DREIFORT SETTLES DOWN IN TIME FOR DODGERS DODGERS 8, TEXAS 4.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

With players going down to injury at the mere suggestion of a baseball game and with a pitching staff being held together by hope and a Band-Aid, Darren Dreifort was called upon to provide stability for the Dodgers Tuesday night. Instead, he nearly caused hysteria.

Dreifort came possibly within a pitch of failing to complete the first inning, was erratic in every aspect and beckoned thoughts to the brutal two-plus innings of his last start. But he recovered, as did the depleted Dodgers, and battled through 5 2/3 innings to beat former teammate Mike Judd and the Texas Rangers 8-4 at Dodger Stadium.

Hiram Bocachica, starting at second base in place of Mark Grudzielanek - who was placed on the disabled list earlier in the day - hit his first major-league home run to pace the offense. Bocachica is expected to play significant time in Grudzielanek's absence.

``It felt good after I struck out twice,'' Bocachica said. ``I've been swinging the bat pretty good in (batting practice), so I just need some games so I can get my timing back. Now that Grud is out, I think some people are going to have to step up and do what Grud was doing.''

The night wasn't without its frustration for the Dodgers. Left fielder Gary Sheffield was ejected by home-plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth for arguing a third strike in the seventh inning. It was the second time this season Sheffield has been tossed.

Dreifort allowed four runs (two earned) and struck out four, but control again was an issue as he matched a season high with five walks. He's walked 17 in his last four starts and his 36 this season places him in the top 10 among National League pitchers.

``We had him on the hook in the first, but he came out in the second and was a different pitcher,'' Rangers first baseman Rafael Palmeiro said. ``When guys are like that, you have to take advantage of when they're off. We gave him a new life and he took advantage of it.''

Dreifort (4-5) won, but the start wasn't the type of domination the Dodgers hoped to see to help ease the workload of a beat-up and tired bullpen. He threw 40 pitches, walked three, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch as Texas scored three times on one hit in the first inning.

An error on a routine grounder to Dave Hansen at first base contributed to the ugliness, but a two-run double by Palmeiro did the most damage. It was so tenuous at one point that lefty Jeff Williams, recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Las Vegas, was warming up in the bullpen.

``He was two hitters away from (getting pulled),'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``That, to me, is something where you've seen Darren Dreifort grow. In the past, he might not have been able to rectify it and it might have snowballed into the second inning and we might not have gotten any further. But he found himself and got us into the sixth inning, which was a boost to our entire pitching staff.''

Dreifort got out of the inning when he struck out Judd on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded.

``I backed off a little bit and tried to concentrate on location a little bit,'' Dreifort said. ``It was one of those deals where the harder you tried to correct yourself, the worse it got.''

It was eerily similar to Dreifort's last outing, an abomination in Arizona in which he yielded a career-high eight earned runs while failing to record an out in the third inning.

Luckily for Dreifort and the Dodgers, Judd was about to display the type of pitching that got him traded from the Dodgers during spring training and waived from Tampa Bay two weeks ago. He wasn't helped by a shoddy defense that led to three unearned runs, but Judd lasted just 2 2/3 innings and allowed six runs three walks in his first start for the Rangers.

Hansen's RBI groundout in the first made it 3-1, and the Dodgers took the lead in the second with three runs. Alex Cora started the rally with a one-out solo homer to right field. Dreifort and Tom Goodwin singled to put runners on the corners. The two then executed a double steal, with Dreifort sliding safely into home.

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Darren Dreifort almost didn't get out of the first inning Tuesday against Texas and recorded a season-high-tying five walks.

Kim D. Johnson/Associated Press