Dodgers Really Take Offense

Leaving absolutely nothing to chance, Dodger Manager Jim Tracy summoned closer Eric Gagne in the top of the ninth inning Sunday night ... with a 12-run lead.

Somebody pass the smelling salts. Not so much because Gagne was in a game the Dodgers would win, 16-4 -- the right-hander hadn’t pitched since Thursday, and with an off-day today, Tracy didn’t want him to accumulate five days of rust.

But the fact the Dodgers had a 12-run lead ... now that was a shocker. An offense that was last in the National League in runs, averaging 3.2 a game, and last in slugging percentage busted out in a huge way, battering the red-hot San Francisco Giants before 39,123 in Dodger Stadium.

Struggling first baseman Fred McGriff, who was hitting .177, had two doubles, two singles and four runs batted in to raise his average to .224. Right fielder Shawn Green had four hits, including a two-run double, and second baseman Jolbert Cabrera had a two-run homer and an RBI double to pace an 18-hit attack that bumped the Dodgers’ team batting average from .233 to .247.

The Dodgers overcame a 4-0 deficit with three runs in the fourth inning, four in the fifth -- highlighted by McGriff’s tiebreaking, three-run double -- and blew the game open with an eight-run seventh, handing the Giants only their third loss of the season and averting a three-game sweep.

Right-hander Hideo Nomo ended a three-game losing streak, giving up four runs and six hits, all for extra bases, in seven innings to earn career victory No. 100. But that milestone was overshadowed by the Dodger offense.

“I knew at some point in time the offense would get going, but I didn’t necessarily mean it to the tune of 16 runs,” Tracy said after the Dodgers’ first win in six tries against the Giants. “Hopefully, this is just the beginning of something good.”

Tracy may have helped lay the groundwork for Sunday’s outburst with a 22-minute team meeting after Saturday night’s 9-3 loss to the Giants. He told the Dodgers that “effort wasn’t a problem, but mind-set and focus” were.

Tracy’s message, to be more patient at the plate, to work deeper in counts, to hit your pitch instead of the pitcher’s pitch, was reiterated during a hitters’ meeting before Sunday’s game.

“I think the manager hit it on the nose [Saturday] night,” left fielder Brian Jordan said. “Everyone had a terrible mental approach, and today we looked like we had a plan. We wanted to put pressure on the pitcher, and it showed. We knew we had to be patient and not swing at bad pitches.”

It didn’t hurt that the Giants showed a hint of mortality. Off to the second-best start in franchise history, a three-week run during which virtually everything has gone right, San Francisco opened the door with a key fifth-inning error.

The Giants had taken a 4-0 lead into the fifth, thanks to homers by Barry Bonds and Andres Galarraga and RBI doubles by Yorvit Torrealba and Ruben Rivera, but the Dodgers pulled to within 4-3 on McGriff’s RBI single and Cabrera’s home run in the bottom of the fourth.

With one out in the fifth, Dave Roberts singled, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Paul Lo Duca hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Rich Aurilia, who bobbled the potential inning-ending double-play ball, enabling Roberts to take second and Lo Duca first.

Green singled sharply to left to load the bases, and Jordan laid off a full-count Kurt Ainsworth slider, his bases-loaded walk tying the score, 4-4. McGriff then greeted reliever Joe Nathan with a double deep into right-center field, scoring all three runners for a 7-4 lead.

“That helped us out a bit,” McGriff said of the error. “They’ve been playing well all year long, getting the key hits, great pitching.”

McGriff, a career .286 hitter who is 20 home runs shy of 500, has struggled, but he’s starting to see the ball better, and to get some results from his extra work in the batting cage.

“Like Tiger Woods playing golf, he has a great swing, but he has to keep working, making adjustments,” McGriff said. “This game ain’t easy. But ... I know I can hit. I’ve got to keep fighting.”

McGriff also singled and scored in the seventh, an inning in which the Dodgers had seven hits and sent 12 batters to the plate. Though McGriff struck out looking in his final at-bat in the seventh, that hardly put a damper on his night.

“It’s good to be over .200,” he said.

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Giant Turnaround

The Dodgers broke out of their slump Sunday, scoring 16 runs against the Giants. They were outscored, 24-11, in losing their first five games against San Francisco this season. A look:

GAME 1, April 10

L, 2-1: Former Dodger Marquis Grissom hits solo home run in fourth inning off Hideo Nomo.

GAME 2, April 11

L, 3-2: Barry Bonds’ fourth home run of season is the difference.

GAME 3, April 13

L, 5-4: Giants off to best start in franchise history (11-1) after 12-inning win.

GAME 4, April 18

L, 5-1: Dodgers manage only four hits against Giant starter Jason Schmidt.

GAME 5, April 19

L, 9-3: Five-run fifth gives Giants’ Damian Moss 3-0 start.