DODGERS' BATS NOT MADE OUT OF WOOD CUBS ACE FIRES BLANKS, HOMERS CHICAGO 2, DODGERS 0.

Byline: Tony Jackson Staff Writer

CHICAGO - For all his legendary dominance since he burst onto the National League scene more than six years ago, Kerry Wood never has been that comfortable facing the Dodgers.

Going into Saturday, the Chicago Cubs fireballer had a losing record and an inflated ERA against them, and he missed two months after suffering a triceps strain during a game at Dodger Stadium in May. But on an afternoon when the notorious Wrigley Field wind blew hard at his back, a rejuvenated Wood took full advantage. The imposing right-hander threw eight masterful innings against his career-long nemeses as the Cubs beat the Dodgers 2-0 in front of 39,069.

Wood retired 16 of 18 from the second inning through the eighth. The stretch was interrupted when David Ross reached on an error by Cubs third baseman Ramon Martinez in the fifth only to be stranded, and when Milton Bradley singled up the middle in the sixth only to be subsequently erased on a double-play grounder by Adrian Beltre.

As if that weren't enough humiliation for the Dodgers, Wood gave himself the only run he needed, leading off the third by driving a first-pitch cut fastball from Kazuhisa Ishii into the left-field bleachers for his seventh career home run.

The Dodgers got just four runners into scoring position, stranding men at second and third in the second and leaving the bases loaded in the eighth. That final rally ended when plate umpire Phil Cuzzi ruled that Beltre went around on an 0-2 pitch from Wood that was low and outside.

Replays indicated the call was borderline, at best, but Cuzzi's call stood, and Wood's final pitch of the day had achieved its intended purpose. Despite Olmedo Saenz's two-out single in the ninth off Mike Remlinger, the Cubs' de facto closer while LaTroy Hawkins serves his three-day suspension, the Dodgers effectively were done. And Cuzzi's call notwithstanding, this was a game they weren't supposed to win.

Not against Wood. Not this time.

``He really mixed his fastball and changeup, with some sliders thrown in there,'' said Dodgers center fielder Steve Finley, adding that he actually had seen Wood pitch better in the past. ``He stayed away from the middle of the zone, but he still threw strikes.

``When he does that, he's tough. We hit some balls hard, but we just couldn't find holes.''

Wood got plenty of help, both from his defense and from the Dodgers offense.

With Alex Cora on first in the second, David Ross doubled to the wall in left-center. But Moises Alou ran it down so quickly that third-base coach Glenn Hoffman had to hold Cora at third with two outs and the pitcher's spot due up. Ishii, a career .095 hitter, predictably grounded out.

Alou later made a diving catch to rob Shawn Green, possibly of an extra- base hit, in the seventh. And Nomar Garciaparra started a double play on a tough grounder by Beltre in the sixth.

On a day when the Dodgers needed more than 27 outs, they wasted two of them.

With a runner on first and two outs in the fifth, Cesar Izturis inexplicably squared around with two strikes and bunted the ball foul to end the inning. And Ross, who isn't exactly fleet, tried and failed to bunt his way on to begin the eighth, an inning when the Dodgers could have used one more out and one more baserunner to keep the aforementioned rally alive.

``If I get it down, it's a different story,'' said Ross, who clearly regretted the decision. ``(Martinez) was playing way, way back on the left side, and if I could have gotten it to stay close to the line, it probably would have been a hit. But it might have been poor judgment on my part. It's one of those things where if you get it done, it looks real good.''

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Kazuhisa Ishii

Left-hander pitches seven innings in spot start.

Box:

GAME RECAP