LosAngeles.Dodgers.MLB.com

By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

Darren Dreifort fields a bunt during Saturday's eighth inning in San Diego. (Jon SooHoo/Dodgers)

Now the manager essentially has a new bullpen with the departure of Guillermo Mota and Tom Martin, the shift of Wilson Alvarez from the starting rotation and the promotion of 23-year-old Yhency Brazoban one month out of Double-A. Its first test Saturday night was a failure, as the Dodgers lost a game in which they led after seven innings for the first time after 45 successes.

After Gagne, the bullpen no longer is well defined and predictable.

"No, it's not," conceded Tracy. "It can't be. I'm still comfortable with what we have. But to go from what was as close to perfect as you can witness, it was like clockwork. That's not something you develop overnight. But what you saw last night we've seen happen to Mota. I needed an out to get to the Big Boy."

There was one out in the bottom of the eighth inning when the Padres scored the tying run on Mark Loretta's single. Tracy said if there had been two outs, Gagne would have relieved Dreifort.

But Tracy said Dreifort still is the setup man.

"I'm not a panic-stricken guy who sees one scenario and that's how it's going to work all the time. Patience, and a relaxation mindset of the player that this guy's not going to quit on me after one instance."

Tracy, however, said there may be any combination of Dreifort, Alvarez and Giovanni Carrara in the seventh and eighth innings, and he appears more willing to call on Gagne to get an out in the eighth.

Alvarez bumped: The acquisition of Brad Penny and insertion into the No. 1 starting spot sent Alvarez to the bullpen. Earlier in the year, when his foot and hip were hurting, Alvarez told Tracy he didn't think his body could take starting.

But now Alvarez is healthy and he finds it ironic that he's coming off a 4-0 July as a starter, only to essentially be demoted.

"I'm feeling really good now, my rhythm is good, but I can't really say much about it," said Alvarez, who picked up his career win No. 100 in Colorado on Thursday. "I can start. Before I was sore and hurt and I didn't want to hurt the team. Now I'm feeling good. If I wasn't pitching good, if I wasn't getting the job done, well, we'll see what happens in the next few weeks and especially in the last few weeks of the season. I know I'll be ready."

What's a Yhency Brazoban? Under other circumstances, the promotion of Brazoban from Triple-A would have made news, but it was lost in the shuffle of the deadline remodeling.

Nonetheless, it's been a meteoric progression for the 24-year-old Dominican right-hander acquired from the Yankees in the Kevin Brown trade. A former outfielder, this is only his second full professional season pitching. He began the season at Double-A, spent the past month at Triple-A, and now is a Major Leaguer.

"Yes, it's a surprise," said Brazoban, who had a 5.23 ERA last year. "But I'm happy. I'm ready. I'm not nervous. I thought I would be here next year, maybe not this year."

Brazoban was 6-2 with a 2.67 ERA and 13 saves at Double-A, then 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA and one save at Triple-A. Brazoban was promoted to take the bullpen spot of Tom Martin, who was traded to Atlanta.

Injury update: Hideo Nomo had his best bullpen session yet Sunday, was reported to be slightly ahead of schedule by Tracy, and will face hitters Wednesday.

Edwin Jackson reported considerable progress in a Saturday bullpen session. Jackson said he cut loose some fastballs and felt no ill effects from the strained forearm that put him on the disabled list.

Dodger Youth Camp: The Los Angeles Dodgers will host their inaugural Dodgers Youth Baseball Camp beginning Monday, Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Dodger Stadium. The camp is composed of two sessions with Session I held Aug. 2-6 and Session II held Aug. 16-20. The camp is open to boys and girls, ages 7-12. Each camp will feature daily instruction by the Dodgers' Major League coaching staff with special guest appearances by current and former Dodgers players.

Participating coaches include Jim Colborn, strength and conditioning coach Todd Clausen, bullpen catcher Rob Flippo, third base coach Glenn Hoffman, bullpen coach Jim Lett, coach Manny Mota, bench coach Jim Riggleman, first base coach John Shelby and hitting coach Tim Wallach. Former Dodgers Bobby Castillo, Tommy Davis, Steve Garvey, "Sweet" Lou Johnson, Rudy Law and Steve Yeager are also scheduled to participate as instructors.

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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