Dodgers Find a Couple of Game Preservers

Whew! That’s a relief.

Eric Gagne could be back in six weeks, and if a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night is an indication, the Dodgers might not even notice his absence while he is recuperating from surgery.

Danys Baez struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning for the save and Hong-Chih Kuo struck out four and faced only six batters in the seventh and eighth at Citizens Bank Park.

Now that’s relief.

“Kuo was unbelievable,” said Brett Tomko, the beneficiary of the brilliant bullpen, winning his first Dodger start on his 33rd birthday.

“For those two innings he made them look pretty silly. And it’s comforting to have Baez, a proven guy who can save ballgames.”

Gagne’s surgery to remove a nerve that was irritating his right elbow took only 30 minutes and Dr. Frank Jobe said the All-Star closer could begin throwing in three weeks and return by late May.

The news was all good for the banged-up Dodgers, as every player getting an opportunity because of an injury shined.

Leadoff batter Rafael Furcal’s shin still felt the effects of an Andruw Jones slide on Wednesday and he was a late scratch. No problem.

Jason Repko, in the lineup only because center fielder Kenny Lofton is on the disabled list, was moved from eighth to leadoff and delivered two hits, a walk and a stolen base. He scored the first of two Dodger runs in the first inning and drove in a run in the third that extended the lead to 5-0.

Rookie James Loney, playing first base because Nomar Garciaparra is on the disabled list, drove in a run with a triple in the first inning, his first extra-base hit and first run batted in.

Ramon Martinez played a flawless shortstop in Furcal’s place, and hit a single and scored on a double by catcher Dioner Navarro in a two-run second inning.

“We’ve been jumping out to an early lead in pretty much every game,” Manager Grady Little said. “Tonight the bullpen had no trouble protecting it.”

Kuo, a rookie left-hander, walked two on opening day, and both runners scored after he was replaced. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt emphasized to him the importance of getting ahead of hitters and challenging them the way he did during spring training.

All his pitches but two were fastballs against the Phillies. He struck out Jimmy Rollins, Aaron Rowand, Bobby Abreu and Chase Utley in order.

“He’s really sneaky,” Navarro said. “We threw a couple of sliders to change their eye levels, then he just brought the heat.”

Baez is another hard thrower, although his split-fingered changeup was the key to making sure the Phillies started 0-4 for the first time since 1987. He struck out power-hitting Ryan Howard with it to begin the ninth, then used it to dispose of Shane Victorino for the second out.

David Dellucci doubled, with Repko nearly throwing him out from deep left-center, but Baez got Abraham Nunez to pop up on the first pitch for his second save, leaving the Dodgers 2-2.

The only trouble for Dodger pitchers came in the three-run Phillie fourth when Pat Burrell and Sal Fasano homered. Tomko settled down, though, retiring the last seven batters he faced. He watched the last three innings in the clubhouse and realized that even without Gagne, the Dodger bullpen might preserve leads as long as he can continue to give the team six solid innings.

“Getting those runs in the first few innings enabled me to come after guys,” Tomko said. “Early in my career I might have let those home runs get to me, but this was 100% better.

“Then watching Kuo and Baez was a treat. Losing a guy like Gagne is never good, but maybe we’ll be all right.”