Gagne Clearly Close-Minded

While Manager Jim Tracy continues to cling to the notion that the Dodgers are employing a closer by committee, right-hander Eric Gagne clearly cemented his role as the team’s last-inning stopper Thursday afternoon.

Facing his toughest relief test yet, Gagne struck out Jeff Kent and retired Reggie Sanders on a fly ball to center field with runners on first and third in the ninth inning to close out a dramatic, 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the San Francisco Giants before 40,934 in Pacific Bell Park.

“I was looking for a little bit of an answer; I felt I was going to find something out in game nine of the season today,” Tracy said of his decision to both use Gagne and let him face Barry Bonds with the tying run on base. “I wanted to see how he responded. It was a one-run game, there were men on base, and he had to make pitches. I’d say he responded very nicely.”

Mark Grudzielanek and goat-turned-hero Hiram Bocachica hit back-to-back home runs to key a three-run rally in the top of the eighth, and the Giants pulled to within 4-3 on Benito Santiago’s RBI double off reliever Paul Quantrill in the bottom of the eighth, setting up an intriguing ninth inning of decisions for Tracy.

Gagne retired Tsuyoshi Shinjo on a leadoff grounder to third, but David Bell lined a single to left. Up stepped Bonds, the National League’s reigning most valuable player who already has five home runs and 12 runs batted in.

Dodger left-hander Jesse Orosco, who has held Bonds to a .130 average and got him to ground out in a key eighth-inning at-bat Tuesday night, was warm in the bullpen, but as Tracy strolled to the mound for a visit, he decided to stick with Gagne, who has held Bonds to a .154 average and Kent, the Giants’ cleanup batter, to a .176 average.

Catcher Paul Lo Duca couldn’t handle Gagne’s first two pitches to Bonds, a low changeup and a high-and-away fastball, and Lo Duca’s two passed balls allowed Bell to take third. Tracy ordered Gagne to intentionally walk Bonds and pitch to Kent, the 2000 NL MVP.

Kent swung and missed at a changeup and a curve, fouled off a 96-mph fastball and swung through an 88-mph changeup for strike three. Sanders, who hit 33 home runs for Arizona last season, hit Gagne’s next pitch to deep center field, but Marquis Grissom, who knocked in the eventual winning run with an RBI single in the eighth and doubled and scored on Shawn Green’s single in the sixth, made the catch near the warning track, giving Gagne his third save.

“He showed some heart today; he showed he wants to be the closer,” Dodger left fielder Brian Jordan said of Gagne. “He could have easily gotten nervous and thrown bad pitches, but he went right after those guys like nothing was bothering him.”

Gagne, who was converted from a starter to reliever in the final two weeks of spring training, relished the challenge.

“I wanted to face Barry Bonds, that’s what you play baseball for, to be in this kind of game,” Gagne said. “It’s a big adrenaline rush. It’s one inning, it’s all up to you, you’re facing two MVPs in Bonds and Kent. It’s a big learning process for me, but I felt relaxed on the mound. I didn’t panic. This is big for me, it’s big for the team. It’s a huge confidence boost.”

Gagne has always thrown hard, but he has better location and has complemented his fastball with two improved off-speed pitches, a changeup and a curve. He also seems to have the mental makeup, a have-no-fear approach that is a prerequisite for the closing role.

“I think he’s pretty well cut out for that job,” Bell said. “I’ve faced him as a starter and a closer. He throws real hard with good movement. Those are the things you want in a closer.”

Lo Duca described Gagne’s stuff as “devastating.” Andy Ashby, who allowed two runs and four hits in five innings Thursday, said Gagne’s repertoire is “nasty, some of the best stuff I’ve ever seen.” Orosco said Gagne “is going to be our closer ... he’s the right guy for the job.”

It’s clear to just about everyone in the Dodger clubhouse that Gagne is their ninth-inning hammer ... except to Tracy.

“Until I decide to name a closer definitively, I reserve the right to use who I want in that role,” Tracy said.

So, what does Gagne have to do to convince Tracy he’s the Dodger closer?

“I don’t know,” Tracy said. “I’ll sleep on that.”

Very soundly.

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*--* Turnaround The Dodgers were a different team in winning two out of three games against the Giants this time around. Comparing key numbers from the last three games to the season-opening three-game sweep by the Giants: STARTING PITCHING April 2-4 Category April 9-11 122/3 IP 182/3 20 Hits 11 14 ER 3 7 BB 7 14 SO 9 3 HR Allowed 1 9.94 ERA 1.45

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*--* BARRY BONDS April 2-4 Category April 9-11 8 AB 10 6 Runs 1 6 Hits 2 4 HR 0 9 RBI 1 3 BB 3 0 SO 1 750 Batting Avg 200 2.375 Slugging Pct 300

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