In First Place, Dodgers Win

The view is a little different, the feel a little more distinct from the top of the National League West, a lofty perch on which the Dodgers stood alone for the first time this season after a 9-6 interleague victory over the Boston Red Sox before 45,960 in Dodger Stadium on Sunday.

Manager Jim Tracy went to the reserve tank, and seldom-used subs Chad Kreuter (two doubles, a single, two runs batted in and two runs) and Dave Hansen (two hits, two RBIs, two runs) helped drive the Dodgers to an improbable three-game sweep.

Boston had baseball’s best record when it arrived in Los Angeles on Friday, but left town in second place in the American League East.

The Dodgers (46-28) are 21-8 in their last 29 games and a season-high 18 games over .500, a mark they haven’t achieved since Sept. 8, 1997. And after spending this month within two games of Arizona in the standings, they finally passed the Diamondbacks, taking a one-game lead in the NL West.

“It’s a nice place to be, a very nice place to be,” Tracy said. “When you’re up there, everyone is looking up at you, so when you show up to the park every day, you have to be very aware of that. Your intensity level cannot waver. If anything, it has to go higher.”

The Dodgers pounded Red Sox starter Rolando Arrojo for nine runs and nine hits in 2 1/3 innings, scoring four times in the second and five times during a seven-hit third to take a 9-0 lead.

Boston made some noise with a run in the fifth and four runs in the sixth--one on Carlos Baerga’s homer and two on rookie Juan Diaz’s pinch-hit home run, the first of his career--off Dodger starter Andy Ashby (7-6).

But right-hander Guillermo Mota, who has filled an important bullpen void created by Omar Daal’s move to the rotation, silenced the Red Sox with 2 1/3 innings of one-hit relief, and left-hander Terry Mulholland closed the game with a one-run ninth.

“We’re excited about where we’re at, but it’s way too early to start thinking about anything other than trying to win each game,” said Shawn Green, who singled to lead off the third. “This team deserves to be in first place right now, the way we’re playing.

“We won eight series in a row and couldn’t gain ground. That shows you what kind of division we’re in. But there has to be a point where you take over the lead.”

Few figured that point would come with two of the Dodgers’ top hitters, first baseman Eric Karros and catcher Paul Lo Duca, on the bench. But Tracy wanted to give them a day off, and he couldn’t help but notice that left-handers were batting more than 100 points higher (.274 to .172) than right-handers against Arrojo.

So Tracy started the left-handed hitting Hansen at first base and the switch-hitting Kreuter behind the plate. Hansen knocked in the Dodgers’ first run with a sharp single to right in the second, and Kreuter walked during the rally, which included Dave Roberts’ run-scoring infield single and Cesar Izturis’ two-run single.

After Green’s single and Brian Jordan’s double to open the third, Hansen singled to right for two runs, and Kreuter doubled home two more. Kreuter also singled in the fifth and doubled in the eighth.

“Hansen and Kreuter were the stars of the game, and that’s a credit to those guys,” Roberts said. “They can sometimes go a week without playing, and they produced.”

Every Dodger starter except Mark Grudzielanek had at least one hit, but the second baseman continued to struggle, going hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts. Grudzielanek, slowed by nagging hand, lower back and hamstring injuries, is batting .111 on the homestand, and his average has slipped to .236.

Reserve infielder Alex Cora, who bats left-handed, is hitting .324 and has played very well at second base, and he may soon force the Dodgers to employ more of a platoon at the position with the right-handed Grudzielanek. “Quite frankly, I haven’t thought about that yet,” Tracy said. “Alex Cora is doing a phenomenal job for this team, but when you make the lineup every day, the pieces have to fit correctly, and I’ll leave it at that. Even if I was thinking about it, that’s a discussion the manager will have with the player first.”

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ON A ROLL

*--* Best records in baseball since June 1: TEAM W-L Pct Oakland 18-3 857 Atlanta 16-4 800 DODGERS 15-5 750 Florida 13-6 684 Montreal 13-7 650 ANGELS 13-8 619 Other NL West teams since June 1: Arizona 11-9 550 San Francisco 11-9 550 Colorado 8-12 400 San Diego 7-12 368

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BEST IN BASEBALL

*--* The best records in baseball: Team W-L Pct N.Y. Yankees 47-28 627 Boston 45-27 625 Dodgers 46-28 622 Seattle 46-28 622 Atlanta 46-29 613 Arizona 45-29 608

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