Zeile Gets Mad and Dodgers Get Even

NEW YORK —  There were 35 minutes between games of Thursday’s doubleheader at Shea Stadium.

Dodger third baseman Todd Zeile used the time wisely. He fumed. He stewed. He fussed. He unleashed a river of adrenaline.

By the time the second game had begun, Zeile was like a bull released from his pen.

The result?

Zeile smacked two singles to drive in three runs in the Dodgers’ 4-3 victory over the New York Mets, giving the Dodgers a split of the two games. New York won the first game, 3-1.

The split left the Dodgers two games behind the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, who did not play Thursday.

Zeile wanted revenge for the first game when he went 0 for 4. In his last at-bat in that game, Zeile came up with the potential tying runs at second and third and one out in the ninth inning and took a called third strike from reliever John Franco.

Only Zeile didn’t think it was a third strike.

As a matter of fact, he felt so strongly that the 0-and-2 pitch was inside that he informed home plate umpire Wally Bell of that fact.

“That ball was a foot inside,” Zeile told Bell.

Bell felt so strongly about Zeile’s response that he threw the third baseman out of the game.

“I was a little bit upset,” Zeile said after the doubleheader. “I might have been a little extra motivated. At 0-2, that was a waste pitch. [Franco] was coming inside to set something up. I don’t think even he expected that call.

“I was emotional. It steamed me. But I focused my anger and was able to go out and do something. I didn’t just let it brew.”

When Greg Gagne grounded to short, New York left-hander Joe Crawford (2-1) had a victory in his first major-league start. Crawford held the Dodgers to a run and three hits in six innings plus, continuing two patterns that have troubled Dodger Manager Bill Russell.

His club has struggled in recent weeks against lesser-known pitchers thrown into the rotation in emergency situations, like Gabe White and Mike Remlinger of the Cincinnati Reds. And now, Crawford.

And the Dodgers have struggled on the road all season against left-handers, winning only seven of 20 games.

An RBI double by Butch Huskey in the fourth inning of the first game and a two-run home run by Carlos Baerga in the sixth off Dodger starter Tom Candiotti (9-5) was all Crawford needed.

That and a highly effective change-up.

“We had trouble figuring him out,” Candiotti said. “We couldn’t get anything going. He was very deceiving.”

The only Dodger able to handle Crawford was Mike Piazza, who hit his 28th home run in the seventh inning.

Franco came on in the ninth and picked up his 31st save, ending the Mets’ four-game losing streak.

The first half of the doubleheader was an unscheduled makeup game, forced by Wednesday’s rainout. It was played in front of more vendors then fans.

But by the time the second game started, Shea Stadium was full with 43,500 fans paying their way in and the rest given free tickets for Hispanic Night.

The result was a carnival atmosphere, lured in part by a concert after the doubleheader.

But the festive crowd soon found a new object for their desire--Dodger starter Chan Ho Park.

Many of the fans cheered his every move and screamed whenever he got a big out.

“It was like a home game tonight,” Park said.

Staked to a 4-1 lead by the third inning, Park (13-6) went 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs and six hits with six strikeouts and three walks.

Eric Karros’ first-inning sacrifice fly and the hits by Zeile gave Park the runs he needed.

The Dodger right-hander gave up a sacrifice fly to Bernard Gilkey and RBI singles to Brian McRae and opposing pitcher Rick Reed (10-7) before Russell turned the game over to the bullpen.

Todd Worrell pitched the ninth for his 31st.

While Zeile ultimately got his vindication, newly acquired Otis Nixon continued to struggle at the plate.

He was 0 for 8 in the two games and has gone hitless in his last 21 at-bats, dropping his average since joining the Dodgers to .097 (3 for 31).

Nixon is obviously frustrated and angry. But as Todd Zeile could tell him, that’s not always a bad thing.