BROWN TAMES INEPT DETROIT DODGERS ACE CONTINUES BRILLIANCE DODGERS 3, DETROIT 1.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

DETROIT - Right-hander Kevin Brown admitted he hung onto the pitch too long, which caused the ball to bounce well before catcher Paul Lo Duca.

But Lo Duca quickly located the ball and flipped to home plate, where Brown was waiting on his knees bracing for a big collision, only to easily tag out Detroit's Alex Sanchez.

Brown balked and yielded an RBI single in the eventful third inning, but that was the only time Detroit threatened to score. The missed chance with Sanchez was vital because even against a dormant lineup like the Dodgers, one run often isn't enough.

With Brown throwing seven masterful innings and an offense more opportunistic than overpowering, the Dodgers beat the Tigers 3-1 on Wednesday at Comerica Park.

The victory means Detroit, even with a victory today, won't win its first home series of the season.

In addition, Brown (9-1) took over the National League lead in wins and improved his major-league-leading ERA to 2.00. He has won his past six starts and is 8-0 with a 1.25 ERA in his past nine starts.

``His numbers, his stuff, although it's (June 11), begins to start to resemble what you would begin to talk about when you start speaking along the lines of a Cy Young Award winner,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said.

``But it remains to be seen where that goes. Right now, it's beginning to resemble that.''

Brown led the NL in ERA twice (1996 and 2000) and won 21 games in 1992. He never has won a Cy Young, but that could change if his supremacy continues.

Brown struck out seven and yielded five hits before Guillermo Mota and Eric Gagne polished off the inept Tigers. Gagne struck out two in a perfect ninth inning for his 23rd save.

The Dodgers got a sacrifice fly from Shawn Green and an RBI single by Fred McGriff in a two-run fourth inning. They tacked on an insurance run in the fifth off starter Adam Bernero (1-8) when Alex Cora eluded the tag of catcher Brandon Inge on a grounder to second.

But the postgame chatter centered around Brown's resurgence.

``I've never been around a pitcher that's this dominant, this consistent,'' Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colborn said. ``I've seen Ferguson Jenkins pitch well, and he was pretty consistent. But Brown's a little more overpowering.''

After allowing Kevin Witt's two-out RBI single, which gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the third inning, Brown used varied arm angles to throw his mid-90s fastball, heavy sinker and quick-dropping split-finger fastball to retire 13 of the next 14 batters. The lone blemish was an infield single by Craig Monroe to lead off the sixth, and Brown termed his outing ``OK'' because of a number of mislocated pitches.

``The idea is to shoot for perfection but accept excellence,'' Brown said. ``You're never going to be perfect. I don't care if you throw a perfect game, you're never going to be perfect. You're going to make bad pitches, but by that being the focus, trying to make one really good pitch at a time, you can limit your mistakes. That's been the key to my focus this year.''

Brown's renaissance is much-publicized but remains amazing considering he was shelved with elbow and back surgeries the past two seasons.

Since shaking the respiratory infection that led to a pair of poor mid- April starts, Brown hasn't allowed more than two earned runs since his only loss, which came April 18 against San Francisco.

Brian Dohn

brian dohn(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Dodgers pitcher Kevin Brown tags out Detroit's Alex Sanchez at home during the third inning Wednesday. Sanchez was trying to score from third base on a wild pitch.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press