Dodgers Get Thrown for a Tough Loss

The Dodgers’ one-day reprieve from their early second-half struggles ended Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

They fell to 1-4 after the All-Star break but maintained their slim lead in the National League West with a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals before 31,899.

The Dodgers, losers of three of four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks to start the second half, remain a half-game ahead of the Diamondbacks, who lost Monday to the San Francisco Giants. The Giants are 1 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.

Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said he wasn’t worried about his team’s recent fortunes.

“You see this happen to a lot of clubs that have played very good baseball to this point,” he said.

St. Louis right-hander Travis Smith beat the Dodgers for the second time in 12 days and Jim Edmonds and Eduardo Perez hit home runs for the Cardinals, who lead the NL Central by 3 1/2 games.

Edmonds also quelled a Dodger rally in the sixth inning by throwing out Cesar Izturis at the plate.

“We had some bad at-bats early in the game,” Tracy said. “We created three real good opportunities in the first few innings of the game and came up empty-handed.”

But the Dodgers saved their biggest missed opportunity for their final at-bat.

Trailing, 4-2, the Dodgers entered the ninth against Cardinal closer Jason Isringhausen, who replaced setup man Mike Timlin after two scoreless innings.

Pinch-hitter Alex Cora led off with a single to right, and the Dodgers got a break when pinch-hitter Dave Hansen hit a ground ball back to Isringhausen, who threw wildly to second for an error that put two runners on.

Dave Roberts, however, popped up a high 97-mph fastball to third baseman Placido Polanco on a sacrifice bunt attempt, and Isringhausen got Paul Lo Duca to hit a ground ball to Polanco who started a double play that earned Isringhausen his 22nd save.

“The bottom line is, I didn’t get it done,” said Roberts, whom Tracy characterized as one of the best bunters in the majors. “I was the right man for the right spot in that situation.... I didn’t do a job I was supposed to do.”

Dodger left-hander Omar Daal (7-5) gave up four runs in six innings--a far better outing than his last start when he gave up eight runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings in a 12-6 loss at St. Louis on July 7.

But it was not good enough against Smith (3-0), who began the season with two innings of major league experience and was recalled from triple-A Memphis on June 27 after the June 22 death of Darryl Kile.

Smith gave up one run and seven hits in six innings against the Dodgers in a 3-2 victory July 4 at St. Louis, a game played in 96-degree heat. Monday, he gave up two runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings before giving way to Mike Matthews.

“He knows how to pitch,” Lo Duca said of Smith. “He has four pitches he can throw for a strike at any time, and it’s tough to hit a guy like that. He’s done it to us twice so he’s doing something right.”

The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the first when Edmonds followed Polanco’s one-out double into the left-field gap with a towering home run into the right-field pavilion. It was Edmonds’ 18th homer and marked the 12th time in 13 games that the Cardinals have homered.

The Dodgers wasted a chance to do some damage in the third after Roberts and Lo Duca started the inning with singles and Lo Duca moved to second on a wild pitch.

Smith, however, struck out Shawn Green, then got Brian Jordan to hit a ground ball back to the mound. Smith fielded the ball and threw to catcher Mike DiFelice, who tagged out Roberts at the plate.

The Dodgers loaded the bases when Smith hit Eric Karros with a pitch, but Adrian Beltre hit a ground ball to shortstop Edgar Renteria, who stepped on second base for an inning-ending out.

The Cardinals increased their lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Renteria led off with a walk, moved to second base on a passed ball, advanced to third on a sacrifice by Eli Marrero and scored on a double by DiFelice.

Perez led off the sixth with his sixth homer to increase the lead to 4-0.

The Dodgers pulled to within two runs in the sixth when Beltre followed Karros’ leadoff single with a shot into the left-field pavilion for his ninth homer.

Mark Grudzielanek kept the rally going with his third single of the game, but he was forced at second on a ground ball to first baseman Tino Martinez. Izturis stole second, and looked as if he was going to score on Roberts’ two-out single to center.

But Edmonds fielded the ball and fired a throw to the plate. DiFelice blocked the plate with his left foot, preventing Izturis from getting a clean shot at scoring, and tagged him on the back for an out that ended the inning.