This Dodger Victory Isn’t One-Sided

MILWAUKEE â€”  There were only 11,728 fans at Miller Park, so Milton Bradley heard the two hecklers loud and clear in the ninth inning.

Their barbs were relatively tame, the usual stuff about Milton Bradley-brand board games. But when Bradley peeked over from the on-deck circle, the hecklers yelped with glee, “We’re in your head!�

Moments like this merely seem to improve Bradley’s focus.

He stepped to the plate and hammered a pitch into the upper deck for a three-run home run that gave the Dodgers breathing room in a 7-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

Bradley toured the bases, hopped onto home plate and pointed to the now speechless hecklers.

It seems anyone who criticizes the Dodgers (10-2) these days is in danger of eating his words.

The victory was the Dodgers’ sixth in a row, the start their best since 1981. And it was done with a flair for the dramatic.

Bradley homered from each side of the plate. His first homer came right-handed immediately after rookie Jason Repko -- who had three hits -- smacked a two-run home run to put the Dodgers on the scoreboard in the third inning.

It marked the third time this season Bradley has hit the back end of consecutive home runs. The other two followed blasts by Jeff Kent.

“If I was a pitcher who gave up a home run, I’d want to get ahead of the next guy,� Bradley said. “So I’m jumping on him early.�

Dodger heroics came on the mound too. Left-hander Odalis Perez (3-0) followed strong pitching performances over the weekend by Derek Lowe, Scott Erickson and Jeff Weaver by flirting with the historic. He did not give up a hit until the seventh inning.

Perez, who pitched two one-hitters in 2002, acknowledged he was thinking about a no-hitter after the fifth. But the Brewers began taking the changeups they had earlier chased, and Perez gave up a run-scoring double to Junior Spivey after walking Brady Clark.

Manager Jim Tracy allowed Perez to pitch to left-handed Lyle Overbay, and Perez struck him out. Duaner Sanchez was summoned and was victimized by questionable defense and a questionable move by Tracy.

After a groundout and a walk to Damian Miller put runners on first and third, Chris Magruder hit a ground ball that got past first baseman Norihiro Nakamura, allowing Spivey and Miller to score and cut the lead to 4-3. Before the inning, Tracy had moved Nakamura from third base to first and inserted Jose Valentin at third while removing first baseman Olmedo Saenz.

Magruder was credited with a double, but Tracy appeared to blame Nakamura, saying, “In no way, shape or form should it have been a hit. It went right between his legs.�

It was the second time recently that Nakamura, who played primarily third during 13 seasons in Japan, has appeared uncomfortable at first base trying to field a grounder after holding a runner on.

“The ball was hit sharply, and it was moving like crazy,� he said through an interpreter. “It was the natural grass. In Japan, all but one of the fields are man-made turf.�

Nakamura made a sensational play to end the inning, however. Valentin backhanded a ground ball and made a poor throw that would have allowed Magruder to score the tying run if Nakamura hadn’t speared the ball on one hop while keeping his foot on the base.

Amid the thrills were two prosaic moments of great importance. One was a two-out single by Saenz in the seventh that scored Repko with the fourth run, which enabled the Dodgers to maintain a lead when the Brewers rallied.

The other came with two out in the eighth, the Dodgers clinging to their 4-3 lead with two on and two out. Left-hander Kelly Wunsch came on to retire Overbay to end the threat.

“Once again, I like the way we responded,� Tracy said.