Dodgers Get in Swing of Things

If only coaches could always get results this quickly.

A message was relayed from Manager Jim Tracy to third base coach Jim Lett to batter Antonio Perez, who had squared to bunt on the previous pitch.

“Swing the bat,� Lett yelled.

Perez promptly hit a three-run home run, propelling the Dodgers to a 4-2 victory Wednesday over the San Diego Padres in front of an announced 43,569 at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers did little else offensively, but Jeff Weaver (7-7) and two relievers made the runs stand up. Weaver went 7 1/3 innings -- the seventh consecutive start he has gone at least six -- and served as cheerleader, applauding defensive plays and patting teammates on the back.

“This was the biggest win of the year for me and for the team as a whole,� Weaver said.

The importance was mainly symbolic. It reminded the Dodgers that the Padres are surprisingly beatable for a team that has held first place in the NL West for weeks. The Dodgers have beaten them in eight of 12 meetings and haven’t beat another team since June 12. No one in the Dodger clubhouse will come out and say the Padres are pretenders. But the inference is clear.

“We are in a division that will allow us to play a six-month season and not have to play perfect baseball,� second baseman Jeff Kent said. “We’re banged up. Everyone needs to have patience with us.�

Actually, the Padres have more key players injured than the Dodgers. First baseman Phil Nevin, second baseman Mark Loretta, catcher Ramon Hernandez and center fielder Dave Roberts are sidelined, as is starting pitcher Adam Eaton.

But they’ve replaced them with such veterans as Damian Jackson, Robert Fick, Geoff Blum and Mark Sweeney, while the Dodgers have force-fed rookies. But it was Jackson, Fick and Blum who helped set the table for Perez’s home run.

After Weaver led off the fifth with a single, Cesar Izturis bunted. Blum, the third baseman, looked to second but no one was covering. He turned to first but neither Jackson nor Fick was in a position to take a throw.

Perez stepped in, and the Dodgers soon had a 4-1 lead.

“Geoff looked at second,� Padre Manager Bruce Bochy said. “It would have been close. Fick and D.J. looked at each other and thought they had the bag. That probably was the difference in the game.�

More likely the difference was Tracy’s decision to let Perez swing away.

The Dodger manager has been criticized for calling for too many bunts and Perez -- who is batting .328 -- has failed to execute the play more than once. Perez tried to bunt on his own but Tracy wanted the hot-hitting infielder to drive the ball.

“I yelled at Lett, ‘What’s he doing?’ � Tracy said.

The coach made Tracy’s intentions clear to Perez, who moments later was pumping his fist in the air as the ball cleared the center-field fence.

“I thought I’d move the runners,� Perez said. “They want me to swing, so that’s fine. I love to swing.�

Weaver greeted Perez with high-fives at the plate. The right-hander also congratulated right fielder Cody Ross after he threw out Brian Giles at third and Izturis after he made a slick play on a one-hopper to end the sixth and strand a runner at third.

Weaver was the one accepting kudos after Tracy lifted him with one out in the eighth. Even though he hadn’t had a victory since June 8, his earned-run average dropped for the seventh straight start.

“You’ve got to grind it out,� he said. “We’ve been able to stay in the race even though we haven’t played real well, and that’s been encouraging.�

Neither team feels the other is strong enough to run away with the division.

“We’ll see them again in September,� Bochy said.