Back Pain Hospitalizes Gagne

Eric Gagne was admitted to St. Vincent Medical Center because of lower back pain the Dodgers said was unrelated to baseball activity. Results of an examination by spine surgeon Dr. Robert Watkins were not known.

Gagne, 30, has been on the disabled list most of the season because of elbow pain. He was sidelined the first 51 games recovering from surgery to remove a nerve from his right elbow, made two one-inning appearances, then went back on the disabled list June 7 because another nerve in the elbow caused discomfort.

Takashi Saito has made Gagne’s absence less noticeable, converting all six of his save opportunities and holding opponents to a .174 batting average in 36 appearances.

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After telling Manager Grady Little that his strained oblique muscle had healed enough for him to play, second baseman Jeff Kent was pulled from the starting lineup an hour before the game.

The injury also kept Kent out of Tuesday’s game, but he had been optimistic about a quick recovery. Similar injuries landed first baseman Nomar Garciaparra on the disabled list in April and pitcher Brett Tomko on the disabled list a week ago.

Kent hopes the time off doesn’t cool his bat. He has raised his batting average from .256 to .273 since coming off the disabled list June 13. He sat out two weeks because of a sprained wrist.

The only consolation for the Dodgers is the play of Kent’s backup, veteran utility infielder Ramon Martinez. A career .273 hitter, Martinez is batting .321.

Center fielder Kenny Lofton was out because of a strained hamstring, leaving Little with only four position players on the bench -- infielder Olmedo Saenz, outfielder Jose Cruz Jr. and catchers Toby Hall and Sandy Alomar Jr.

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Don Fehr, executive director of the players’ union, met with the Diamondbacks before the game and was expected to meet with the San Francisco Giants today in routine conferences scheduled to inform the players on the status of collective bargaining negotiations. The current agreement expires in December.

The Dodgers are tentatively scheduled to confer with Fehr next week in St. Louis, although he did talk with Lofton in the clubhouse.

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The deadline to vote for Garciaparra and four other players for the final spot on the National League All-Star team is today at 3 p.m. Garciaparra leads the league in batting. Votes can be cast at www.dodgers.com.... Tomko played catch on flat ground without pain.... Outfielder Ricky Ledee began his minor league rehabilitation assignment at Jacksonville, going hitless in three at-bats.

Staff writer Tim Brown contributed to this report.