To Error is Human: Giants 4 - Dodgers 2

SAN FRANCISCO, California--Cesar Izturis slammed a lead-off home run as the Dodgers and Giants opened the latest chapter in their long-time rivalry and their bid to repeat as National League West Division champions. Los Angeles opened the game without a player in the starting lineup who came through the Dodger farm system for the first time dating back at least to 1945. The San Francisco win was their sixth in eight opening games with Los Angeles.

After making twice as many errors as their opponents during the exhibition season, the Dodgers lost the game on a two-out error by Jose Valentin at third base in the eighth inning that broke a 2-2 tie.

A double and an error on a tap between the mound and first base by relief pitcher Giovanni Carrara gave the Giants their fourth run in the last of the eighth. Kelly Wunsch came in with one out and ended the innings without further damage.

Izturis, who only had eight home runs in his first 498 major league games, got the Dodgers off to a 1-0 lead with his career-first leadoff home run on a 1-1 pitch. He had two of the five L.A. hits with only two Dodger hits coming after the second inning.

Davey Lopes holds the Dodger single-season (7) in 1979 and holds the career (28) record for leadoff homers (28). Carl Furillo hit five in 1951 to set the Brooklyn record and Johnny Frederick has the Brooklyn career mark with 10.

L.A. added another run in the second on singles by Milton Bradley, Ricky Ledee and a sacrifice fly by catcher Jason Phillips.

Giants' second baseman Ray Durham hit a shot off starter Derek Lowe's leg that bounced to Hee-Seop Choi for the out to leadoff the bottom of the first. Lowe returned the favor by hitting Durham in the leg on his next trip to the plate in the third.

Phillips threw Durham out attempting to steal only moments before an Omar Vizquel double. J.T. Snow walked but Lowe got out without a run,

However, Eduardo Alfonso followed an inning-opening two-run homer in the last of the fourth to tie the game 2-2.

Lowe pitched out of a first-and-third, no one out jam in the fifth and the game rolled on deadlocked. Jason Schmidt had a streak from the fifth through the seventh when he fanned five of seven Dodger hitters.


In the ninth, Jeff Kent got his third hit in four lifetime at-bats against Armando Benitez, Giants' closer. But Milton Bradley hit into a double play and Valentin ended the game with a bouncer to first. >