SAN FRANCISCO – For at least a day, the Dodgers had a suitable replacement for Rafael Furcal at shortstop.
Nomar Garciaparra doubled twice, drove in two runs, scored another and played seven errorless innings for the Dodgers in a 10-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park today that moved them to within a game of first-place Arizona in the NL West.
The other high-priced veteran who was activated today, Andruw Jones, didn't fare quite as well, as he was 0 for 5 with four strikeouts. Jones, who underwent knee surgery on May 27, made a push to return to the lineup two weeks earlier than expected in response to news that Juan Pierre could be out for four to six weeks with a sprained left knee.
Andre Ethier was three for six with a home run, two runs and three runs batted in.
To clear roster space for Garciaparra and Jones, the Dodgers placed Mark Sweeney on the 15-day disabled list and optioned Jason Repko to triple-A Las Vegas. Sweeney has a strained right hamstring.
Furcal, who underwent back surgery on Thursday, was moved to the 60-day disabled list to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Garciaparra, who came off the 60-day DL.
With Furcal possibly out for the remainder of the season and Garciaparra's recent health problems a concern -- the game today was his 10th big-league game of the season -- General Manager Ned Colletti said this morning that he might be forced to part with a portion of his team's previously untouchable young nucleus to acquire a shortstop.
"We're more open-minded to who we may have to move than we've been in the past," Colletti said.
Colletti conceded that the price for a shortstop could be high.
"We're trying to see if we can go on the outside and get somebody," Colletti said. "It's not an easy position to fill, especially mid-season, but we're going to see. I don't think anybody can look at Rafael, circle a date on the calendar and say, 'We'll see him then.' "
As Colletti continued to count down the days until the July 31 trade deadline, the Dodgers moved a step closer to first place, courtesy of a five-run sixth inning against a 23-year-old reliever who made his major-league debut on Thursday.
Osiris Matos' implosion turned the Dodgers' 5-3 deficit into an 8-5 advantage. Delwyn Young drove in Garciaparra for the first run of the inning. Matt Kemp struck out for the second out of the inning, but Ethier, Russell Martin and Jeff Kent had consecutive doubles to add four more runs.
Garciaparra drew a bases-loaded walk in the Dodgers' two-run third and drove in Martin on a double to left in the eighth to increase the Dodgers' lead to 9-5. Angel Berroa pinch ran for Garciaparra in the eighth.
The Dodgers had seven doubles, their most in a game since they had seven against the Atlanta Braves on April 16, 1988.
Dodgers starter Derek Lowe gave up five runs (four earned) and eight hits over five innings, but Hong-chih Kuo pitched two scoreless innings in relief to drop his earned-run average to 1.86.
Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez was forced out of the game after only five innings because his pitch count was at 110. He gave up three runs and five hits, and struck out seven.
