Mlicki Pitches Past Rockies

For one game at least, Dave Mlicki and Greg McMichael made the trade that sent Hideo Nomo to the New York Mets look like a good deal for the Dodgers.

Mlicki, coming off a shaky debut with Los Angeles, gave up just one run in eight innings and McMichael got the final out as the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 2-1 Friday night.

"Mlicki was outstanding," Los Angeles manager Bill Russell said. "He served up a lot of ground balls. He kept the ball down, had his sinker, change-up and breaking ball working."

Mlicki, roughed up for five earned runs in three innings in his first Dodger appearance last Saturday in Seattle, seemed relieved to get a good game under his belt.

"I didn't want to come out and have a game like I did last time," he said. "I didn't feel real comfortable last time, since I'd just joined this team. But now I've got an apartment, have gotten to know the guys better, and C.J. (catcher Charles Johnson) knows me better.

"I got into a good rhythm tonight and it seemed like all my pitches were working."

Mlicki (2-4) gave up one run and five hits in eight innings. He walked none and stuck out four.

McMichael, making his second appearance since the June 4 trade with the Mets, struck out Vinny Castilla, the only batter he faced, to earn his first save of the year.

"That was definitely a nice way to end the game," Mlicki said of his former Mets' teammate. "He threw him change-ups. We call them dead fish and the batter knows what's coming, but still can't hit them."

Eric Young, who came to Los Angeles from the Rockies last Aug. 18, provided the go-ahead run with a solo homer off Darryl Kile in the eighth inning. It was only his second homer of the year.

Raul Mondesi homered in the fifth against Kile (5-9). The Rockies' right-hander has lost six straight starts, and his teammates have scored just eight runs in his last five outings.

"Darryl threw a great game," Mlicki said. "He only made two mistakes, but it cost them."

The Rockies have lost six of their last seven, and Colorado manager Don Baylor said: "I would imagine that Darryl Kile might be as frustrated as I am. He's lost 2-1 three times and 2-0 once. He's pitched a lot better than his record. That's the best stuff he's had this year."

Kile, who allowed the two runs on five hits in eight innings, wasn't complaining about the lack of hitting support, blaming himself for the loss.

"It's frustrating to the point that it is a tie game and I throw a pitch out over the plate and the guy (Young) hit it out," Kile said. "I've got to do my job and make better pitches."

The Dodgers, who didn't have a baserunner against Kile through the first 4 1-3 innings, tied it 1-1 on ondesi's one-out homer.

Larry Walker's RBI single in the first inning gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead.

After giving up the first-inning run, Mlicki settled down and allowed just two singles until Jeff Reed singled in the eighth.

Neifi Perez led off the game with a double, moved to third on Curtis Goodwin's sacrifice and scored on Walker's single.

Notes: The Dodgers' third straight win tied their longest streak of the season, set May 21-23 and April 24-26. ... Los Angeles starters have gone at least seven innings in five consecutive games and 10 of the last 11. ... Kile allowed just three balls out of the infield before Mondesi's homer in the fifth. ... Only 15 of the 25 players on the Dodgers' 25-man roster started the season in Los Angeles. Thirty-eight different players have been with the team sold by the O'Malley family to the Fox Group over the winter so far this year.

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