August 31, 2004
LA TIMES
DODGER REPORT
Ventura Is Wanted Back
By Jason Reid, Times Staff Writer
Reserve infielder Robin Ventura has considered retiring at the end of the season, but the Dodgers want him to return in 2005 because of his influence on the field and in the clubhouse. "I know Robin hasn't made a decision on what he wants to do yet, but there's no question that he adds an awful lot to this clubhouse," General Manager Paul DePodesta said. "Robin is a great fit. Any team would benefit from having him on it."
The 15-year veteran hit his 17th grand slam Sunday in a 10-2 victory over the New York Mets. Ventura, the majors' active leader in grand slams, is batting .222 with four home runs and 20 runs batted in, and .286 as a pinch-hitter with two go-ahead homers, a game-winning single and seven RBIs.
And Ventura, 37, is revered in the clubhouse because of his selfless approach and dedication to teammates.
"To have a player of this guy's magnitude, and have other players see how he allows himself to be managed, how he'll do whatever you ask him to do, you can't put a price tag on that," Manager Jim Tracy said. "Those people are invaluable to a successful club.
"You have someone that is as unselfish as he is, who sets an example for other young people to follow and still has something to offer to the club."
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AUGUST 30, 2004
NY DAILY NEWS
Cheers for Robin, jeers for Mets
Fans slam latest lackluster loss as L.A. rolls
Cliff Floyd was asked before yesterday's series finale with the Dodgers what he hoped to achieve personally as the Mets stumble into the final month of another lost season.
It hasn't been fun. But I'm going to go out there and try and help the team win games - finish the season strong. If you look at every game as if it's your last, you'll be okay," the left fielder said.
After yesterday's 10-2 drubbing at Shea in which Floyd's fourth-inning error helped pave the way for three unearned runs, he and the rest of the Mets can only wish the final game would come that much sooner.
Shawn Green opened the fourth with a single, then Floyd lost Robin Ventura's routine fly ball in the sun, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Green eventually scored on a Brent Mayne sac fly when Floyd could not make a solid throw to home. Ventura drove in the second run after pitcher Kris Benson booted a Gerald Williams relay from center for the Mets' second error of the inning.
In the fifth, Ventura lined his 17th career grand slam, off Benson, to turn a respectable game into a rout. Not surprisingly, the former Met got most of the cheers from the 33,582 fans who showed up on Jewish Heritage Day.
"I didn't want to get hit in the face," Floyd said of his miscue. "I'll go to extremes for this team, but I'm not going to get hit. I wish I had something else to say."
The Mets (60-69) are running out of excuses and unless they turn a corner with the scheduled return of Mike Piazza tonight, the boos heard yesterday could become downright ugly. Just ask Floyd.
"It's frustrating," he said. "The fans expect a lot - and rightfully so. If I could have went through that back door in (the outfield wall), I would have."
Of his fumbled throw, Floyd said sarcastically: "I capped off a great inning for myself."
Benson, however, was in no joking mood. A shaky first inning in which Los Angeles went ahead 1-0 only got worse. Benson left after Ventura's blast and was charged with eight runs (five earned) and three walks in four-plus innings. His record fell to 10-11 (2-3 since he became a Met July 30).
"Everything was really flat," Benson said of his 97-pitch performance. "I didn't have good stuff."
Added Art Howe: "He's pitched well up to this point. But in the fifth (inning) he just seemed to lose it."
Benson gave up a single to Milton Bradley to open the inning, then walked the next two batters to load the bases. He said he had to start throwing strikes and tried to get Ventura with a "fastball in."
"He (Ventura) just barely got it out, but it was enough. He's a good clutch hitter and he got me today," Benson said.
Indeed, Ventura's liner just cleared the inside corner of the right field fence, right under the banner honoring the 2000 NL championship season when Ventura was the regular third baseman in Flushing. Ventura's 17th slam moved him into a tie for fourth on the all-time list with Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx.
Piazza, who was back at Shea yesterday following his rehab stint in Port St. Lucie, said he was driving to the stadium when Ventura came to bat in the fifth.
"I heard bases loaded, no outs and thought, 'S---,'" Piazza said at his locker stall after the loss.
Los Angeles (76-54) gave starter Kazuhisa Ishii (13-6) all the run support he would need by the fourth and the southpaw worked six solid innings. He gave up one run and threw just 70 pitches. His only mistake was a second-inning homer by Richard Hidalgo, his 22nd.
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AUGUST 30, 3004
NY DAILY NEWS
Ventura makes a grand return
BY SEAN BRENNANDAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
At first, Robin Ventura wasn't sure the ball was even going to clear the wall in right.
"I was just hoping it would stay fair," Ventura said.
Then Ventura said he heard the ball hit the foul pole screen and knew it was time to break out the home run trot.
"I don't run fast enough to actually slow down," the Dodgers first baseman deadpanned. "I'm just glad it went out."
Ventura's fifth-inning grand slam was the key blow as the Dodgers pounded Kris Benson and rolled to a 10-2 victory yesterday at Shea. Ventura's blast, the 17th slam of his career, moved him out of a tie for fifth on the all-time list with Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron - and yes, even Dave Kingman - and into the company of Ted Williams and Jimmy Foxx, tying them for fourth. Willie McCovey is third on the list with 18, Eddie Murray is second with 19 while Lou Gehrig leads with 23.
"I was just trying to hit something to the outfield to score a guy from third," Ventura said. "But it's nice to be mentioned in the same category with those guys."
The 37-year-old Ventura no longer is the force he was even a few seasons ago, when he hit 77 homers and drove in 265 runs over his three seasons with the Mets from 1999 through 2001. He is now little more than a spare part, a backup at first base and third, on a Dodgers team that is looking like the money pick to win the NL West this season and make its first postseason appearance since losing three straight to Atlanta in the 1996 Division Series.
Ventura was aware his role would be greatly diminished this season, but he has grown to enjoy his limited duty while playing with his hometown team.
"I knew coming in what they wanted me to do," said Ventura, who has 293 career home runs. "I grew up rooting for the Dodgers, so being in first place, and having a chance to play in October, is nice. And to be able to play here is pretty special."
Ventura said he doesn't really keep up on how his former team is doing, other than to say, "I know they're not playing very well right now." Phone calls to close friend Todd Zeile provide the rest of the details. But even though he is three years removed from his days at Shea, Ventura said it was nice to hear the standing ovation he got from Mets fans following his slam.
"It's nice to come back and hear an ovation like that," Ventura said. "You're surprised at it when you're a visitor."
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AUGUST 30, 2004
NY POST
ROBIN'S ROCKIN' AT SHEA
By ANDREW MARCHAND
August 30, 2004 --
There aren't many sure things in baseball, but Robin Ventura with the bases loaded is close.
So when Ventura came up with the bases loaded in the fifth inning yesterday, Todd Zeile said he sat on the Mets' bench hoping Kris Benson "didn't fall into the pattern of destiny."
But Benson did. Ventura connected on his 17th career grand slam, passing and joining an incredible list of names with his shot that just hit the screen attached to the right-field foul pole.
When the 37-year-old Ventura, now just a bench player for the Dodgers, rounded second he broke his usual stoicism for a rare on-field smile.
After he touched home, most of the Shea Stadium crowd of 33,582 were standing and cheering. Through another dreadful season, it was as if Ventura provided a flashback for Mets fans to the Grand Single — Ventura's slam to win Game 4 of the 1999 NLCS over the Giants that was ruled a single after he failed to touch all the bases.
"It is nice," Ventura said after the Dodgers' 10-2 drubbing of the Mets. "Obviously, they aren't playing well so it is going to be magnified a little bit. It is nice to be able to come back and get an ovation."
Ventura's slam moved him past legends Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth and the-not-as immortal Dave Kingman. Ventura is now tied with Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams for fourth on the all-time grand slam list.
"It is nice to be mentioned in the same category whatsoever with those guys," Ventura said.
Ventura is no longer the $32 million MVP candidate he was five years ago. Now, he is a $1.2 million reserve, who doesn't know if he will try to play next year. The homer was just his fourth of the season. He is hitting .222 in 117 at-bats.
While obviously not as dramatic as the Grand Single, there was some intrigue yesterday as initially the umpires ruled that the ball was in play. The famously slow Ventura hustled around first before the umpires started whirling their index fingers and right hands for a home run.
"I was hoping it would stay fair at first," Ventura said. "It sounded like it hit the screen and I don't run fast enough to actually slow down so I was making sure I got to second."
Since it might have been Ventura's last grand slam, it could have been the final time he repeats his old mantra about how he doesn't do anything differently with the bases loaded.
"I wish there was something to it," Ventura said.
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AUGUST 30, 2004
NY POST.com
METS GET SLAMMED
August 30, 2004 --
Robin Ventura gave the Shea Stadium fans a much-needed trip down memory lane yesterday — at the expense of the poseurs currently wearing Mets threads.
Ventura's fifth-inning grand slam off Kris Benson was greeted with rousing cheers from a fan base desperate for something positive, and Benson's subsequent exit from another lousy start was greeted with venom.
During another lost afternoon, the Mets fell 10-2 to Los Angeles and flushed the game with Little League-caliber defense an inning before Ventura reminded everyone of better days.
The season is over in five weeks, and the Mets (60-69) are 51/2 games ahead of last-place Montreal. Judging by their seventh loss in eight games, it should be a photo finish.
At least Mike Piazza returned yesterday and will be activated today, giving some support to the beleaguered offense.
"It's still a good job," Piazza said. "Hopefully that's what all of us will think about for the last month, and try to get something out of this last month and cut down on mistakes.
"It's been frustrating, and it does filter down. It does affect the mood."
On Jewish Heritage Day, there was ample time to debate whether the Mets are schlemiels or schlimazels with the home team down 8-1 after five. Fans were given shirts that read "Let's Go Mets" in Hebrew, but "Oy vey!" was more appropriate.
The Mets were even insulted by mistake. As they batted in the eighth, there was a sound system malfunction. The phrase "Waste Management presents . . . " inadvertently came from the center-field speakers before the mid-inning promo was stopped.
The only highlights were a pair of solo home runs, by Richard Hidalgo (his 22nd of the season) and Jeff Keppinger (his second).
Cliff Floyd, who complained last week that there was no light at the end of the tunnel, was blinded by the light in the fourth.
He dropped a routine fly off Ventura's bat due to the sun, which ultimately led to three unearned runs that broke a 1-1 tie. Floyd later exacerbated the situation with a lollipop throw home on Brent Mayne's sacrifice fly, allowing Ventura to move to second. Art Howe said Floyd's arm hit his leg, jarring his grip.
"If I could've went through that back door out there in left field, I would've," Floyd said.
Benson (10-11) has bucked the saddle three times in six Met starts. In the fourth, he didn't back up home on a single to center by fellow starter Kaz Ishii and instead committed a fielding error by trying to field Gerald Williams' off-the-mark throw home.
He kick-saved Williams' two-hop throw towards the backstop as Ventura scored easily.
"He knows better," Howe admonished.
Benson's agent is negotiating a contract extension, but Benson said it isn't affecting him. However, he admitted to feeling "flat" and having a tired shoulder, as his 1671/3 innings are the most he's tossed since 2000.
No matter how awful the Mets continue to play, it won't affect Benson's decision about staying in New York.
"Everybody knows the New York fans are awesome when you're winning and hard on you when you lose," Benson said. "You can't take it personally.
"Next year is a new year."
Ventura pulled Benson's 89 mph inside fastball for his 17th career granny after two walks and a single in the fifth. The homer ironically landed in the right-field corner just below the banner honoring the 2000 NL pennant-winning club. He grinned as he came home and the crowd of 33,582 gave him a stirring salute.
"Obviously, they aren't playing well, so it is going to be magnified a little bit," Ventura said. "It is nice to be able to come back and get an ovation."
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August 30, 2004
DODGERS.com
Ventura slams past Mets
Slugs MLB-best 17th career bases-loaded homer
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Baseball has become so specialized.
There's the situational left-handed reliever. There's the primary pinch-hitter. And, taking specialization to another level, there's the grand-slam hitter.
That would be Dodgers veteran Robin Ventura, who spends most of his days as the mellow sage of the bench, then gets an occasional start and often turns it into something memorable.
Sunday, it was historic. He hit his 17th career grand-slam, putting his name alongside a pair of Hall of Famers and putting his team in position for an easy 10-2 win in the rubber game of the series with the Mets.
"I don't get to play that much, so when I get a chance to do something to help these guys win, it's nice," said Ventura.
Speaking of history, Kazuhisa Ishii put together back-to-back wins for the first time in six weeks, looking more like the winningest pitcher on the staff (which he is at 13-6) than someone banished to the bullpen (which he was until Brad Penny got hurt).
Leadoff hitter Cesar Izturis continued to prove that his offensive improvement is no fluke with four more hits, a walk, a steal, an RBI and two runs scored, raising his average to .299, while Adrian Beltre had his 98th RBI and Olmedo Saenz homered.
But Ventura did the most to make it easy on Ishii when he smoked a line drive that just cleared the fence, struck the right-field foul pole screen and sent Kris Benson to the showers.
It also sent the historians scurrying, because there were records to look up. The slam moved the one-time Met past Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron and into a tie for fourth on the all-time list with Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams.
"It's nice to be mentioned in any category with those guys," said Ventura.
Ventura also padded his already incredible career statistics with the bases loaded -- .342 average, 17 slams and 209 RBIs in 184 at-bats.
"It doesn't always happen," Ventura said. "It's nice when it does. I wish there was something to it. I just try to make good contact."
Ventura was given the rare start by manager Jim Tracy, in part because the left-handed hitter had hit two home runs in 17 previous at-bats against Mets starter Kris Benson.
"It made a lot of sense for him to get the start today," said Tracy. "To have a player of his magnitude, who will do whatever's asked, is invaluable to a successful club."
So, too, is dependable starting pitching. But figuring out the Dodgers' starting rotation lately, you might as well have a Ouija board as a stat sheet.
In the last two spins through that so-called rotation, the most effective member arguably is Ishii, who was supposed to be banished to the bullpen because he was so erratic. On this trip East he's been Mr. Consistency, following up a Tuesday night 7 1/3-inning win in Montreal by allowing only one run in six innings.
In the two games, Ishii's ERA is 2.03. Since getting the reprieve from a bullpen demotion, he is 2-1 with three quality starts out of four.
"I don't think I've changed anything," said Ishii. "But I don't like it when [reporters] say I'm not doing good, so I'm trying a little harder. That makes me come back harder, it's motivation."
Ishii came out when an already stiff back worsened, but he will get an extra day of rest before his next start and said it should not be a problem next Saturday in St. Louis
Beltre (who else?) put the Dodgers in front with a first-inning, two-out double that scored Izturis. Richard Hidalgo evened the game with a solo homer off Ishii in the second.
The Mets simply got sloppy in a two-error, three-run fourth inning after Shawn Green's leadoff single. Left fielder Cliff Floyd, fighting the sun, dropped Ventura's casual fly ball for an error. Green tagged to third on Alex Cora's fly to right and scored on Brent Mayne's sacrifice fly.
Ishii singled Ventura to third, but when center fielder Gerald Williams' throw skipped past Benson and catcher Jason Phillips, Ventura scored and Ishii took second. Izturis' third single was fumbled by Williams, allowing Ishii, who had slowed at third, to score.
Benson allowed a single to Milton Bradley leading off the fifth, then lost his control and walked Beltre and Green before Ventura crushed his 2-2 pitch.
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AUGUST 20, 2004
DAILY NEWS.COM
Not just yet: An item in a Chicago newspaper last weekend said reserve infielder Robin Ventura will retire after this season, but Ventura said he has yet to make a firm decision either way.
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August 16, 2004
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
The Dodgers left the Cubs beaten and battered, torn and tattered from their weekend series. But guess who becomes the Dodgers' biggest fans the rest of the season?
You would be right if you picked the Cubs.
Hard as it might be to swallow right now, the Cubs could be begging for the Dodgers' help in unraveling the knotted wild-card race come September.
Explanation? The National League West-leading Dodgers, who own baseball's third-best record, play the Padres and Giants 13 more times, including nine times in the final two weeks. And the Cubs—mostly through their own ineptitude—seem to be ensuring that the three-way race with the Padres and Giants lives up to the "wild" in wild card.
"You think you're never going to root for another team, but … " Dodgers reserve Robin Ventura said. "I don't see any of those three teams running away with anything, but the schedule is probably going to have a lot to do with it."
So let's examine the schedules:
The Padres still have six games against the Central-leading Cardinals (Oh, no, the Cubs could suddenly become big St. Louis fans too?), plus two against the East-leading Braves. And they have seven against the Dodgers, who have beaten them eight of 12 times this season.
The Giants have a much easier road, although they have four against the Braves, three against Houston and six against the Dodgers. In the final week, they have three games against the Padres and three against the Dodgers, who have beaten them seven of 13 times.
And the Cubs? They have the easiest time of all, partly because they are finished with the Cardinals. In fact, of the remaining 45 games, only three are against a team that had a winning record coming out of the weekend, and those are the final three against the Braves.
"That doesn't mean anything," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said of the "easy" schedule that starts Tuesday night in Milwaukee. "Guys on teams under .500 are going for their own numbers. Guys are more relaxed, they have nothing to lose and they enjoy knocking off [contenders].
"We certainly have to take care of them, definitely, but you can't take anyone for granted. There are no breaks in the schedule."
The Padres and Giants might want to dispute that, but for now they are involved in a three-way free-for-all.
One factor that keeps pointing in the Cubs' favor? Their potentially dominating starting staff.
"As it is right now, everyone in baseball wants to keep the Cubs out [of the playoffs] because of their starting pitching," said Dodgers bench coach Jim Riggleman, the former Cubs manager. "You go into a series against [Carlos] Zambrano, [Kerry] Wood and [Mark] Prior, that's a tough group to look at.
"We're certainly not assuming any [division title] here, but I think the wild-card race is going to stay the way it's been up to now."
Dodgers manager Jim Tracy, a former Cub, also expected the race to stay tight.
"The Cubs obviously have some dominant starting pitching and capable offense," he said. "The Padres are a youthful club beginning to blossom. The Giants have the Barry Bonds factor, so they'll always be there."
Ventura, the longtime White Sox third baseman, didn't have to be as diplomatic as management men Riggleman and Tracy, but he agreed about pitching.
"With things so close [in the wild card], with their pitching, the Cubs could get hot for two weeks and run the table," Ventura said. "I think the Cubs could be a good offensive team too. They added Nomar [Garciaparra], and if [Aramis] Ramirez gets healthy and Sammy [Sosa] gets hot, they probably have more balance than the others.
"Plus they did it last year."
And—perhaps the biggest reason of all—they should have the Dodgers on their side.
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AUGUST 15, 2004
Chicago Sun Times
VENTURA'S LAST VENTURE: Former White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura, now a utility player for the Dodgers, plans to retire after this season.
"Everything hurts too much,'' said Ventura, 37, a six-time Gold Glove winner and two-time All-Star. Ventura is in his 16th season; his first nine were spent with the Sox.
He is the active leader in grand slams with 16 and is tied for sixth on the all-time list in that category. He needs eight home runs to reach 300.
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August 14, 2004
Dodgers.com
Stepping up when it counts: Robin Ventura had a bases-loaded single in the Dodgers' six-run ninth inning Friday, but bases-loaded hits are nothing new to Ventura. In his career, Ventura is 62-for-183 (.339) with 205 RBIs, a slugging percentage of .650 and 16 grand slams. His career average with runners in scoring position is .401. Just don't ask him why. "I don't know why," said the 36-year-old veteran. "Every time I try to do what I did yesterday. That situation doesn't bother me. I wish my numbers were better when guys aren't on, because you don't get many at-bats with the bases loaded."
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AUGUST 5, 2004
BRADLEY FULLY MATURES IN LA
LA DAILY NEWS
By Kevin Modesti Staff Writer
He has not been a proud Dodger-blue wearer all his pro-baseball life, unlike Paul Lo Duca. He is not a particular favorite of L.A. fans, unlike the cuddly ex-catcher. He is not synonymous with clubhouse chemistry, unlike the steady character traded away a week ago today.
He is not an eager team spokesman, unlike the guy who seemed to be in front of a camera after every big win and tough loss. He is not famous for playing hard, unlike the gritty little two-time All-Star -- though teammates say he ought to be.
If you're looking for a Dodger who embodies the club's spirit this summer, he doesn't fit the old profile.
But, as surely as he ripped two of the Dodgers' five home runs in an 8-3 victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon, he is the man of the moment.
Tell me how this next sentence hits you.
Milton Bradley is the heart and soul of the Dodgers.
"It's not even what he's doing (on the field)," manager Jim Tracy said, and that really is saying something, considering Bradley's career-high 15 home runs this season and his ever-higher batting average.
Remember the first time people feared a trade by general manager Paul De Podesta had put team chemistry in jeopardy?
It was the day before opening day. The Dodgers were desperate for a hitter to bulk up their batting order. So desperate, they were willing to take on a seemingly troubled young center fielder who'd had trouble with police and umpires and finally with Cleveland management.
DePodesta traded much-touted, minor-league outfielder Franklin Gutierrez and minor-league pitcher Andrew Brown to the Indians and got Bradley to bat third.
The Dodgers hoped the 26-year-old Long Beach native's power-keg personality would be soothed by coming home.
The cynics began the countdown to the explosion. It happened on April 24, when Bradley was ejected early in a loss to San Francisco for arguing a third-strike call. And it happened again on June 1, when Bradley was ejected from a loss to Milwaukee and responded by hurling a bag full of balls onto the field. And it happened again on July 2, three games into his return from a suspension for the ball-throwing incident, when he was ejected from a loss to the Angels.
He seemed to go to the plate with a bat on one shoulder and a chip on the other, apparently believing he was being singled out by umpires.
Heart-and-soul material?
Since the last of those first-half blowups, Bradley either got a good talking to from teammates or had a light bulb go on, because he has been conducting himself like a leader.
He volunteered to switch positions to accommodate new center fielder Steve Finley after last weekend's flurry of trades, saying he'd do whatever it took in a season that's now "about October."
He charged out of the third-base dugout in San Diego on Sunday not to scream at an umpire but to bear-hug Jayson Werth and drag the outfielder away from his own escalating argument.
And he has been trying harder to show his best side to the growing cast of reporters following the Dodgers, who went into Thursday's game with a season-high 5 1/ 2-game leader over the Padres.
"People who know me, know my character never changed," Bradley said after hitting solo homers off Pirates left-hander Sean Burnett in the first inning, to right-center field, and the fifth, to left. "It's people outside who only knew my reputation. That gets old."
But teammates have noticed a different Bradley demeanor in the past few weeks.
"You can see he's making the effort," said Robin Ventura, veteran leader of the Dodgers bench.
Tellingly, teammates never grumbled about Bradley's behavior, the way they did with Kevin Brown and some other recent distinctive Dodgers personalities of the recent past.
"He plays hard, and that's always No. 1," Ventura said. "At the beginning, I think he was trying to get some emotional things under control. It wasn't a destructive thing, like people would (think). It's just the way he is. He cares a lot.
"Maybe one situation (in Cleveland) was that way (a problem). It doesn't mean it's going to be like that his whole career."
Said Tracy: "I think Milton Bradley, day by day, is gaining an understanding of who he is capable of being."
With 51 RBI, Bradley is three away from his career high. He has batted .304 in the past 33 games to raise his average to .282. And he is fielding three positions now with equal energy.
Just ask Phil Nevin, robbed of a homer last Friday.
The Dodgers are rolling, with the sweep of Pittsburgh giving them four wins in a row since the trade acquisitions joined and 27 in 35 games.
Not bad for a team that many incorrectly believed had lost its leader in Lo Duca.
Look around the clubhouse and you see tone-setters everywhere, from Ventura to cut-up Jose Lima to stars Eric Gagne and Adrian Beltre.
And you see the man whose effort to be a good teammate symbolizes what's happening with the Dodgers more than anything.
Milton Bradley, their heart and soul?
It's that kind of season.
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The San Diego Union Tribune
August 1, 2004
Dodgers take Ventura highway to 12-inning victory
SAN DIEGO – Pinch-hitter Robin Ventura homered in the 12th inning, sending the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the Padres on Sunday.
Los Angeles took two of three from San Diego, extending its NL West lead over the Padres to 3½ games as Khalil Greene flied out to the left-field warning track with a runner on to end it.
Ventura hit a 1-0 pitch from Ricky Stone (1-2) over the right-center fence with two outs in the 12th, disappointing a record crowd at Petco Park.
It was Ventura's second pinch-hit homer this season. He also had a two-run shot July 17 at Arizona.
Steve Finley went 2-for-5 with a double and a run in his first start for the Dodgers since being acquired moments before the trade deadline Saturday in a five-player deal with Arizona. Finley started in center field, with Milton Bradley moving to right.
Eric Gagne (4-0) pitched three scoreless innings for the win. It was the first time he pitched more than two innings since he became the team's closer in 2002.
Darren Dreifort got three outs for his first save since Sept. 15, 1997, at Colorado. It was the fourth save this season by a Los Angeles pitcher other than Gagne.
Gagne allowed two hits, struck out two and walked one.
The Padres lost for just the third time in 19 one-run games at home.
Cesar Izturis led off the Dodgers' eighth with a single against reliever Akinori Otsuka. With two outs, Adrian Beltre singled to left and Otsuka walked Shawn Green to load the bases. But Otsuka escaped the jam when he struck out Jayson Werth.
The Dodgers tied the score 1-all on Green's RBI single off reliever Scott Linebrink in the sixth. One-out singles by Finley and Bradley knocked David Wells from the game. Linebrink came in and struck out Beltre before Green grounded a single up the middle to score Finley.
Phil Nevin put the Padres ahead 1-0 in the fourth with a one-out single to left that scored Mark Loretta, who singled leading off the inning and was sacrificed to second.
Bradley's baserunning mistake ran the Dodgers out of a scoring chance in the first inning. Bradley walked after Finley's one-out double. Beltre then hit a long fly ball to the warning track in center field. As Jay Payton made the catch, Bradley was running hard around second base toward third and almost passed Finley. Payton was easily able to double Finley off second base to end the inning.
Both starters pitched well. Odalis Perez allowed one run and four hits in six innings. Wells lasted 5 1-3 innings, allowing one run and five hits with four strikeouts and one walk.
Perez was coming off his worst start of the season in a 7-2 loss at Colorado, where he allowed a season-high six earned runs in 4 1-3 innings.
In Wells' only other start against Los Angeles this year, he allowed eight runs and 10 hits in four innings of an 11-4 loss in April. It was Wells' shortest start this season.
Notes: Finley was booed whenever he came to the plate for the Dodgers. The Padres made a strong push to trade for Finley, a popular player when he played in San Diego from 1995-98. ... The crowd of 44,056 was the largest in Petco Park's first season, surpassing Saturday night's total of 43,726.
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Ventura lifts Dodgers to win
Pinch-hit home run in 12th captures series at PETCO
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
SAN DIEGO -- The absence of Guillermo Mota was in the Dodgers' storyline again Sunday, only this had a happy ending.
Robin Ventura slugged a pinch-homer in the 12th inning for a 2-1 win over San Diego, rewarding an unprecedented three-inning winning outing for Eric Gagne and a first save of the year for Darren Dreifort, who blew the previous night's game.
By taking the rubber game of the crucial series, the Dodgers restored their lead in the National League West to 3 1/2 games and swung momentum back to a club that was turned upside down the previous two days with a flurry of deadline trades.
General manager Paul DePodesta has conceded that the flurry of deals for a first-place team came with risks, and the one under the microscope is the disruption to what had been the best bullpen in baseball. The trades primarily of Mota, and to a lesser extent Tom Martin, removed one-third of that bullpen and resulted in a shuffling that changed everyone's role, including Gagne's.
In both weekend games since the trade, Gagne was warmed up in the eighth inning but did not enter the game. That wasted effort is something manager Jim Tracy has avoided at virtually all costs all season.
Since becoming the Dodgers' closer in April of 2002, Gagne (4-0) had never pitched more than two innings or thrown more than 40 pitches in an appearance. He needed 37 pitches Sunday and will have a day off Monday to recuperate.
Ventura's second pinch-homer of the season came off Ricky Stone with two outs in the 12th and it barely cleared the fence in right-center.
The win possibly could have been accomplished in regulation time if not for a major Dodgers malfunction on the base paths with one out in the first inning after Steve Finley, in his Dodgers debut, doubled down the first-base line in his first Dodgers at-bat.
Milton Bradley followed with a walk and Adrian Beltre then hit a long fly out to center fielder Jay Payton. But on the crack of the bat, both Finley and Bradley took off and they just kept going, as if it Beltre had just hit into the third out. Finley was easily doubled off second to end the inning.
Mark Loretta, who delivered a clutch hit in Saturday night's comeback win for the Padres, led off the bottom of the fourth Sunday with a single up the middle, was bunted to second by Ryan Klesko and was singled home by Phil Nevin, as Loretta beat home left fielder Jayson Werth's throw.
That was all the Padres got off Odalis Perez, who rebounded from his worst start of the year in Colorado to allow one run on four hits over six innings without a walk.
But he got some help. With two out in the bottom of the fifth and Payton on second after a single and sacrifice bunt, only a great diving stop by Jose Hernandez on Sean Burroughs' shot headed toward right field prevented the Padres from expanding the lead.
The defensive play of the game, however, was turned in by Payton, who raced into the right-center gap to make a stumbling, tumbling catch on the warning track of Bradley's two-out drive in the 10th inning.
But Bradley returned the favor with two out in the bottom of the 10th when he threw out Sean Burroughs trying to stretch a single into a double.
The Dodgers tied it in the sixth on singles by Finley, Bradley and Shawn Green (with two outs), but Werth left runners at the corners with a flyout. Werth had another chance to be a star in the eighth, but struck out with the bases loaded.
The game was a running feud on both sides with plate umpire Doug Eddings over balls and strikes. Among the incidents was Werth's fourth strikeout in the 11th inning, when he had to be separated from Eddings by Bradley.
Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
