Dodgers Test Outer Limits With Gagne

The sight of workhorse closer Eric Gagne pitching four consecutive days no longer raises eyebrows, so Gagne’s save Friday night of a 4-3, 10-inning interleague victory over the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field was business as usual for the hot Dodgers.

What might occur today would be groundbreaking.

After watching Gagne save the Dodgers’ fourth consecutive victory -- in which starter Odalis Perez and pitching coach Jim Colborn were ejected in the seventh -- with a less-than-dominant performance by Gagne’s standards before 23,401, Manager Jim Tracy said he would consider using the right-hander again today. That’s right -- five in a row.

That the Dodgers are even considering such a highly unusual move is surprising, but it’s on the table.

“We have do to what we have to do to win,” said Tracy, whose club improved to 38-28. “We’re talking about a guy, that if you total up his pitches over the past four days, I’m sure you’ll find several closers who took that many pitches to save one, and he saved four with the same amount.

“Would I like to see us score seven or eight runs a game? Well, anyone would. But am I going to [belabor] that point? Am I going to run through this clubhouse and make my ballplayers feel like, ‘Well, you either have to do this or else?’ No. I’m not doing that. Tomorrow doesn’t look real good for him, obviously, but I won’t commit to that one way or another at this point.”

Gagne twice pitched four consecutive days in his breakthrough 52-save season in 2002 and previously had that many consecutive appearances April 6-9 this season, throwing 55 pitches.

Gagne has thrown 49 pitches on his current streak. He said he’s ready if needed.

“I would tell them [if he couldn’t pitch]; it’s not about me, it’s about the team,” said Gagne, whose streak of consecutive batters retired ended at 24, including 13 on strikeouts, in the 10th.

“If don’t feel I’m good enough to go out there and help the team, I’m not going to pitch. They ask me all the time, and I tell them.”

On Friday, Tracy summoned Gagne after utility man Jolbert Cabrera, facing the Indians for the first time since they traded him to the Dodgers last July, broke a 3-3 tie in the 10th. Cabrera doubled down the left-field line against reliever Jake Westbrook (3-4) with one out to drive in Mike Kinkade from second with the go-ahead run.

Not surprisingly, Gagne did not possess his typical command or velocity (his fastball topped at 93 mph) after throwing 32 pitches the previous three days in saving every victory in a sweep of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. However, he was still too much for the Indians (26-39). Cleveland had the potential tying and go-ahead runs on first and second after Gagne gave up a single and walked a batter, but Ben Broussard struck out to end the game.

“Four days in a row, you feel a little different,” said Gagne, who lowered his earned-run average to 1.80.

“You’re not as loose. It takes you a little longer to get loose.”

Friday, Gagne recorded his 33rd consecutive save, spanning two seasons, securing the win for setup man Paul Quantrill (1-2), who worked a scoreless ninth.

Catcher Paul Lo Duca extended his career-high hitting streak to 21 games with a first-inning double against starter Brian Anderson. Lo Duca is the eighth player in L.A. franchise history to hit in at least 20 consecutive games.

Guillermo Mota also pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Perez (six innings, three runs), who was ejected after getting the last out in the sixth for arguing safe calls on stolen bases with second base umpire Ed Rapuano. Colborn also was ejected by Rapuano for holding up two fingers and reinforcing that the umpires blew the calls in his opinion. As for the Gagne situation, Colborn seems somewhat on the fence.

“If I felt it might be a threat to his health in some way,” Colborn said, “I wouldn’t use him, so we’ll think about it.”