Perez Lacks Support, but Dodgers Win, 3-2

The right fielder hadn’t even reached the ball when Jose Hernandez slid home with the winning run in the 10th inning of the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, touching off a wild celebration at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

And yet, considering the meager run support the Dodgers had managed in Odalis Perez’s previous three starts, no one could blame Hernandez for playing it safe.

Perez didn’t earn the victory Monday after the Dodgers rallied with two ninth-inning runs and won it in the 10th on Cesar Izturis’ run-scoring single to right field, but the left-hander was spared what appeared to be certain defeat after recording his seventh consecutive quality start.

Perez gave up five hits and two runs in seven innings, striking out six and walking none, before leaving with a 2-0 deficit courtesy of Bill Hall’s sixth-inning run-scoring sacrifice fly and Geoff Jenkins’ seventh-inning solo homer.

The Dodgers, who had combined for one run in Perez’s previous three starts, seemed destined for another shutout loss until Milwaukee closer Danny Kolb unraveled in the ninth to end his streak of 16 consecutive saves dating to last season.

Kolb hit leadoff hitter Paul Lo Duca in the back with a pitch before striking out Shawn Green looking on a 2-and-2 pitch that appeared low and inside. Adrian Beltre followed with a broken-bat single to left, putting runners on first and second, before Juan Encarnacion ripped a fastball away to right for a run-scoring single that made it 2-1.

With the remnants of a crowd of 32,642 standing and cheering, Jason Grabowski lined a single to shallow center to tie the score.

“It’s hard to be perfect like [Eric] Gagne,” Milwaukee Manager Ned Yost said of Kolb.

Gagne was hardly perfect during a 10th inning in which he yielded a double to Chad Moeller and hit Scott Podsednik with a pitch, but the Dodger closer held the Brewers scoreless.

Hernandez led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, moved to second on Dave Roberts’ sacrifice bunt and came home on Izturis’ single to give the Dodgers their third consecutive victory.

“Hopefully, this could be one of those wins that get us going,” said Green, who had two hits for his third consecutive multihit game. “It would be nice to get a little winning streak. Three is nice, but we’d like to get some more.”

Perez (2-3), who has a 2.61 earned-run average in his last nine starts, said he should have “probably seven or eight” victories but again refrained from lamenting his lack of run support.

“I have about 17 or 18 more starts,” Perez said. “Everything can come around. Even if I give up three or four runs, maybe those guys come back and score seven or eight.”

Grabowski said he didn’t think the Dodgers were pressing to score runs for Perez, who has received an average of 3.2 runs in his 11 starts.

“It just seems like when Odalis pitches, we’re not giving him any support, but it doesn’t mean we’re trying any less or trying any harder,” Grabowski said. “I think we’re just going out there and sticking with our plan and trying to win the game.”