Dreifort Falters Again in a Loss

What started as a celebration of former Dodgers on Monday night ended in a cascade of boos directed at a current Dodger who continues to stagger in his new role, one he might not hold for much longer.

Darren Dreifort lost for the third time in eight appearances since assuming the task of being Eric Gagne’s primary setup man, giving up two eighth-inning runs in front of a sellout crowd of 53,121 at Dodger Stadium during the Florida Marlins’ 4-2 win.

Guillermo Mota, the dependable reliever whom Dreifort replaced in the Dodger bullpen, continued his season-long trend of stellar late-inning work, inducing a double-play grounder off the bat of Milton Bradley to escape a minor mess in the eighth.

The Dodgers hoped Dreifort could help them avert further damage in the eighth after reliever Mike Venafro hit leadoff hitter Juan Pierre with a pitch. Catcher Brent Mayne helped the cause by throwing out Pierre on a steal attempt to second before Dreifort unraveled.

Luis Castillo drew a walk before going to second on former Dodger Paul Lo Duca’s single up the middle. Dreifort walked Miguel Cabrera to load the bases before what had been scattered boos intensified after Mike Lowell’s run-scoring single to left.

Dreifort struck out Jeff Conine on a pitch off the plate, but a wild pitch brought home Lo Duca to give the Marlins a two-run cushion. Dreifort then walked former Dodger Juan Encarnacion on a pitch that bounced in front of the plate, prompting Manager Jim Tracy to pull Dreifort (1-4) in favor of Yhency Brazoban, who retired Alex Gonzalez to end the inning.

“I don’t blame them,” Dreifort said of the fans’ reaction. “If I’m sitting in the stands, I want to see a good baseball game. I didn’t get it done.”

Dreifort said he continued to struggle with a flaw in his delivery that caused him to leave pitches up in the strike zone. Tracy wavered when asked whether he would stick with the right-hander, who has a 12.15 earned-run average since the July 30 trade that sent Mota, Encarnacion and Lo Duca to the Marlins for Hee-Seop Choi, Brad Penny and Bill Murphy.

“It’s a day-to-day thing,” said Tracy, whose team is 5 1/2 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the National League West. “The worst thing you can do is quit on a guy, but as we go along here, the eighth is a critical inning.”

One alternative would be Brazoban, the 23-year-old who pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings Monday and has impressed Tracy with his poise.

Mota was met with cheers when he jogged onto the field with one out and one on in the eighth before getting Bradley to hit into a 3-6-3 double play. Armando Benitez pitched a perfect ninth to record his 35th save.

The Dodgers played a video tribute to Lo Duca, Mota and Encarnacion before the game, with Lo Duca eliciting the loudest applause and receiving a standing ovation when he was shown in the Marlin dugout on the video board.

Lo Duca received another ovation before his first at-bat, with some fans hoisting signs of appreciation and others holding up replicas of his Dodger jersey. Lo Duca responded by hitting a soft liner to third baseman Adrian Beltre, who threw across the infield to Choi to double Castillo off first base. Lo Duca finished one for four.

After allowing the Marlins to tie the score at 2-2 in the fifth on right fielder Shawn Green’s fielding error, the Dodgers were poised to retake the lead in the sixth with runners on first and second and one out. But Green struck out and Bradley was caught stealing at third base on an inning-ending double play.

Bradley, livid that he was called out on the throw from Lo Duca, went to confront third base umpire Dale Scott before taking his position in left field to start the seventh. But center fielder Steve Finley helped keep Bradley in the game by nudging him away from Scott.

Dreifort’s struggles helped shift the focus from Bradley afterward.

“You have to get big outs in the late part of the game,” Tracy said. “But we’re not going to single an individual out because of the results of one game.”