This Loss Falls Into a Gray Area

Maybe it was the dark, foreboding clouds hanging low over Dodger Stadium. All day long there was a temptation to look skyward and be so bold as to venture predictions.

Would rain disrupt opening day? Could the Dodgers overcome the deluge of injuries that continued with first baseman Nomar Garciaparra’s being scratched from the lineup because of a strained rib cage?

Could the steady sprinkle of Dodger singles and doubles counter the three-homer thunder of the Atlanta Braves?

No, no and no, if you are scoring at home.

Despite nearly battling back from deficits of seven runs in the fifth inning and six in the eighth, the Dodgers fell, 11-10, Monday in the first game of the Ned Colletti and Grady Little era.

“We put up big numbers, but they didn’t add up,” said left fielder Jose Cruz Jr., who had four of the 17 Dodger hits.

Several large numbers didn’t amount to much. The Dodgers announced that a regular-season record 56,000 tickets were sold, but there were wide swaths of empty seats because of the dreary weather.

Six Dodgers had multiple hits -- including three by new leadoff batter Rafael Furcal -- against a parade of seven Brave pitchers, but the result was a one-run loss that never seemed as close as the final score.

The Braves took a 4-0 lead in the first because of an error by second baseman Jeff Kent and a three-run home run by Adam LaRoche against Derek Lowe. Kent didn’t make an error until May 28 last season, but he booted a ground ball by Chipper Jones with a runner on first and one out that might have resulted in a double play.

The advantage ballooned to 8-1 in the fifth when Andruw Jones belted a three-run homer. Lowe, who gave up 28 home runs last season, made no excuses.

“I had a chance to go out there and get us going in the right direction, and I fell far short,” he said.

The Dodgers opened the fifth with consecutive hits by the first four batters in the lineup -- Furcal, Cruz, J.D. Drew and Kent -- knocking starter Tim Hudson out of the game. Four runs scored in the inning, but the Dodgers left two runners on base, as they would do six times.

The Braves answered with two runs in the sixth when left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo issued two walks with two out and Edgar Renteria doubled against right-hander Yhency Brazoban.

“If he doesn’t walk those two hitters, it might have been a different outcome,” said Little, who was managing his first game since being fired by the Boston Red Sox after the 2003 season.

The final -- and ultimately pivotal -- Brave run came on a home run by left fielder Ryan Langerhans against Franquelis Osoria in the eighth. The blast stretched the lead to 11-5, but the Dodgers weren’t through, scoring three in the eighth and two in the ninth.

Pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro struck out with runners on second and third in the eighth, however, and the middle of the Dodger lineup was retired by closer Chris Reitsma in the ninth. Furcal and Cruz led off with hits and scored on groundouts by Drew and Kent.

With Garciaparra out and the Dodgers carrying 12 pitchers, Little had a thin bench. His best pinch-hitter, Olmedo Saenz, was in the lineup at first base, and he was reluctant to use backup infielder Ramon Martinez. Pinch-hitters Cody Ross and Ricky Ledee made outs with two runners on base.

Little could have made good use of Oscar Robles, a solid hitter who was sent to triple-A to make room for a 12th pitcher.

“We were a bit strapped today, and we’ll try to rectify that as soon as possible,” Little said.

That probably won’t mean adding Robles, a utility infielder. But with center fielder Kenny Lofton on the disabled list and Garciaparra perhaps headed there as well, it could mean promoting a prospect, most likely first baseman James Loney.

Little wouldn’t make a prediction. But as the rain clouds defied the weather forecast and faded away, Furcal would be so bold.

“If we keep hitting like we did today,” he said, “we have a good chance to win it.”