Braves Jump on Dodgers’ New Battery

It’s an idea without a clear rationale. Sandy Alomar Jr. will catch when Odalis Perez pitches. Neither player knows why, and explanations offered by Manager Grady Little are vague.

Their first pairing came Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves, and yes, it could be said they were double trouble.

For the Dodgers.

Staked to an early five-run lead, Perez crumbled, giving up seven runs in the third and fourth innings, enabling the Atlanta Braves to take a lead they would relinquish, then regain in the Dodgers’ 9-8 loss at Dodger Stadium.

Alomar had an awkward moment too, barreling into first baseman Olmedo Saenz trying to field a bunt in the fourth, failing to make the play that triggered a three-run rally and caused Saenz to leave the game an inning later because of a stiff back.

A cascade of minor Dodger injuries followed.

Cleanup hitter Jeff Kent left in the fourth because his left triceps stiffened about 45 minutes after he was hit by a pitch in the first inning. James Loney, who replaced Saenz, bruised his wrist when a ground ball handcuffed him to begin the eighth, and shortstop Rafael Furcal had to be helped off the field after Andruw Jones ran into him on a force play that ended the eighth.

Loney and Furcal stayed in the game and will be evaluated today, an off day before a seven-game trip to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. With center fielder Kenny Lofton and first baseman Nomar Garciaparra already on the disabled list and the team carrying 12 pitchers, the Dodgers can hardly afford to lose any more position players.

Sandwiched between the injuries to Loney and Furcal, the Dodgers endured the ultimate pain of letting the game slip away when Franquelis Osoria walked two and gave up a run-scoring ground-rule double to Ryan Langerhans.

The left-handed Langerhans hit a game-winning homer against Osoria on opening day. Little said he stayed with the right-handed reliever this time because if he brought in left-hander Tim Hamulack, he expected the Braves to counter with right-handed pinch-hitter Brian Jordan.

“That’s why I’d like to get the first 14 games under our belts,” Little said. “We can see by then what everybody is capable of.”

The Dodger rallied in the seventh to tie the score after trailing, 8-5. Bill Mueller and Alomar, who each had three hits, drove in runs.

Mueller and Alomar were retired in a quiet ninth, however, and in a game with a handful of pivotal moments, the Dodgers could look back to the fourth-inning bunt by Brave pitcher Horacio Ramirez that put runners on first and second with none out and the score tied, 5-5.

“The ball stalled in the grass like a golf shot, so I thought it was my play,” Alomar said. “He called it. I didn’t. There was miscommunication right there.”

Lance Carter, acquired from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays along with Danys Baez, was shaky in relief, walking Marcus Giles to load the bases when all Giles wanted to do was bunt the runners over.

A single by Edgar Renteria, an RBI walk to Jones and sacrifice fly by Jeff Francoeur produced three runs.

The Dodgers had 39 hits in the series, but a more relevant number was 53 -- the number of pitches thrown by Perez when he was scheduled to throw 80 to 85.

Alomar might catch him again, but how much worse could it go with Dioner Navarro behind the plate? Alomar isn’t sure how the arrangement got this far.

“What do I know about him?” Alomar said. “His name is Perez. That’s about it.

“He kept the ball down the first couple of innings then started getting his changeup up and they hit the ball hard.”