Gagne Ready for His Return

The Dodgers finished a two-city trip with a one-sided defeat. They flew all night and must drag themselves to work today to begin a homestand.

Yet there will be optimism in the clubhouse, electricity in the air. For the first time in a year, they can view the world through rose-colored goggles.

Eric Gagne will be in the bullpen.

Nobody will be talking about the lackluster 9-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night at Turner Field. The shaky pitching of Brett Tomko, the three unearned Braves runs and the meager Dodgers offense against Tim Hudson will be distant memories.

Even the eight blown saves in 19 chances and the ninth-inning meltdowns that have deprived the Dodgers from occupying first place in the National League West could become irrelevant.

High expectations weigh on the fragile right arm of Gagne, who brought theater as well as finality to his 160 saves in 166 tries the last four seasons.

First-year Dodgers Manager Grady Little is itching to see it for himself.

“If there is a save situation today, I won’t hesitate to put him in it,” he said. “I can guarantee you that.”

Takashi Saito, who has two saves in two chances, and Danys Baez, who has nine but has blown five, will share the set-up role and serve as closers on days Gagne is unable.

For the time being, that will be the day after Gagne makes an appearance. The Dodgers will attempt to balance production with prudence.

“We’ll see how things flow when Eric gets here,” Little said. “That’s when the luxury of having Baez and Saito comes in handy.”

A year ago, Gagne had surgery to release a nerve in his elbow from surrounding scar tissue. In April, he had surgery to remove the nerve altogether. He made two minor league rehabilitation appearances in the last week, notching two saves. All systems are go.

The same couldn’t be said Wednesday. The Dodgers missed a chance to sweep the Braves here for the first time since 1988 -- the last time they won a World Series.

Tomko (5-3) ran into trouble in his last two starts by falling behind hitters. In an effort to get ahead in the count, he threw fat first pitches that Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones hit for two-run home runs in the first and third innings.

The third was a disaster all around. Andre Ethier dropped a fly ball in left field, Tomko balked and the Braves scored five runs to take a 7-0 lead.

“It was a weird game,” Tomko said. “I felt good. I was scratching my head wondering where it went haywire.”

It marked the third start in a row that hasn’t gone well for Tomko, whose three-inning stint was his shortest of the season.

Suddenly the rotation is a problem area. Jae Seo and Brad Penny made poor starts on the trip and Odalis Perez again was underwhelming in relief, giving up two runs -- one earned -- in three innings.

General Manager Ned Colletti is expected to explore acquiring a veteran starter by the July 31 trading deadline. Greg Maddux is a possibility, although the Dodgers passed up an opportunity this week to acquire a different player from the Chicago Cubs.

The versatile Jerry Hairston was traded to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday for infielder Phil Nevin after the Dodgers said they weren’t interested. Colletti had discussions with his Cubs counterpart, Jim Hendry, and dispatched a scout to evaluate Hairston, an eight-year veteran who can play outfield and infield.

Several weeks ago Colletti expressed a desire to add a utility player capable of playing the outfield as well as the infield. In an effort to fill that need, the Dodgers have considered teaching infielders Cesar Izturis and Willy Aybar to play the outfield.

Hairston is a proven utility player but didn’t play well for the Cubs and is expensive for a reserve, making $2.3 million. The recent emergence of Dodgers rookies Ethier, Matt Kemp and Aybar caused Colletti to back off the deal.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be an addition to the clubhouse today. And if needed in the ninth inning, he’ll come blazing out of the bullpen.