They’re Staring at a 7-10 Split

The Dodgers plan to send a message to the San Francisco Giants about how things are going to unfold in the National League West.

As far as the Giants are concerned, they already have.

While the Dodgers talk about making positive statements, the Giants kept rolling Friday night with a 5-1 victory before a sellout crowd of 54,799 at Dodger Stadium.

The Giants took the opener of the three-game series after sweeping the Dodgers last weekend at Pacific Bell Park, continuing to dominate their rivals in a hot start under new Manager Felipe Alou.

The light-hitting Dodgers had only four hits against San Francisco starter Jason Schmidt (2-0), who pitched 7 1/3 strong innings. Left-hander Scott Eyre struck out Shawn Green in the eighth with Dave Roberts on second and one out, and cleanup batter Brian Jordan flied out on the first pitch from right-hander Felix Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who worked a 1-2-3 ninth, struck out Alex Cora looking to complete the victory for the Giants (14-2), off to their best start in San Francisco. Things are not as upbeat for their neighbors from Southern California.

The Dodgers hoped they had turned a corner after taking two of three from the injury-plagued, talent-thin Padres, but they took another step back against a club they expect to challenge for the division title. The Dodgers (7-10) already trail the Giants by 7 1/2 games, and they’re not talking about it still being early now.

“I think we all recognize it’s a big series,” Green said. “If you look at the alternative, which is for them to move ahead, you don’t want that. Obviously, if a good team gets a big lead early on, it would be a pretty good situation for them.

“It wouldn’t be a problem if we were [7-10] and they were with the rest of the pack. Then, it really wouldn’t be that big of a deal that we’ve started off slow. But they’re not with the rest of the pack. It’s all about how the other teams in your division are doing, and they’re obviously doing well.”

First baseman J.T. Snow in particular. Snow, who leads the NL with 20 runs batted in, was three for four with three RBIs to pace an 11-hit attack Friday. Former Dodger Marquis Grissom, receiving $1 million in a deferred payment from the Dodgers this season, hit a solo home run in the fifth to extend the Giants’ lead to 5-1 against Dodger starter Kevin Brown (1-1).

Brown, who still appears to be slowed by a lingering illness, struggled through a shaky five-inning, four-run appearance in last Sunday’s 5-4, 12-inning loss to the Giants. His work ended in the fifth again Friday.

The Giants loaded the bases twice against Brown in the first as many Dodger fans voiced their frustration, booing Brown as Benito Santiago lined an RBI single through the hole on the left side and Snow followed with a two-run single. Snow added a run-scoring double in the third, and Grissom’s two-out shot in the fifth extended the Giants’ lead to 5-1.

After opening the season with consecutive quality starts, Brown has an 8.10 earned-run average in his last two outings. The right-hander’s season ERA increased from 2.60 to 4.03.

“I couldn’t find the strike zone, and when I did it wasn’t good enough,” said Brown, who threw only 54 strikes in 90 pitches.

The Giants also sparkled again defensively against the Dodgers.

Future Hall of Famer Barry Bonds made a sensational sliding catch while sprinting toward the left-field foul line on a ball hit by pinch-hitter Mike Kinkade in the fifth. Right fielder Jose Cruz Jr. made a nice catch on Adrian Beltre’s sinking line drive in the eighth.

“They’ve been swinging the bat hot, they’ve been playing great and we haven’t,” Jordan said. “We’ve just got to prove it to ourselves that we can do it. Bottom line, we’ve got to make things happen.”