Dodgers Are in Over Their Heads This Time

Not even Yao Ming, standing on Shaquille O’Neal’s shoulders, could have caught this one.

One night after the Dodgers’ Milton Bradley extended his glove over the center-field wall, taking a home run away from Mike Cameron, Karim Garcia on Thursday crushed a two-run homer halfway up the right-field pavilion to propel the New York Mets to a 6-1 victory before 32,067 at Dodger Stadium.

Dodger right fielder Juan Encarnacion could only turn and glance as Garcia’s third-inning blast sailed over his head to help the Mets become the first visiting team to win a series this season against the Dodgers.

New York starter Jae Seo, whom the Dodgers had whacked for 12 earned runs in 7 1/3 innings over two spring training starts, worked 6 1/3 effective innings, giving up six hits and one run on Adrian Beltre’s RBI single to left in the fourth. The Met bullpen did not allow a runner past second base over the final 2 2/3 innings as the Dodger offense reverted to its 2003 form.

“First and foremost, the thing I had on my mind was to get a win,� Seo, who improved to 1-3, said through an interpreter. “I didn’t want to come back in the clubhouse after the game and see mad faces. It’s something I do not enjoy.�

Jeff Weaver delivered a quality start for the Dodgers, giving up five hits and three runs in seven innings before reliever Wilson Alvarez gave up three runs, one scoring on a bloop single by Met reliever Mike Stanton.

Weaver walked three and struck out eight, including Mike Piazza with the bases loaded to end the seventh. It was the most strikeouts Weaver (1-3) had recorded since striking out nine Toronto Blue Jays in July 2002 as a member of the New York Yankees.

But the Dodgers (13-8), who are percentage points ahead of San Diego (14-9) for first place in the National League West heading into a three-game weekend series against the lowly Montreal Expos, couldn’t mount much offensive support, stranding four runners over the final four innings.

“It’s just a matter of finding a corner to turn,� said Weaver, who has received an average of 3.2 runs of support in his first five starts. “You pitch well and you don’t get the offense, and then you get some runs and you don’t get the outs.�

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on singles by Garcia, Jason Phillips and Eric Valent. Weaver hit Danny Garcia with a pitch to load the bases with one out but got Seo to hit into a double play.

After Karim Garcia slammed his two-run homer in the third on a cut fastball over the plate, making it 3-0, Encarnacion scored the Dodgers’ run in the fourth, stroking a two-out double to right and coming home on Beltre’s single to left.

Bradley, who took a called third strike to strand two runners in the third, left the game in the sixth after irritating the left ankle he sprained April 21 at Colorado and is listed as day-to-day.

Weaver’s finest moment came in the seventh after the Mets loaded the bases on a single and two walks, bringing Piazza to the plate. Piazza, tied with Carlton Fisk for first place on the list for homers by a catcher, worked a full count, bringing the crowd to its feet, before striking out swinging at a high fastball.

But Alvarez faltered in the eighth and ninth innings. Todd Zeile hit a one-out double to left in the eighth, moved to third on Jason Phillips’ single just over shortstop Cesar Izturis’ glove and scored on Danny Garcia’s single through the right side of the infield.

Stanton dropped a bloop single in front of left fielder Jason Grabowski to account for another run.

Cameron put an exclamation point on the victory in the ninth when he hit a solo homer to left-center.

“We just couldn’t get that one hit to get us going,� said the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts. “You’ve just got to give them credit.�