Dodgers See Big Picture at Last, 9-0

This whole little-ball approach was producing Lilliputian results, so Eric Karros and Shawn Green took matters into their own hands Friday night.

With one extra-large swing of the bat in the second inning and another in the fourth, the Dodgers’ first baseman and right fielder each produced more runs than the team scored in its first three games combined.

Karros cranked a three-run home run to left-center field in the second, ending the Dodgers’ 25-inning scoreless streak. Green ripped a three-run double to right in the fourth, and the Dodgers found their way to the win column for the first time this season with a 9-0 pasting of the Colorado Rockies before 25,091 in Dodger Stadium.

Right-hander Andy Ashby, making his first start since last April 12, was also triumphant in his return from season-ending elbow surgery, blanking the Rockies on one hit and striking out five in seven innings to provide a much-needed boost for a rotation that took some lumps this week.

Ashby, who spent eight long months rehabilitating his elbow, was masterful, mixing his sinking fastballs with curves and cut-fastballs, and he even hit 92 mph on a strike-three fastball to Ben Petrick in the third inning. The only hit Ashby gave up was a lined single to right by Todd Zeile in the fifth.

When Ashby returned to the locker room after the game, he found a 1972 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, courtesy of Dodger clubhouse attendants, on ice in his cubicle.

“I might drink it [today], or I might just hang onto it, I don’t know,” Ashby said, his voice filling with emotion as he stared at the bottle. “That means a lot to me. It’s really neat. Maybe I should give it to the offense and let them drink it. That’s what I should do.”

It would be well deserved. The Dodgers had 11 hits, including five doubles, a triple and a home run, falling one hit short of the combined hit total in their first three games. Karros added a double in the fourth inning and a single in the fifth, and shortstop Cesar Izturis tripled, doubled and singled.

After getting swept by San Francisco and outscored, 24-2, in a season-opening three-game series, the Dodgers needed a breakout game like Laker center Shaquille O’Neal needs a good podiatrist. The season was a mere three games old, and already the offense appeared to have gaping holes.

But Karros and Green, with the help of a few tasty offerings from Colorado pitcher Shawn Chacon, filled in a few gaps.

Green led off the second with a walk and took third on Chacon’s wild pickoff attempt. Adrian Beltre walked, and up stepped Karros, whose power was sapped by a lower-back injury that limited him to a career-low .235 average, 15 home runs and 63 runs batted in last season.

Chacon fell behind, 3 and 1, and grooved a fastball over the middle, just above the knees. Karros launched it over the wall in left-center for a 3-0 lead.

“When E.K. hit that home run, there was a sigh of relief in the dugout,” catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “That was something we needed, and we took off from there. We needed something to get us going after getting our butts kicked for three straight games.”

The Dodgers added a run in the third on Dave Roberts’ walk and Izturis’ RBI double, and they blew the game open with a five-run fourth, a rally ignited by Karros’ double to left.

Karros took third on Mark Grudzielanek’s fly ball to center and slid home just before Chacon’s flip to the plate on Ashby’s suicide-squeeze bunt. Roberts walked and Izturis singled to load the bases, and after Lo Duca fouled out, Colorado Manager Buddy Bell summoned left-hander Dennys Reyes to face Green, who greeted the former Dodger with a bases-clearing double into the right-field corner for an 8-0 lead. Brian Jordan capped the rally with an RBI double.

The huge early lead allowed Ashby to relax. The right-hander walked two and allowed only one runner to reach third base.

“It’s definitely a sense of relief,” said Ashby, who struggled in his attempt to clear the mental hurdle of overcoming surgery earlier this spring. “It’s a great feeling to be out there on the mound again.... It’s a great feeling to be a part of this again.”