Nomo Stumbles, but Dodgers Don’t Fall

Things are going so well for the Dodgers that they aren’t even relying on Hideo Nomo.

While last season’s ace worked through his problems Saturday night, the Dodgers did many things correctly again in a 4-3 victory at PNC Park.

“It’s a different year,” said first baseman Shawn Green, who hit his seventh home run. “It’s a productive offense, and sometimes we’re going to score a lot of runs, other times we’re just going to get enough to win.

“We don’t have to put as much on [the pitching staff] as we did last year, and that’s a good feeling.... It’s a lot of fun to come to the park knowing, most days, good things are going to happen.”

The Dodgers continued to have fun Saturday despite Nomo’s failing to preserve a 3-0 lead provided on Green’s three-run homer in the first inning.

The Pirates hit two solo homers against Nomo and pulled even at 3-3 in the sixth, but the Dodgers’ superior bullpen and a clutch hit from No. 8 batter Alex Cora helped them finish strong in front of 26,610.

Darren Dreifort and Guillermo Mota (2-0) worked scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, and Cora delivered a one-out, run-scoring double in the ninth off reliever Salomon Torres (1-1), setting the stage for Eric Gagne to convert his 73rd consecutive save opportunity.

“Alex Cora had a great at-bat,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “Alex Cora came up huge, and I’ve seen it before. He’s a winning-type player, and I’ve said it for three years.”

Pittsburgh Manager Lloyd McClendon had the right-handed Torres pitch to the left-handed batting Cora, who pulled a line drive into the right-field corner.

“Salomon has a good sinker, so you had a pretty good idea what he was going to try to do,” Cora said. “He was trying to get a ground ball. He left that one up and I hit it pretty good.”

Gagne gave up a leadoff single to Jason Bay, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt but was stranded there.

Pinch-hitter Abraham Nunez struck out, and Tike Redman hit a flare that shortstop Cesar Izturis one-handed in shallow left-center field to end the Dodgers’ fourth victory in five games on the trip, and the Pirates’ fifth consecutive loss. Gagne recorded his 10th save of 2004.

And then there’s Nomo.

Although he worked six innings and had his second quality start of the season in a no-decision, Nomo failed to pitch into the seventh inning for the seventh time in as many outings.

And homers continued to cause him problems.

Nomo gave up 24 homers in 218 1/3 innings in 2003. Including the Pirates’ two homers Saturday, Nomo has already been tagged for half of last season’s total (12) in only 39 innings this season.

Against Pittsburgh, Nomo gave up seven hits and three earned runs. He had three strikeouts without a walk and threw 61 strikes in 88 pitches. Pirate starter Ryan Vogelsong pitched six shutout innings after Green’s homer in the first.

The Dodgers acknowledged they might have been too optimistic in believing Nomo would quickly regain arm strength after undergoing surgery on his pitching shoulder in October.

Nomo is winless in his last three starts, but the Dodgers were encouraged by the speed of his fastball Saturday.

Throwing from the stretch in the sixth, Nomo’s fastball was clocked consistently in the high 80s and even reached 90 mph.

“The more and more I watch it, the more and more I’m becoming convinced of the fact that it’s a mechanical thing from the windup, because we saw his best fastball tonight,” Tracy said. “We have seen them in previous starts from the stretch.

“I saw an 88, I saw an 89, I saw a 90 -- and all from the stretch. In the last couple of starts, we saw similar velocities where Hideo has been in the past couple of years, and all of those were also from the stretch. What we’re dealing with, and what I’m encouraged by tonight, is that if you’ve seen it from the stretch, you know it’s in there.

“I’m beginning to be convinced of the fact that we’ve got something to work on, and find, out of the windup. His velocity goes up when he throws from the stretch.”