This Time Butler’s Bat Saves Dodgers

On Tuesday night, Brett Butler did it with his glove.

On Wednesday night, he did it with his bat.

Twenty-four hours after making a game-saving catch in Philadelphia, Butler stroked five hits, including the game-winning single in the 11th, to beat the New York Mets, 6-5, at Dodger Stadium.

Butler began Wednesday with a one-out triple and scored the first Dodger run.

Four hours and four hits later, he was back at the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th.

On a 1-1 pitch from Doug Linton, Butler hit a soft liner into left center. Although he was playing shallow, center fielder Ryan Thompson couldn’t catch up to the hit, allowing Jose Offerman to score from third, bringing a roar from what was left of the crowd of 34,350.

Todd Worrell, the fourth Dodger pitcher of the night, got the win to improve to 2-1.

If the Dodgers were riding a high after coming back from a five-run deficit to beat the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday, Butler did his best to sustain it.

Butler, who made the running backhanded catch in the ninth inning Tuesday to preserve the win, opened up Wednesday’s game with a triple to right field and subsequently scored on Mike Piazza’s sacrifice fly to center to give the Dodgers the lead in the first inning.

That’s the way it stayed until the Mets began teeing off on Dodger starter Kevin Gross in the fourth.

Despite a 3.21 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 14 innings, Gross entered Wednesday’s game without a decision this season.

But he couldn’t blame Wednesday’s no-decision on lack of support.

New York rocked Gross for a pair of home runs in the fourth to take the lead, Joe Orsulak hitting his first of the season with nobody on and Thompson hitting his fourth with a man aboard.

The Dodgers showed some power of their own in striking back.

Eric Karros collected his first homer of the season in the fifth and Henry Rodriguez evened the game in the sixth with a two-run single.

That inning might have been even bigger if things were going better for Piazza.

The National League rookie of the year last season when he hit 35 home runs, Piazza came up in the sixth with two men aboard and hit a long fly down the left-field line that brought the fans to their feet.

A year ago, that ball might have fallen into the seats to the right of the foul pole in fair territory.

But all Piazza, who entered the game hitting .228 with two home runs, got for his effort was another bit of aggravation when the ball landed to the left of the pole in foul territory, by no more than a foot. Piazza then took a called third strike.

The score was tied going into seventh, but Gross then gave up three singles, the last a line drive by Orsulak just past second baseman Delino DeShields to score pinch-hitter John Cangelosi.

On came Roger McDowell in relief of Gross, but he also gave up a single, to Jeff Kent, that drove in a run.

It was the eighth consecutive game the red-hot Kent has driven in at least one run, tying a club record. Kent began play with a .423 average, eight home runs, tied for the major league lead, and 22 RBIs, best in the majors.

Kent has all kinds of numbers he can boast about. He already has set a club record for RBIs in April, and his two hits Wednesday extended his hitting streak to nine games, a personal best.

But despite another productive night by Kent, the Dodgers were able to come back in the bottom of the seventh inning, and again, it was Butler supplying the spark.

This time, coming up with two men aboard, he smashed a ball off the shoulder of first baseman David Segui and on into right field to once again tie the score.