Dodgers Retired By Remlinger

The Dodgers were left frustrated, flat and fuming after their last encounter with Cincinnati starter Mike Remlinger. And again Friday night, the left-hander provided plenty of pain for the Dodgers.

Remlinger pitched well enough, but he did the real damage with his bat this time, coming through with the key hit in a 5-3 victory for the Reds before 46,711 at Dodger Stadium.

Remlinger drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double against Dodger starter Pedro Astacio in the fourth inning--his first hit of the season.

The loss ended the Dodgers’ two-game winning streak and dropped them 2 1/2 games behind San Francisco in the NL West. All in all, it was a pretty bad day for the Dodgers.

Remlinger caused the Dodgers all sorts of problems Sunday. The converted reliever, an emergency starter only because of injuries, looked like an all-star, pitching a complete game and striking out nine in an 8-1 victory at Cinergy Field. It was his first complete game in six years.

And he was pretty good in this one too. Especially at the plate.

After a rocky first inning in which he gave up all three Dodger runs, Remlinger settled down and didn’t allow a runner past second base.

Remlinger (6-4) pitched six innings, giving up six hits and three runs. But his bat was the key.

The Dodgers gave Astacio a three-run first-inning lead to work with. But the league’s worst-hitting team chased him after only four innings.

Joe Nunnally provided the Reds’ first run with an RBI single to left field in the second inning, driving in Eduardo Perez from second.

Things really went bad in the fourth.

After Perez popped up to left for the first out, Eddie Taubensee singled to left. With two outs, Joe Nunnally and Brett Boone singled to load the bases for Remlinger.

When Astacio went to a 2-and-1 count on Remlinger, pitching coach Dave Wallace went to the mound for a conference. Whatever was discussed didn’t work, because Remlinger cleared the bases with a double to right-center that put the Reds ahead, 4-3.

“He got behind the pitcher and he got the ball up,” Wallace said. “Pedro does that sometimes. Sometimes he makes a couple of mistakes . . . but it was still just 4-3 at that point.”

The hit was Remlinger’s first of the season in eight at-bats. He was one for 38 in his career at the plate before Friday.

“Even after the hit we were just a run down, we were still in the game,” Dodger Manager Bill Russell said. “Fundamentally, we didn’t play well. There were no errors on the board, but a lot of fundamental mistakes.”

One of those mistakes was Adam Riggs getting picked off first base in the fourth inning. And Brett Butler, trying to bunt, popped into a double play, killing a potential rally in the seventh.

Astacio (7-9), whose four-game winning streak ended in the loss to Remlinger and the Reds on Sunday, was removed for a pinch-hitter in the fourth.

It didn’t look as if Remlinger would make it out of the first inning. The Dodgers got as many hits off him in that inning--four--as they had the entire previous game.

Remlinger walked leadoff hitter Otis Nixon, who scored on a one-out double by Mike Piazza.

Piazza didn’t stay at second for long. Cleanup hitter Eric Karros followed with a single down the left-field line, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Raul Mondesi singled to left, Karros stopping at second. When Todd Zeile doubled to left-center, Karros came around to put the Dodgers ahead, 3-0, still with only one out.

But Remlinger got out of the jam cheaply enough, striking out Greg Gagne, walking Riggs and striking out Astacio with the bases loaded.

The Dodgers batted around in the inning but could have had much more to show for it.