A Bad Way to Leave Town

The Dodgers tonight begin their longest trip of the season, a four-city, 13-game, 14-day journey they hope will end with them still atop the National League West.

It seemed as if they were thinking ahead Sunday in a 10-1 blowout loss to the Atlanta Braves in front of 49,513 at Dodger Stadium.

Atlanta scored eight runs in the second inning to break open the game, pounding starter Wilson Alvarez and reliever Elmer Dessens.

“We had a bad inning in the second inning,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said. “And it just snowballed and got worse.”

J.D. Drew’s two-run double extended the lead to 5-0 and chased Alvarez, and Chipper Jones’ three-run home run off Dessens provided the knockout blow. Robin Ventura drove in the Dodgers’ only run with a fifth-inning single.

The Braves matched their season-high with 19 hits against four pitchers, and the Dodgers had only five hits against four pitchers. Starter Jaret Wright must have forgotten he had struggled against the Dodgers in his career, tossing seven strong innings in a three-hit, seven-strikeout performance.

Atlanta (70-53) earned a split in the four-game series and maintained a 7 1/2 -game lead over second-place Florida in the NL East. The big picture wasn’t as bright for the Dodgers (72-51), whose lead in the NL West was reduced to 4 1/2 games over San Francisco.

The Dodgers went 3-4 on the homestand against Florida and Atlanta, and have major concerns about the primary setup role in front of closer Eric Gagne, who has had the worst stretch of his career as a reliever since a three-inning stint Aug. 1 against San Diego.

There are better ways to begin a potentially season-defining trip to Montreal, New York, Arizona and St. Louis, but that’s the Dodgers’ situation.

“It’s not a great homestand,” Tracy said. “But it’s not a bad one either when you consider that we played two very good ballclubs. With where we sit right now, obviously, this road trip is a very interesting one for us.

“If we can make it a good one, moving toward the month of September, it could put us in a great position. That’s the focus we have to have.”

The Dodgers privately said they had trouble focusing Sunday because of plate umpire Lance Barksdale, whose supposedly questionable strike zone kept them guessing from the first pitch. Batting instructor Tim Wallach was ejected in the fifth for arguing balls and strikes.

Alvarez (7-4) has been among the team’s most dependable starters, and he worked seven scoreless innings in his last outing. On Sunday, the veteran left-hander couldn’t locate the strike zone with his fastball.

“Every time I threw a fastball, it was a ball,” said Alvarez, who gave up eight hits and was charged with seven runs in 1 1/3 innings.

“The only thing I was throwing for strikes was my off-speed pitches, and they just sat on it. I would get behind in the count and try to trick them with the off-speed, but they were ready for it.”

After reviewing videotape of his short outing, Alvarez gave Barksdale the benefit of the doubt.

“They were close, but they were balls,” Alvarez said. “They were off the plate.”

Wright (12-6) had a different experience.

“He was hitting both sides of the plate,” Shawn Green said. “Especially in the first few innings.”

The right-hander threw 60 strikes in 96 pitches and did not issue a walk. Wright recorded his first career victory against the Dodgers after having gone 0-3 with an 11.37 earned-run average in his first four appearances.

“I just tried to stay aggressive and throw strikes,” Wright said. “I stayed focused and ended up with a win.”

Said Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox: “His control was outstanding.”

So after a possible playoff preview against Atlanta, the Dodgers tonight face the lowly Expos for the first of four games at Olympic Stadium.

“Ever since the All-Star break, we’ve been playing good baseball,” Gagne said. “We don’t have to change anything, we just have to keep doing what we’re doing.”