Dodgers steal Arizona glory

PHOENIX —  Luis Gonzalez went into the left-field corner as if he were stepping into his hall closet.

He played a carom off the bullpen fence expertly and fired to shortstop Rafael Furcal, who threw out an Arizona Diamondbacks runner at the plate in the fourth inning of the Dodgers’ 5-1 victory on Monday at Chase Field.

Eight years playing in the same stadium provides a certain level of familiarity. Yet while it was a heartwarming homecoming for Gonzalez -- the fans gave him a long standing ovation before his first at-bat -- the former World Series hero felt strangely out of place.

The Diamondbacks made no attempt to re-sign him after last season, unceremoniously breaking their last tie to the 2001 glory year. Then they changed their primary team color from purple to red and removed from the walls numerous photos and mementos of the series victory over the New York Yankees.

So when the Dodgers took the field, Gonzalez saw red -- and it wasn’t only the “Sedona red” worn by his former teammates.

“It would be like the Dodgers erasing any mention of the 1988 and 1981 World Series teams,” he said. “It’s hard to believe. I don’t understand how they can do something like that.”

The best revenge for Gonzalez was the Dodgers defeating his former team, even though he did not get a hit. And they had little trouble doing so because Brad Penny (3-0) turned in his third consecutive outstanding performance, giving up one run and five hits in seven innings.

“He’s using his splitter more than ever,” catcher Russell Martin said. “That’s been the equalizer. He doesn’t have to reach back and throw as hard.”

Penny is 5-0 with a 1.75 earned-run average in April the last two seasons. So far he has pitched the way he did the first half of last season when he went 11-2.

“He’s not out there grunting on every pitch, trying to throw 110 mph,” Manager Grady Little said.

The Dodgers are blowing past everyone lately, posting a 9-2 record since opening with two losses. They are getting strong pitching and pecking away for runs the way they did against the Diamondbacks, scoring once in five different innings.

Juan Pierre began to emerge from a slump, getting two hits, drawing a walk, stealing a base and scoring two runs. His hustle was apparent in the third inning, when he beat out a ground ball to shortstop, advanced to second on a hit-and-run groundout, moved to third on Jeff Kent’s groundout and scored on a wild pitch.

Nomar Garciaparra homered, doubled and drove in two runs, Andre Ethier had two hits and Wilson Betemit doubled and hit a sacrifice fly. But the player who created a buzz in the crowd of 27,427 was Gonzalez.

“It’s nice to know fans still appreciate you, even if it’s not shown in some of the photos around the ballpark,” said Gonzalez, who smiled and added, “Sorry, I just had to get that one in.”

Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall said the team’s intent isn’t to purge reminders of the 2001 season from the stadium. The historical photos were taken down to paint the walls, he said, and they will go back up -- with new frames.

“It’s a work in progress because of the color changes,” Hall said. “We are proud of our history and plan to always showcase that success.”

The Diamondbacks haven’t had a winning record since 2003 and clearly are trying to shift the focus to the talented young players who have the team off to a 9-5 start.

Gonzalez, however, will have none of it.

“I understand why they are doing what they are doing,” he said. “I can’t say why publicly, but I understand why. I was here a long time. I know a lot of things other people don’t know.

“They have good young players, but I’m not saying they have a chance to win. We have a chance to win.”

[email protected]