Ishii’s Latest Win Isn’t Jam-Packed

Dodger Manager Jim Tracy is still waiting for that elusive game in which Kazuhisa Ishii puts everything together, when the left-hander shuts down an opponent for eight or nine innings, walks one or two and is never in trouble.

It didn’t happen Saturday night, but Ishii provided a five-inning glimpse of what such a game would be like, thoroughly dominating a weak Baltimore Oriole lineup from the second through sixth innings to lead the Dodgers to an 8-4 interleague victory before 39,489 in Camden Yards.

Shawn Green pulled the Dodgers even, 3-3, in the third with a two-run home run, a 410-foot blast that was his 14th homer of the season and first since May 27, and Mark Grudzielanek put the game out of reach with a two-run homer in the eighth.

Ishii gave up four runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out four and issuing a season-low two walks, to improve to 10-1 and become the ninth pitcher in major league history to begin his rookie season with a 10-1 record.

And he didn’t need a safety net to do it.

Ishii has been a high-wire act this season, struggling with his rhythm and control to such a degree he ranks third in the National League with 46 walks. He’s created numerous jams, causing Tracy to rock back and forth or pace the dugout nervously, but he’s also made big pitches in big situations to escape trouble.

Saturday night began like another typical Ishii outing. After retiring the first two batters and getting ahead of Gary Matthews, 0-and-2, Ishii walked Matthews, gave up a single to Jeff Conine and a three-run homer to Tony Batista.

But Tracy’s heart rate barely rose above normal for the next five innings, as Ishii faced a minimum 15 batters, walked one and struck out four. He gave up two singles in the fourth, but Conine was thrown out by left fielder Marquis Grissom trying to stretch his hit into a double, and Batista was picked off first.

A sure sign of progress: Ishii, who had a 52-pitch inning against Pittsburgh on April 23, needed three pitches to retire the side in the sixth.

“I didn’t rock, and I didn’t walk quite so much in the dugout,” Tracy said. “That was the best five consecutive innings he’s pitched since his first start. They scored three in the first, and after that, it was just over with. He created no opportunities.”

Ishii has perplexed many this season, looking like a confused rookie one inning and a staff ace the next. He always seems to be one pitch away from being pulled or from giving up a huge inning, and then he’ll freeze a batter with a roundhouse curve or snap hook or sneak a fastball by a hitter looking for something off speed.

“He never gives in,” Grissom said. “He’s like [Atlanta left-hander Tom] Glavine that way. That makes it tough for hitters, because they can’t sit on any one pitch. He has good poise, he doesn’t get upset, and that’s what you need in this game.”

Ishii, 28, went 78-46 for the Yakult Swallows during a 10-year career in Japan, but he said Saturday night was the first time since signing with the Dodgers this winter that he felt like himself.

“This was the first time I felt like I did when I pitched well in Japan, the first time I returned to that form,” Ishii said through an interpreter. “The main thing is I was able to spot my fastball on the outside part of the plate. That’s when I’m pitching at my best.”

Good run support doesn’t hurt. Ishii has benefited from the fifth-best support in the National League, with the Dodgers averaging 5.96 runs per nine innings behind him, and they had 11 hits in their eight-run attack Saturday night.

The Dodgers snapped a 3-3 tie with an unearned run in the fourth, when Adrian Beltre reached on an error, stole second, took third on a groundout and scored on Cesar Izturis’ grounder for a 4-3 lead.

Two more Dodger runs in the seventh made it 6-3, as Grudzielanek doubled to right, Dave Roberts tripled to right and Paul Lo Duca, who had three hits, grounded an RBI single to center. The Orioles scored in the seventh to make it 6-4, but Grudzielanek’s fourth homer of the season in the eighth made it 8-4.

Ishii’s victory was secured, but his preseason goal of winning 12 games was looking a little flimsy. He could have 12 wins by the All-Star break.

What will Ishii do when he collects his 12th win? “At that time,” he said, “I’ll have a new goal.”