Season of comebacks stalls out on Dodgers

Nick Christensen

Monday, Oct. 11, 2004 | 10:05 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- It was fitting that the Los Angeles Dodgers would return to California down 2-0 in the National League Division Series.

After all, playing from behind was what got them there.

Of Los Angeles' 93 wins, 53 were comeback victories, and 26 were in the team's last at-bat.

So the Dodgers came back to Chavez Ravine with their backs against the wall, and even after Jose Lima's complete game shutout on Saturday, still needed a clutch performance on Sunday to stay alive.

They didn't get it.

Starter Odalis Perez walked five of the 14 batters he faced, appearing cautious instead of commanding as St. Louis advanced to the National League Championship Series with a 6-2 win.

"I was fine, I was very confident. Sometimes when you try too hard, things don't happen," Perez said. "I had great stuff. I threw pitches that should have been strikes, but it didn't happen."

Perez was pulled after just 2 1/3 innings, as more than half of his 60 pitches were called balls. Despite getting a full night's rest thanks to Lima's complete game, the Dodgers' bullpen didn't fare much better.

Wilson Alvarez, in relief of Perez, gave up a three-run home run to Albert Pujols in the fourth inning that put the Cardinals ahead for good, and Yhency Brazoban allowed Pujols another RBI with a base hit in the top of the seventh. It wasn't until Mike Venafro, who was traded in August after spending most of the season with Kansas City's Triple-A team, came in in the seventh inning did the bleeding stop for Los Angeles. In a combined three innings, Venafro, Giovanni Carrara and Eric Gagne allowed one hit and no walks.

Then there was the Dodgers offense, which mustered just two runs against St. Louis pitching and scored just one run off four runners in scoring position.

While it was the long ball that got St. Louis to the series victory -- the Cardinals hit seven in the series, including one on Sunday -- Los Angeles also showed power. Outfielder Jayson Werth's solo home run was the seventh in the series for the Dodgers, the most in any postseason series since the 1981 World Series.

A crowd of 56,268, the largest ever in Dodger Stadium, waited for another comeback.

But what had been hits, stolen bases and runs in 53 other games became groundouts, defensive indifference and zeroes across the scoreboard.

"It's very difficult to win a baseball game on two runs and three hits," manager Jim Tracy said. "We had some opportunities early in the game, but we just weren't able to capitalize early on and get the lead."

First baseman Shawn Green said the Cardinals were too focused on keeping the Dodgers from mounting a comeback.

"You're always hoping to get a couple guys on, to get something going," he said. "We couldn't get anybody on in a leadoff situation, so we couldn't put any pressure on them."

The closest Los Angeles had to a leadoff runner was in the seventh inning, when outfielder Milton Bradley was called out at first despite appearing to have his foot on the bag when Jeff Suppan's throw got to Pujols.

Bradley, whose temper has been a repeated source of frustration for the Dodgers, pumped his fist but then slowly and quietly walked back to the third-base home dugout.

Despite the pressure and the caliber of the team they played, Bradley said the team's approach to coming from behind on Sunday was the same as in the other comebacks.

"When you get down, you don't worry about it. We always found ways to make it happen," he said. "(St. Louis) simply had too much to beat them. We can live with that."

After Jason Isringhausen struck out Alex Cora to send the Cardinals to their fourth NLCS in eight years, the scene on the field looked more like a hockey game than baseball's playoffs. Dodgers players threw hats and balls into the stands, and the two teams met at midfield to exchange handshakes and words.

"Tony (LaRussa) and I talked about that before the series started," Tracy said. "It's something that you see a lot of, especially in the NHL after you go through a series where you beat up another the way they do. To play this series the way it was played, with the intensity with which it was played, I think it said a lot about two very classy organizations."

And despite the loss, Werth said the way 2004 ended can't be considered a total bust.

"There's a lot to be taken good things," he said. "It was our first postseason win in 16 years, and I definitely feel as though this club is headed toward the top."