Dodgers Go a Long Time to Lose

The Dodgers were too weary to scream, curse or even mutter under their breath.

The Dodgers were too distraught to break the water cooler, kick their lockers or burn their uniforms.

The Dodgers were too numb to show anger, remorse or embarrassment.

The Dodgers may have pitched a no-hitter over nine innings Saturday . . . staged a dramatic ninth-inning comeback . . . played another 11 innings after Cy Young winner Greg Maddux left the game . . . had their ace pitch out of the bullpen for the first time in eight years . . . but none of it mattered.

In the end, the Dodgers succumbed to the Atlanta Braves, 5-3 in 18 innings in front of a fatigued crowd of of 42,575 that witnessed the second-longest game in Dodger Stadium history.

“I just want to get something to eat, go home, go to bed and pretend this day never happened,� Dodger second baseman Delino DeShields said. “It’s not something you really care to remember.�

The Dodgers (57-53), who played 41 innings in the last 47 hours, remembered rejoicing sometime in the ninth inning. Raul Mondesi hit a two-out triple, and Wayne Kirby sent the game into extra innings with a two-strike, run-scoring single off closer Mark Wohlers, but the rest is hazy.

In the next nine innings, the Dodgers went four for 30--all singles. The Braves produced 27 consecutive outs after Mark Lemke’s leadoff single in the seventh until Pablo Martinez’s leadoff single in the 16th. The stalemate finally ended when the Braves produced more hits (three) in the 18th inning than they did in their previous 11 innings, ending the longest game of the major league season.

“I kept going, ‘Please, just let someone win this game,’ � Atlanta left fielder Ryan Klesko said. “And then you have to back up and say, ‘We want to win this game.’ �

The game broke open when Atlanta third baseman Mike Mordecai hit a one-out single in the 18th off Ramon Martinez that scored Marquis Grissom from second base, and Klesko added a run-scoring single, sealing the victory.

The Braves never scored a run off a true Dodger reliever the entire day. They scored three runs off starter Ismael Valdes in the first eight innings, and two runs off Ramon Martinez, pitching in relief for the first time since his 1988 rookie season. And if the game had gone into the 19th, it was starter Pedro Astacio’s turn to enter the game.

“I didn’t expect I’d have to throw today,� said Martinez, managing a weak smile. “But in a situation like that, you have to be a teammate.�

It was a game in which 44 players and 14 pitchers were used, two pitchers were employed as pinch-hitters, and 470 pitches were thrown. The teams came to the plate 138 times, struck out 32 times, walked 13 times, produced 23 hits, stranded 22 baserunners, hit into seven double plays and batted a combined .190.

“You saw a little bit of everything today,� said Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox, who missed the last five innings after being ejected by home-plate umpire Bob Davidson in the 13th inning. “You play that long it’s just good to be on the winning side.

The game got to be so ridiculous that Frank Fultz, the Atlanta strength and conditioning coach, began doing jumping jacks in the dugout during the 18th inning for inspiration. He wound up doing jumping jacks for 20 consecutive minutes, not stopping until Dodger first baseman Eric Karros grounded out for the final out.

Atlanta first baseman Fred McGriff clutched the ball, looked at the scoreboard to make sure the game was really over, and flipped the ball into the air, celebrating the longest game of the year.

“I’m so tired right now,� said Mondesi, who had as many hits (four) the last 11 innings as the entire Atlanta team “I’m going to go home, don’t eat, just sleep. It’s like we played two extra games.�

The Dodger pitching staff recorded 27 consecutive outs, limited the Braves to one extra-base (a double) the entire game, and the team still lost. It made for a sullen mood in the clubhouse.

“It was a tremendous effort by the staff,� said Dave Wallace, the Dodger pitching coach, “but they’re taxed. Really taxed. Oh boy, nobody said this was going to be easy.�

The Dodgers know they had several chances to put the game away long before the 18th inning. When Mondesi tripled in the ninth with two outs, and Kirby singled him home in the ninth, the Dodgers figured they were destined to win. Instead, they failed four times with runners in scoring position in the 14th and 16th innings.

“When you’ve been out there the whole day like that,� Dodger third baseman Juan Castro said, “that’s when you really want to win. This hurts a lot worse than losing in nine innings, believe me.�