Dodgers Keep Rally Caps On

Second baseman Mark Grudzielanek made a curtain call after his dramatic eighth-inning home run gave the Dodgers an electrifying come-from-behind win over Philadelphia on Friday night, but his real encore didn’t come until Saturday night.

Grudzielanek lined a two-run homer to right to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, and Marquis Grissom capped a five-run rally with a two-run single to lift the Dodgers to a 10-8 come-from-behind victory over the Phillies before 48,321 in Dodger Stadium.

The late Dodger rally upstaged a strong individual performance by Philadelphia catcher Mike Lieberthal, who hit three home runs, and gave the Dodgers their fourth consecutive win after going 8-17 in their first 25 games after the All-Star break.

The Dodgers, who notched franchise victory No. 9,000, remained six games behind Arizona in the National League West and 1 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the NL wild-card race.

“You can’t really beat that, I guess,” Dodger right fielder Shawn Green said of Grudzielanek’s back-to-back heroics. “He gets in good grooves where he drives the ball to right field and right-center--that’s a great sign for him and for us. ...

“We’ve had two emotional games, and to come back and win two in a row like that is a lot tougher than people realize. It’s huge for us. We’ve got to start rolling now and try to make up for some bad times we had right after the All-Star break.”

The Dodgers were on a roll Saturday night, taking a 5-2 lead in the second, but Lieberthal hit a solo homer in the fourth, sparked a three-run rally with a leadoff homer in the sixth and hit a two-run homer off reliever Giovanni Carrara in the seventh to give the Phillies an 8-5 lead.

But hot-hitting Dodger third baseman Adrian Beltre, who is batting .441 in the last 14 games, doubled to left to open the bottom of the seventh.

Green, who hit a prodigious, 440-foot two-run homer in the first inning, his seventh homer in 11 games, and Paul Lo Duca grounded out, but Eric Karros kept the inning alive with an RBI single, making it 8-6. Grudzielanek then hammered an 0-1 Rheal Cormier pitch over the wall in right for an 8-8 tie.

Alex Cora followed with an infield single, and Cesar Izturis hit a pinch-hit single to center. Dave Roberts walked off reliever Dan Plesac, to load the bases, a call that brought Phillie Manager Larry Bowa out for lengthy, animated arguments with home-plate umpire Rob Drake and crew chief Steve Rippley. Bowa was ejected and right-hander Carlos Silva was summoned.

Grissom, who grounded into a double play with runners on first and third to end the sixth, greeted Silva with a two-run single to right to give the Dodgers a 10-8 lead.

Paul Quantrill (3-4) retired the side in order in the eighth, and Eric Gagne retired the side in order in the ninth, including a strikeout of Lieberthal, for his 39th save.

“This is August, and we’re in a situation where every game is important,” Grudzielanek said. “The last two games have been extremely important to put us in a positive mood. We scored some runs the last few days, and hopefully we can carry this into a situation where we’re fighting for what we want at the end of the year.”

Said Manager Jim Tracy: “We were pushed down [after the All-Star break] and that tested the resolve of our club, but now we’re showing our true character. We got pushed down enough to where it could have cracked our spirit, but we didn’t get down. We kept telling ourselves, today is going to be the day.”

Now, the question is, will this be the day a hunger strike ends in the Dodger clubhouse? After the Dodgers’ 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, their sixth loss in nine games, Dodger muscle therapist Bill La Seur, hoping to change the team’s luck, vowed not to eat solid foods again until the Dodgers lost.

The Dodgers beat the Pirates on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and their stunning victory over the Phillies on Friday kept La Seur on the slim-way-too-fast program for a fourth day Saturday.

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*--* A Powerful Trend In the past week, five players have hit three home runs. Players who have hit three or more home runs in a game this season: HR PLAYER Team Date Opponent HR (2002) 3 LANCE Houston April 16 at Cincinnati 31 BERKMAN 4 MIKE Seattle May 2 at Chicago White Sox 19 CAMERON 3 ERUBIEL Arizona May 17 vs. Philadelphia 13 DURAZO 4 SHAWN GREEN Dodgers May 23 at Milwaukee 34 3 NOMAR Boston July 23 vs. Tampa Bay 20 GARCIAPARRA 3 RUSSELL Cincinnati Aug. 4 at San Diego 17 BRANYAN 3 CHRIS Toronto Aug. 7 vs. Seattle 11 WOODWARD 3 AARON BOONE Cincinnati Aug. 9 vs. San Diego 21 3 SAMMY SOSA Chicago Cubs Aug. 10 at Colorado 38 3 MIKE Philadelphia Aug. 10 at Dodgers 12 LIEBERTHAL

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