Dodgers Hobble to Win

Even good moments are punctuated with discouraging developments for the tattered Dodger rotation these days.

While the Dodgers pounded Bartolo Colon and the Angels in an 8-5 interleague victory Saturday night at Angel Stadium, they faced the sobering prospect of replacing a replacement starter.

Adrian Beltre continued his All-Star caliber season with his second multi-homer game in a week against the Angels as the Dodgers hit four home runs before a sellout crowd of 43,686, but Edwin Jackson’s elbow injury tempered their mood.

The 20-year-old rookie right-hander, who took Odalis Perez’s spot on the 25-man roster and in the rotation, was pulled with two out in the second inning because of a strained pitching elbow. The Dodgers planned to have Jackson undergo a precautionary MRI exam in the next few days. It was unclear what the club would do if Jackson had to be removed from the rotation, with Perez and Hideo Nomo already on the disabled list.

“When we went to the mound, he said he felt like something was jingling around,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “In the area in which [trainer Matt Wilson] was examining him, we weren’t going to try to throw any pitches.”

Jackson, who gave up Vladimir Guerrero’s 20th homer in the first, struggled to describe the feeling he experienced in his elbow.

“I don’t know what it was, it was just a weird feeling,” he said. “It wasn’t on the bone and it wasn’t around the elbow. It was more like around the forearm than closer to the elbow. I didn’t really know what it was, but it just felt funny. I just decided to call the trainer and have him come out and look at it.”

With Nomo and Perez -- the projected Nos. 1 and 2 starters beginning the season -- sidelined and little help available at triple-A Las Vegas, the Dodgers might need consistently big performances from the batting order to remain in contention in the National League West until the All-Star break.

It appears they can count on Beltre.

The hot third baseman added to his team lead, hitting homers No. 20 and 21 in his fourth multi-homer game of the season, and eighth of his career, as the Dodgers again took extended batting practice against the struggling Colon, whose four-year, $51-million contract suddenly seems much more costly than it did in the off-season.

Setup man Guillermo Mota (2-0) worked two scoreless innings for the win, and Eric Gagne shut the door in the ninth. Gagne retired the Angels in order for his 21st save, extending his major league-record streak to 84 in a row.

The third-place Dodgers (41-37) moved back within 2 1/2 games of first-place San Francisco in the division. The third-place Angels (42-38) are 3 1/2 games behind first-place Oakland in the American League West.

“We’ve got a couple of key injuries on the pitching staff, and now Jackson is hurt tonight too,” said Beltre, batting .327 and also leading the Dodgers with 55 runs batted in. “The starters are battling [injuries] and the relievers have to throw more innings now, so we know we have to step up more and score some more runs.”

Colon (5-8) lasted only four innings for the Angels, but that was still one-third of an inning longer than he worked in last Sunday’s 10-5 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

He gave up three homers -- including both of Beltre’s shots and Robin Ventura’s first of the season -- and seven earned runs as Angel Manager Mike Scioscia, judging from the chorus of boos from the first inning to the fourth, apparently stuck with the ineffective right-hander much longer than fans would have preferred.

Colon’s earned-run average increased from 6.17 to 6.56 as he lost for the fifth time in six starts.

“We’re going to put our heads together,” said Scioscia, who plans to have a meeting today with Colon, pitching coach Bud Black and catchers to discuss Colon’s deteriorating performance.

“We’re trying to get Bart on track. The results speak for themselves. Bart’s disappointed and we’re disappointed.”

Said Colon: “Whatever recommendations [Scioscia] makes, I will make sure I follow them.”

The Dodgers took a 3-0 lead in the first on Cesar Izturis’ RBI double and Beltre’s two-run homer. Ventura’s homer in the second put the Dodgers ahead, 4-2, and Beltre’s second homer in the third gave the Dodgers another three-run cushion.

The Angels pulled within 5-4 on Darin Erstad’s two-run homer in the third and Colon returned to the mound in the fourth. Izturis’ two-run single extended the Dodgers’ lead to 7-4, and the inning ended as Izturis was out stretching. Milton Bradley hit his eighth homer in the fifth inning against Ramon Ortiz.

Izturis probably would have been Colon’s final batter in the fourth with Ortiz warming up in the bullpen, and the crowd directed its anger for the final time toward Colon as he disappeared into the dugout.

“I’d like to get going in the right direction for this ballclub,” Colon said.