Ivan De Jesus Jr. gives Dodgers reason to believe in 6-5 loss Ivan De Jesus Jr. is something of the forgotten man with the Dodgers these days, though it was hardly always that way. He was one of their brightest prospects three years ago. A solid shortstop, rising quickly through the system, ranked the second or third top prospect in the organization by most publications. But then came a severely broken leg in spring training, and the wait has gone on ever since. Converted to second base, for the last two Septembers he failed to get a call up. Almost like they were trying to send him a message. Thursday, however, De Jesus flashed some of that previous potential in the Dodgers" 6-5 loss to the Royals at Camelback Ranch. De Jesus went three for three, drove in a pair of runs, scored once and played flawless defense. He'll turn 25 on May 1 and is entering his eighth season in the organization, so it's not like he's some young kid still. But he's young enough that the Dodgers are not about to give up on him. He hit .310 last season with an .820 on-base and slugging percentage. Still, it's not like the Dodgers have any immediate plans for him. During the off-season they signed Mark Ellis to play second and Adam Kennedy as a utility infielder. And right now, any major league future De Jesus has appears to be as a utility infielder. The player who has emerged as the Dodgers shortstop, Dee Gordon, got them started Thursday with another display of his are-you-kidding-me speed. He walked in the first, and with no one paying attention -- right-hander Danny Duffy looking down at the mound and the infielders asleep -- took off and stole second without Duffy throwing a pitch. "The shortstop walked that way [toward left field], the second baseman had his back turned and the pitcher had his head down, so I went," Gordon told reporters. Jerry Hairston Jr. singled Gorgon to third, at which point Gordon's speed seemed to rattle Duffy again. Duffy was called for a balk, enabling Gordon to score. Matt Kemp then singled Hairston home. After Lorenzo Cain hit a solo home run off Chad Billingsley in the top of the fourth, De Jesus led off the bottom of the inning with a single, and following a base hit by Matt Treanor, scored on a single by ... reliever Todd Coffey? It's true, the rotund Coffey -- who's never had a hit in his seven-year career -- kind of reached out and poked the ball into right. When he returned to the dugout, he received a standing ovation. Billingsley went 3 2/3 innings, giving up the one run on four hits and a pair of walks. The Dodgers got to Coffey for one run in the top of the fifth, but De Jesus singled in two runs in the bottom half for a 5-2 Dodgers lead. The Royals, however, scored four times in the seventh against Mike MacDougal and John Grabow, and added two more in the ninth off Alberto Castillo. Dodgers cut infielder Russ Mitchell, eight others