Mondesi, Karros Take Out Anger on Pirates

PITTSBURGH —  Raul Mondesi was angry at himself during his season-opening slump, and has been disappointed despite his recent progress.

Eric Karros was frustrated during his rehabilitation from left knee surgery, and hasn’t been pleased by his performance since returning.

But they appeared to be in top form to the Pirates.

The Dodger sluggers led their team to a 14-6 comeback victory Thursday night before an announced crowd of 9,728 at Three Rivers Stadium.

Mondesi continued his torrid pace with three hits, and put the Dodgers ahead for good with a two-run double in their four-run eighth inning. Karros had four of the team’s season-high 19 hits, and a game-high four RBIs.

Right-handed reliever Brad Clontz (2-0) earned the victory despite giving up a two-run home run to Kevin Young in the seventh. The homer was the first hit Clontz has given up in 11 2/3 innings since signing with the team April 9.

The Dodgers overcame a lackluster performance from starter Ismael Valdes, who was removed after giving up four runs and 10 hits in five innings. The team won for the fifth time in its last six games, and moved two games above .500 for the first time.

Manager Bill Russell had many reasons to feel good, but the contributions of Mondesi and Karros made him happiest.

“Mondy had been struggling, but he’s been breaking out of it and swinging the bat real well recently,” he said. “He goes up there tonight in a big situation, and had a great at-bat to help us break the game open.

“And it was good to see Eric swinging the bat like that too. That’s why you stick with those veteran guys, because you know, sooner or later, they’re going to work their way out of it. All of a sudden, the hits start coming.”

They did for the Dodgers on Thursday, and Mondesi had the biggest hit in the eighth.

The Dodgers trailed, 6-5, with two out and the bases loaded. On a 1-and-2 count from Pirate right-handed reliever Elmer Dessens, Mondesi hit a slider down the right-field line to drive in Eric Young and Mike Piazza, putting the Dodgers ahead, 7-6.

Todd Zeile and Mondesi then scored on Karros’ single to left, and the Dodgers, who trailed twice, had a 9-6 lead. They batted around and scored five runs in the ninth.

“We were able to get everyone clicking tonight and score some runs, and Mondy and Eric were big parts of that,” said Piazza, who went two for four with two RBIs. “They are huge parts of this offense, and we obviously need them to contribute.”

Mondesi went three for six and robbed Lou Collier of an extra-base hit in the bottom of the eighth inning with a sliding catch near the right-field line.

Mondesi had a career-high five hits Monday in a 3-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium, and batted .381 on the five-game homestand that ended Tuesday.

More importantly, he finally has found something positive in his play.

“I wasn’t hitting, I wasn’t doing what I need to do to help the team win games,” said Mondesi, who raised his average to .265. “If I’m hitting, we can win a lot of games, but you have to do that as a team.

“I need to hit so that everything isn’t on Mike [Piazza], or Todd [Zeile] or E.K. [Karros]. I felt bad that I wasn’t doing that, because I don’t want to let my team down. But tonight, I felt good.”

Karros did as well.

He raised his average to .421 in five games since returning from arthroscopic surgery March 24, and the Dodgers are 4-1 in those games.

“I’m excited to be back, and it always feels good when you make a contribution,” he said. “I got some balls that I could drive tonight, but it’s going to be a while before I’m driving the ball like I like.”

The Dodgers finished April 14-12, which wasn’t the start they had hoped for in spring training. But with Mondesi hitting well again, and Karros regaining his confidence, they believe this could be the start of something big.

“We’re healthy, and we’re starting to play like we know we can,” Mondesi said. “It’s a long season, and we know we can win a lot of games.”