For Brown, It’s Like Old Times

Overshadowed in the Dodger rotation for the first time, Kevin Brown suddenly has something to prove.

Newcomers have been more successful while Brown continues to recover from last season’s elbow surgery and aftereffects, providing new challenges for an ornery 37-year-old right-hander determined to maintain his standing.

Brown apparently won’t go quietly, rebounding from consecutive losses with a stirring seven-inning outing Saturday night in a 3-0 victory over the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium.

Brown (2-3) turned back the clock before 19,767 where he helped the Marlins win the 1997 World Series championship, giving up only three hits and getting a season-high 10 strikeouts. Starter Julian Tavarez (1-2) worked four innings for the Marlins, whose season-high winning streak ended at five games.

“I was having trouble catching [the ball]; I thought I was in a boxing match for the first couple of innings,” Dodger catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “The movement on his ball was just unbelievable, it was going every which way.

“He had a great slider and a great curveball. Toward the last three innings, his split-finger was just dominating. It’s a great sign for us.”

Brown struck out the side in the first after the Marlins loaded the bases, then got into a rhythm the Marlins couldn’t interrupt.

They had only two more baserunners against Brown, who hit Preston Wilson with a two-out pitch in the third and gave up a one-out triple to Derrek Lee in the seventh.

Mark Grudzielanek’s bases-loaded double in the fourth provided all the support Brown and relievers Paul Quantrill and Eric Gagne needed, and the three-run cushion seemed much bigger with the way Brown was pitching.

Gagne worked the ninth for his 12th save in 13 opportunities, completing the victory for a stubborn staff ace who hasn’t relinquished his title.

“He came out and he had an agenda tonight,” said Marlin All-Star catcher Charles Johnson, Brown’s teammate on the Marlins’ World Series title team. “The first inning, we got a couple of hits, a couple of balls hit hard, and other than that it was kind of lights out. His sinker was just devastating tonight.

“I’ve seen him like that before. I’ve seen him when he was almost unhittable. Tonight was one of those nights.”

Brown maintained the signature command that has eluded him at times this season, walking one while throwing 60 strikes in 87 pitches. He baffled the Marlins with a hard sinker, moving forkball and late-breaking slider, reminding the Dodgers what he does best and giving the Marlins too much to handle.

“I think he answered that question tonight, I would say,” said Manager Jim Tracy, referring to some suggesting Brown is no longer a No. 1-type starter. “That was vintage Kevin Brown that you saw tonight.

“They start the game off, they get two baserunners, they have second and third and nobody out. He strikes out the side and the next hit they get is the triple that Derrek Lee hits in the seventh inning.”

Brown had struggled to regain his form while still recovering from elbow surgery, and the process was further complicated when he was put on the 15-day disabled list April 14 because of scar tissue and swelling around the elbow.

Although Brown did not pitch poorly in losing his first two starts since having been activated, something was missing.

He rediscovered it Saturday.

“It definitely was a lot better than what it has been,” said Brown, who lowered his earned-run average from 4.44 to 3.45. “You have ups and downs when you haven’t had surgery. I’m encouraged by the fact that it felt a lot better tonight.”

The Dodgers are too.

“We know that every time Brownie goes out there, when he’s healthy like now, he gives us a chance to win,” Gagne said. “He hasn’t been healthy, but you can tell he is now. That’s the real Brownie tonight, and that’s great for us.”