Dodgers’ single-season home run leader to face cleanup batter Sheffield with the bases loaded.

The strategy worked as Sheffield fouled out on an 0-2 count. Lo Duca drew a walk to force in a run, but Eric Karros struck out swinging.

The Padres went ahead, 1-0, in the fourth on Ray Lankford’s leadoff home run, his 19th of the season, which went halfway up the right-field pavilion for his first homer against Brown.

Lankford had only four hits, with seven strikeouts, in his previous 21 at-bats against the right-hander.

The Padres got two more hits and loaded the bases, but Middlebrook struck out looking to end the inning.

That would be a familiar sight for the Padres against Brown.

He did not appear to be hampered by a torn muscle on his pitching elbow, baffling the Padres with his assortment of pitches and arm angles.

Brown had two strikeouts in every inning except the first, in which he had one. He matched the club single-season high, last accomplished by Luke Prokopec against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 25.