Dodgers Waste a Chance at Victory

The Dodgers have capitalized on many clutch situations during their fast start, winning every one-run ballgame they have played and tallying eight come-from-behind victories.

But when the bases are loaded and there’s nobody out against the Montreal Expos, Dodger batters have displayed a disturbing tendency of turning into mush.

It happened again in the seventh inning Sunday afternoon, when Cesar Izturis and Adrian Beltre popped meekly to shortstop and Shawn Green flied to right field as the Dodgers came up empty during a 6-4 loss in front of 35,351 at Dodger Stadium.

“We haven’t done a whole lot of that,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said of failing to produce in crucial at-bats.

“Periodically, it’s going to happen.”

That’s twice in two days, for those scoring at home. Saturday, the Dodgers scored only once in the sixth after loading the bases with none out and would have been held scoreless had Montreal first baseman Brad Wilkerson plucked the ball cleanly out of his glove to start an inning-ending double play.

Montreal padded its lead Sunday when Juan Rivera hit a two-run homer just out of left fielder Juan Encarnacion’s reach in the eighth and Wilkerson added a solo homer in the ninth, sapping some of the drama from a ninth-inning rally in which the Dodgers brought the potential winning run to the plate.

The Dodgers cut a four-run deficit in half during the inning on pinch-hitter Olmedo Saenz’s run-scoring sacrifice fly and Beltre’s RBI single up the middle, but Encarnacion popped to second baseman Jose Vidro with runners on first and second to end the game.

The Dodgers (15-9) were left with a series victory when a three-game sweep was theirs for the taking, though they remained tied with San Diego (16-10) atop the National League West standings heading into a series against Florida beginning Tuesday at Pro Player Stadium.

“We, in essence, let them off the hook,” Tracy said.

Hideo Nomo (3-3) took the loss after giving up seven hits and three runs in five-plus innings, but it was the Dodger bullpen that uncharacteristically unraveled, giving up three runs in the final four innings. Guillermo Mota gave up Rivera’s two-run homer that was caught by a boy standing in the first row of yellow seats in the left field corner, and Duaner Sanchez gave up Willkerson’s solo shot in the ninth.

Nomo, coming off off-season shoulder surgery, has a 6.27 earned-run average and has yet to pitch more than six innings in any of his six starts this season.

“I’d just like to, from now on, throw more than six innings,” Nomo said through an interpreter.

“I don’t really think about being an ace. I just want to come off the mound with a win.”

Tracy insisted that he retained confidence in Nomo despite his inability to pitch deep into games.

“Has he had a dominant-type performance like we have seen over the course of the last couple of seasons?” Tracy asked. “No, he hasn’t done that yet. But we’re talking about a guy who is still in the recovery process from off-season shoulder surgery, and if he can go out there and put us in a position and give us a chance to win games, that’s what you ask your starting pitching to do for you.”

The Dodgers mounted their bases-loaded threat in the seventh after Alex Cora hit a leadoff single to right and went to second when Expo reliever Chad Cordero walked pinch-hitter Jason Grabowski. Roberts then laid down a bunt that skipped between hard-charging third baseman Tony Batista and Cordero for a base hit.

But Izturis lofted a towering pop fly to shortstop Orlando Cabrera in shallow center field, Beltre popped softly to Cabrera and Green flied to right.

“It was a perfect spot for us coming up with the two, three and four [hitters],” said first baseman Robin Ventura, who singled home a run in the fourth.

“It’s just one of those things that you wish you could have got more out of it. It’s definitely disappointing, but I’ll take my chances with those guys up there again.”

* DODGER REPORT, BOX SCORE, D4