Dodgers Suffer a Loss of Power in Brown-Out

MIAMI — The Dodgers, their spirits a mile high after an explosive visit to Coors Field, were sent crashing back to earth Wednesday night by Florida Marlin right-hander Kevin Brown.

Brown, who has already pitched a no-hitter this season, cooled down the red-hot Dodger offense on a sweltering night in Miami by throwing a one-hitter in a 5-1 Florida victory at Pro Player Stadium in front of a crowd of 30,225.

And even that hit might have been caught if left fielder John Cangelosi had chosen to dive for it.

Brown, who improved to 9-6, retired the first 10 Dodgers before walking Roger Cedeno.

Then in the fifth, with the Marlins ahead, 2-0, on a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring triple by Bobby Bonilla, Mondesi hit a sinking liner to left that bounced in front of the onrushing Cangelosi.

“I was sorry to see him lose the no-hitter,” Cangelosi said. “I ran as hard as I could, and I still think that, if I dove, I might have caught it. But, with only a [two]-run lead, I didn’t want the ball getting by me.

“It’s a shame he didn’t get the no-hitter, but we still wanted to get the win.”

Because of Mondesi, Brown didn’t even get the shutout. After his single, the Dodger right fielder stole second. When catcher Charles Johnson’s throw went into the outfield, Mondesi tried to run to third, only to crash into second baseman Luis Castillo. Castillo was charged with interference, allowing Mondesi to go to third. From there, he scored on an groundout by Todd Zeile.

And that was that for the Dodger offense.

A team that had won seven in a row on the road and 11 of 12 overall lost for the fourth time in as many outings in Miami this season.

A team that came into the game hitting .349 in its last 12 games with 17 home runs failed to get another man on base as Brown retired the last 15 batters after Mondesi.

“He had tremendous movement on the ball,” Dodger left fielder Brett Butler said. “When Kevin Brown gets into trouble is when he doesn’t have control. He had it tonight. We ran into a buzz saw.

“Good pitching beats good hitting every time. It’s a cliche, but it’s true.”

It was the first one-hitter for Brown, who has also thrown a two-hitter along with his no-hitter, which came June 10 against the San Francisco Giants.

But there was at least one person who wasn’t impressed--Kevin Brown.

Although pitching coach Larry Rothschild told him he didn’t know what he was talking about, Brown insisted that his performance could have been better.

“I felt like I wasn’t able to dominate,” Brown said. “I felt like I had to pitch a lot more as far as trying to hit spots and move the ball around.”

Brown said he wasn’t at all concerned with the Dodgers’ recent offensive surge because he didn’t know anything about it.

“Someone told me afterward,” Brown said. “Ignorance is bliss. Knowing doesn’t help the cause.”

Brown shrugged off a question about whether he’d like to have the pitch to Mondesi back.

“If I do that,” he said, “I would also have to give back the ground balls that were hit at someone.”

Hideo Nomo (9-8) struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings, but he also gave up five earned runs.

Butler was unable to handle a fly ball by Cangelosi in the sixth inning, a play on which Cangelosi was given a double thanks to generous scoring. A run scored on the play, making it 3-1, and Edgar Renteria followed with a two-run triple to break the game open.

“I just missed the ball,” Butler said. “I have no excuses.”

Shortstop Greg Gagne went hitless in three at-bats to end his hitting streak at 15 games.

Adding injury to insult, center fielder Cedeno had to leave the game in the eighth inning because of a sprained right wrist.

Manager Bill Russell said the defeat simply came down to Brown.

“The guy was that good,” Russell said.