New Dodger Error, Er, Era Off to a Bad Start

Anyone thinking the Dodger-Giant rivalry had diminished because Eric Gagne and Barry Bonds were sidelined with injuries was set straight during a pregame moment of silence for Pope John Paul II.

The teams were standing along the base lines, heads bowed, when a fan yelled, “You [stink], Kent!”

Second baseman Jeff Kent is the only San Francisco Giant most-valuable-player award winner to do the unthinkable and become a Dodger. That makes him the newest villain in the decades-long passion play that took a predictable turn Tuesday at SBC Park.

The Dodger defense, weakened during the off-season, cost the team dearly in a 4-2 loss in front of an opening-day sellout crowd of 42,788.

Third baseman Jose Valentin, a shortstop most of his career, made an error on a ground ball he said blended in with the chalk along the base line, allowing the decisive run to score with two out in the seventh inning.

The Giants, who got a solid seven innings from starter Jason Schmidt, added a run in the eighth on another error. Reliever Giovanni Carrara slipped coming off the mound to field a bunt, then slipped again while shoveling the ball to first base. The ball sailed into foul territory, and Edgardo Alfonzo scored from second.

The Dodgers made fewer errors than any team in baseball last season. But in order to shore up the pitching staff, General Manager Paul DePodesta made concessions on defense -- allowing third baseman Adrian Beltre and second baseman Alex Cora to depart during the off-season.

“Last year we had the best defense in the game,” DePodesta said. “I wouldn’t make that claim today. But I still think it’s a strength.”

Not in this game. And the most prominent pitcher added to the roster was victimized. Derek Lowe pitched seven strong innings, striking out five, and worked out of jams in the third and fifth.

But a single by pinch-hitter Michael Tucker in the seventh put the leadoff batter on base for the third time in four innings. The Dodgers missed a double play by an eye-blink on Ray Durham’s ground ball to shortstop, and after Omar Vizquel walked and J.T. Snow grounded to first to advance the runners, Moises Alou hit a grounder down the line to Valentin.

“I had a hard time figuring out how hard it was hit,” Valentin said. “The ball and the line are the same color. My first game with my new team and a new position. That cost us the game right there.”

Lowe might not have been on the mound in the seventh had Gagne been in the bullpen rather than on the disabled list. Valentin, batting in the No. 6 spot, walked to lead off the top of the inning. Manager Jim Tracy allowed the next batter, Ricky Ledee, to swing rather than advance the runner with a bunt because Tracy did not want to pinch-hit for Lowe two batters later.

Ledee popped to third on a hit-and-run, Jason Phillips struck out and Lowe flew out.

Ledee said he was “kind of surprised” that he wasn’t asked to bunt with the score tied in the seventh. But Tracy must try to milk every possible inning out of his starting pitchers because of injuries to Gagne and left-hander Wilson Alvarez. Another factor was that tonight’s starter, Odalis Perez, is coming off an injury and will be restricted to about 75 pitches, which figures to further tax the bullpen.

The Dodgers benefited from the absence of Bonds, who is recovering from knee surgery and walked onto the field only to accept his 2004 MVP and Silver Slugger awards in a pregame ceremony.

In the fifth inning the Giants had runners on second and third with none out. Snow, batting in Bonds’ usual No. 3 spot, came up. Walking Bonds would have been a no-brainer, but Lowe got Snow to pop to third, then retired Alou and Pedro Feliz to strand the runners.

Cesar Izturis gave the Dodgers a quick lead when he hit the third pitch of the game over the right-field wall. It was the first leadoff homer on opening day since Steve Sax hit one against the Giants in 1988.

The Dodgers extended the lead in the second when Phillips, the new catcher, drove in Milton Bradley with a sacrifice fly. Alfonzo tied the score with a two-run home run in the fourth and Schmidt buckled down, retiring 17 of the last 20 batters he faced.

“We were all fired up on opening day looking for fastballs from a fastball pitcher, and he was throwing split-fingers on fastball counts,” Bradley said. “He really mixed it up. I have to give him credit for that.”