There’s No Safe Aven for Dodgers

Even among the no-names and no-claims that now litter the no-frills Florida Marlin roster, Bruce Aven is conspicuous by his anonymity.

Before making the cut with the Marlins as a non-roster invitee to spring training camp, Aven had a total of 13 major league at-bats.

Before the top of the seventh inning Friday night at Dodger Stadium, Aven was notable, primarily, for having twice as many arm surgeries as big league home runs.

For the Dodgers and 54,009 incredulous spectators, Friday, then, was get-acquainted night with young Mr. Aven, who worked relief pitcher Alan Mills to a 2-2 count in the top of the seventh and then delivered a pinch-hit grand slam to power baseball’s losingest team past the Dodgers, 6-3.

It was only the second home run of Aven’s career, coming three weeks after his first--another pinch home run, that one against the New York Mets on April 15.

It was one whose memory should stick with Aven awhile. While with Cleveland’s triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, Aven was limited to five games in 1998 in between surgeries on his right shoulder and right elbow--the latter a ligament transplant procedure performed last June.

He earned his moment Friday after Dodger starting pitcher Darren Dreifort (4-2) came undone in the seventh after six crisp innings of four-hit ball.

Taking a 3-1 lead into the seventh, Dreifort got one quick out but not another. Mark Kotsay singled, Derrek Lee walked and Todd Dunwoody blooped a double down the left-field line to cut the lead to 3-2.

Then, Dreifort intentionally walked Jorge Fabregas--only the second Marlin to be intentionally walked in 1999--to load the bases before Dodger Manager Davey Johnson summoned Mills from the bullpen to pitch to Aven, who had been announced as the pinch-hitter for Florida starter Dennis Springer (1-4).

Five pitches later, the 7-22 Marlins had delivered a message to the supposedly streaking Dodgers:

Aven calling.

Aven’s shot, the third pinch-hit grand slam in Marlins’ history, carried into the seats beyond the left-field fence. The Dodger Stadium crowd seemed stunned for a few moments, at least until Alex Gonzales drilled a two-out double off Mills.

Then came the delayed response: a loud cascade of boos.

Mills, who entered the game with a scoreless streak of nine innings in his previous 10 appearances, didn’t finish the inning. After Gonzales’ double, Johnson brought on Pedro Borbon to face Cliff Floyd, the Marlins’ ninth batter of the inning, who grounded to second.

The Dodgers, 7-2 on their just-completed road swing through Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Montreal, began Friday’s game as if they planned to keep rolling on through this home stand. Adrian Beltre’s second homer of the season gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the second inning and, after the Marlins countered with a run in the top of the fourth, the Dodgers scored two more in the bottom of the fourth.

The Marlins tied it on back-to-back doubles in the fourth by Floyd and Kevin Orie. But the Dodgers immediately retaliated in the bottom of the inning. Jose Vizcaino singled and Gary Sheffield walked. Raul Mondesi followed with a single to left field to score Vizcaino, with Sheffield and Mondesi advancing to third and second on an infield out by Todd Hundley.

Eric Karros then hit a grounder to short, catching Mondesi in a rundown while enabling Sheffield to score the second run of the inning. Beltre followed that by drawing another walk, but Springer got out of further trouble by getting Mark Grudzielanek to fly to center.

Springer, the former Angel knuckleballer who went 3-11 with Tampa Bay last season, yielded three runs and six hits through six innings, but earned the victory courtesy’s Aven’s timely slam and three innings of scoreless relief by Brian Edmundson and Matt Mantei.

Mantei picked up the save, his first of the season, by weathering a shaky ninth inning. Hundley led off with a double, followed by a one-out single by Beltre. But the Dodgers’ threat ended there, as Mantei got Grudzielanek to pop to short before striking out pinch-hitter Todd Hollandsworth.