Dodgers, Baez Give Till It Hurts, Again

What’s in that box tied with a bow? Folks in Colorado must be delirious with anticipation.

The Dodgers have bestowed munificent presents upon the rest of the National League West, blowing a five-run ninth-inning lead in San Diego, a six-run cushion in Arizona and, now, a three-run ninth-inning advantage to the San Francisco Giants.

The gift-giving possibilities at mile-high Coors Field, where the Dodgers begin a series Monday, stagger the imagination.

The finish at AT&T; Park was hard enough to fathom. With Barry Bonds in the clubhouse icing his knees after another frigid day with the bat, Dodger pseudo-closer Danys Baez gave up four runs in the ninth and the Giants won, 6-5, Saturday in front of a sellout crowd.

Baez, who filled in ably for Eric Gagne the first four weeks of the season, has blown saves in his last four appearances, beginning with the debacle at San Diego two weeks ago that triggered a nine-game Padres winning streak and a five-game Dodgers skid. Since then, he has yielded seven earned runs and 13 hits in 5 2/3 innings.

“This job is not easy, everybody knows that,” he said. “You have bad days, and you have easy days where you throw three pitches.”

A distant memory, those days are. Gagne’s recovery from surgery to remove a nerve from his elbow is gaining urgency. He’s supposed to return as soon as June 1.

Until then, expect more of Baez, who has eight saves, the last coming April 29.

“We have a lot of confidence still in Danys,” Manager Grady Little said. “Our alternative is on the disabled list, and hopefully will be back soon.”

The Dodgers (18-19) blew more than the lead. They had a chance to lip over .500 for the first time since they were 4-3 on April 9. And several positive developments were lost in the swirl of Giant runs.

For naught was a standout performance by starter Aaron Sele, who solidified his berth in the rotation by going seven innings, allowing two runs and retiring Bonds twice.

Forgotten were home runs by Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent, and a triple and two-run single by J.D. Drew.

Ancient history were Bonds’ fruitless at-bats, his quest to tie Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list dragging into the last day of this hugely anticipated homestand. Bonds, in fact, had been removed by the time Baez came on to protect a 5-2 lead.

Steve Finley led off with a double, then third baseman Willy Aybar -- playing because Bill Mueller is on the disabled list -- botched a ground ball.

“That breathed a little life into us,” Finley said. “It took off from there.”

One out later, the last three batters in the order delivered hits, and the score was tied. After an intentional walk to Randy Winn to load the bases, Omar Vizquel hit a low fly ball to medium right field that enabled pinch-runner Jose Vizcaino to score the winning run.

“Everything [Baez] throws is hard, even that sinker or whatever he calls it,” said Giants catcher Todd Greene, whose two-run double down the left-field line was the key blow.

Baez had two strikes on several hitters, but was unable to finish them. Although his fastball was lively, his split-finger pitch wasn’t close enough to the strike zone for batters to bite.

“It was either too far up or way down in the dirt,” Dodgers catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. said.

Too often the Dodgers have finished in the dust even after they’ve been far ahead. This was the fourth time they’ve lost after leading in the seventh inning. The bullpen has been the primary culprit, but the defense -- especially at third base and shortstop -- has contributed too.

“This was nothing that hasn’t been seen several times this season,” Little said. “It’s not a good feeling.

“At least by now we’ve learned to get over it and move on to the next day as quickly as possible.”