Gagne Saves Night Again

Eric Gagne is perfectly happy as the Dodger closer.

And why not?

The converted starter has made 10 appearances this season and has yet to give up a run.

Gagne turned in what has become a typical performance Friday night at Dodger Stadium, slamming the door on the San Diego Padres in a 5-2 victory before 47,425.

Gagne struck out Phil Nevin with two runners on in the eighth and pitched a perfect ninth as the Dodgers (10-7) won their third game in a row. He has seven saves in seven opportunities, has not given up a run in 11 innings and has retired the last 15 batters he has faced.

“You have to throw a lot of strikes early and get ahead in the count,” said Gagne, who entered the game in the eighth inning for the first time this season. “What helps is that I throw all my pitches for strikes. You can’t sit on one pitch.”

Gagne preserved the victory for Hideo Nomo (2-2), the No. 2 starter in a rotation that began the game having held the opposition to a .214 batting average, the lowest mark in the National League.

Nomo gave up two runs, four hits and struck out five in 71/3 innings as a Dodger starter gave up two earned runs or fewer for the 12th time in the last 14 starts.

“It sounds like a broken record,” catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “Our pitching staff is carrying us.”

Several players helped carry the offensive load against Brian Lawrence (2-1), who had pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings, including seven in a 1-0 victory over the Dodgers and Nomo last Sunday.

Dave Hansen, who played first base in place of Eric Karros, drove in two runs with a single in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Dave Roberts scored a run in the first and had a run-scoring single in the fourth, Brian Jordan tripled in an insurance run in the eighth and Shawn Green had two doubles and scored a run.

But it was Gagne who ensured victory when he came on in relief of Paul Quantrill with two out in the eighth after D’Angelo Jimenez drove in Ramon Vasquez with a double to make the score 3-2 and Mark Kotsay walked.

Gagne struck out Nevin to end the threat, then retired Ryan Klesko, Ron Gant and Sean Burroughs in the ninth to preserve the victory.

“You’ve got to get ahead [on the count] on a guy like that,” Nevin said. “I just didn’t get it done.”

For the fourth consecutive game, the Dodgers scored in the first inning.

Leadoff batter Roberts was hit by a pitch and Cesar Izturis followed with a single to left before Lo Duca sacrificed.

Lawrence issued an intentional walk to Green to load the bases bringing up Jordan, who hit a ground ball that forced rookie third baseman Burroughs to dive to his left. Burroughs got the force at second, but Jordan beat Jimenez’ throw to first to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

Hansen followed with a shot toward the mound that bounced off the rubber and rolled to the outfield for a run-scoring single and 2-0 lead.

The Dodgers increased the margin to 3-0 in the fourth inning. Adrian Beltre hit a fly ball to left that cleared the fence, but left fielder Gant leaped and brought it back into the park. Beltre wound up with a triple.

Beltre was thrown out at the plate on Mark Grudzielanek’s ground ball to second, but Nomo walked and Grudzielanek scored on a single by Roberts.

The Padres pulled to within 3-1 in the fifth when Burroughs hit his first career homer into the right-field pavilion.

Nomo was replaced by Quantrill in the eighth after giving up a lead-off single to Vasquez and getting Tom Lampkin to pop out to Beltre. Quantrill struck out pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney, but Jimenez was credited with a run-scoring double when he hit a ball off home plate that bounced into left field to make it 3-2.

One batter later, Gagne entered the game.

“He gets what he’s doing out there and he’s gotten it very quickly,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said. “And he’s very effective at doing it.”