Ejected, dejected: Dodgers melt down as Padres' sweep cuts lead to one

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Thursday, August 24, 2006 7:23 AM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- Whether their anger is directed at themselves or the umpires, the Los Angeles Dodgers seem to have their worst brought out of them by the Padres.

A month ago at Dodger Stadium, the Padres swept the men in blue, and by series' end pitcher Brad Penny and center fielder Kenny Lofton were shouting at each other in the dugout as L.A. lost for the 13th time in 14 games.

Then, out of absolutely nowhere, the Dodgers transformed from Team Turmoil into Team Terrific. They improbably went on a 17-1 tear to seize back control of the National League West.

All it took was a series in San Diego, however, for the Dodgers to revert to their bumbling ways and the Padres to put a quickly derailing season back on the fast track. By winning 7-2 Wednesday night at Petco Park in a game in which L.A. manager Grady Little, Penny and right fielder Julio Lugo were ejected, the Padres swept their northern rivals for the second consecutive time while beating them for 11th time in 12 meetings.

"Trying to figure out our team, you'll bang your head against the wall," said Padres pitcher Woody Williams, who allowed two runs in seven sharp innings. "We've been so good and so bad. A week ago we couldn't have hit any lower in the bottom of the pit. We've gotten ourselves off the floor, and now we're playing with some confidence."

A homestand against three divisional foes that kicked off with a humiliating sweep at the hands of slumping San Francisco ended splendidly for the Padres, who won five of six from Arizona and L.A. to climb within a game of the first-place Dodgers at 65-62.

"It's up in the air right now. It's a jump ball," shortstop Geoff Blum, who had four hits and three RBIs Wednesday, said of the NL West race. "The Dodgers looked unbeatable, and people were starting to count us out."

Wednesday's finale began badly for L.A., which allowed three runs in the first inning, and spiraled downward from there. The Dodgers' frustration boiled over with the Padres leading 4-2 in the fifth, following Penny's full-count walk to Adrian Gonzalez on a pitch that appeared to be nearly down the middle.

Penny had already clashed with plate umpire Rick Reed following a first inning in which he walked the bases loaded, preceding run-scoring singles by Blum and Mark Bellhorn. Three innings later, Lugo was ejected by first-base umpire Chris Guccione for violently throwing his helmet into the ground after a close call at first. Lugo and coach Mariano Duncan protested that Lugo was simply expressing his disappointment over failing to drive in Andre Ethier from third base.

After the walk to Gonzalez in the fifth, the game turned downright strange. Little visited the mound to calm Penny and, while he was there, Reed got into a heated exchange with second baseman Jeff Kent. Little approached Reed to, in his words, "defuse the situation" before returning to the mound.

That brought out Padres manager Bruce Bochy, who argued that Little's back-and-forth constituted two separate trips to the mound, which Bochy thought meant Penny had to immediately leave the game.

"If he doesn't come out there, I have to protest the game," Bochy said.

Reed conferred with his crew before telling Little that Penny would indeed have to depart after facing the next hitter, Josh Bard. Little contested the ruling and was ejected.

"The umpires were between a rock and a hard place," Little said. "(Reed) knew why I came off (the mound)."

Before Penny could pitch to Bard, he too was tossed for launching into a tirade over Reed's strike zone, concluding a delay of about 15 minutes.

"I was just frustrated," Penny said. "It's hard enough to get big-league hitters out without giving them four strikes. I'm not the only one who thought that."

By losing his control and his cool, Penny wasted a fastball that he said and several Padres agreed was his best of the season. The NL starter in July's All-Star game, Penny is 0-3 against the Padres this season and 13-4 against the rest of the league.

"He threw one pitch ---- I barely saw it," said Williams, who struck out twice against Penny.

Elmer Dessens relieved Penny in the fifth and gave up consecutive singles to Bard and Blum as the Padres opened a 6-2 lead. Mike Cameron capped the 13-hit attack with his third of the game, a home run leading off the eighth that was his 19th of the season.

Using his curveball to compensate for a spotty fastball, Williams (7-4) won his third consecutive start. In all three of them, he has pitched at least seven innings and allowed two runs, lowering his ERA to 3.60.

"It goes back to consistency," Williams said. "When we come ready to play, we're as good as anybody."

Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com. To comment, go to nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, email addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.