Advertisement

Reuss, Helpers Make One Run Do : Brock Gets First RBI of Season in 1-0 Win Over Pirates

Share
Times Staff Writer

Greg Brock drove in a run Friday night, which this season qualifies as news. That it was the Dodgers’ only run, well, if you’re surprised, then you haven’t been paying attention.

On this night, the run stood up. It stood up because of a brilliant pitching performance by Jerry Reuss. And it stood up because Steve Howe bailed out a very nervous Tom Lasorda, who had lifted Reuss one out shy of a shutout.

And it stood up because Pittsburgh isn’t hitting anyone these days. The Dodgers beat the Pirates, 1-0, before 48,681 at Dodger Stadium. San Diego had shut out Pittsburgh by the same score the day before.

Advertisement

“The way our pitchers are going, if we can get them one run, we have a chance to win,” said Brock, who, on May 10--mark the date--drove in his first run of the season.

In only his second game back from a multiple elbow injury, Brock punched a one-out single to right in the sixth inning against Rick Rhoden, scoring Mike Marshall with the game’s only run.

Reuss (2-3), meantime, was working on a four-hitter going into the ninth. With one out, he walked Bill Almon before getting Jim Morrison to pop up. But Lasorda wouldn’t let the left-hander face right-hander Bill Madlock, who had two of the Pirates’ four hits.

The fans booed Lasorda as he walked to the mound. They booed him as he left the mound. They booed him as Madlock bounced a single to center against reliever Tom Niedenfuer, putting runners on first and third. They booed him when he took Niedenfuer out and put in Howe.

Howe, facing pinch-hitter Johnny Ray, struck him out on a fastball on the inside corner.

“It’s getting there, and I’m happy to be here,” Howe said.

Reuss (2-3) was happy enough, but not as happy as he might have been. Of course, he didn’t want to come out.

“Tommy used to be a pitcher, and I’m sure he wouldn’t have wanted to come out in that situation either,” Reuss said. “But he’s the manager and he’s got to make the decisions. He can go to bed tonight with a clear conscience.”

Advertisement

Lasorda said he had decided as early as the seventh inning that Reuss would not face Madlock with a runner on.

“It wasn’t easy to take him out,” Lasorda said. “But Madlock hits him hard. I went back to the dugout and prayed.”

Madlock, who has won four batting titles, hits everyone hard. But this night was vintage Reuss, ground balls and pop-ups, the results he used to produce regularly before two operations limited him to a 5-7 record last season. He got 16 outs on ground balls and didn’t walk a batter until Almon.

Madlock doubled with two out in the first, and the Pirates didn’t get another runner until Tony Pena’s one-out single in the fifth. Double plays erased runners in the sixth and seventh, and Reuss was sailing along.

By the sixth, he even had a run to work with.

Mike Marshall singled to center to lead off the inning. An out later, Mike Scioscia worked Rhoden to a 3-2 count, and with Marshall running on the pitch, Scioscia hit the ball through the hole at second into right field.

Marshall was at third with one out when Brock stepped up. Earlier, the Dodgers had Marshall at third with one out when Scioscia stepped up. Scioscia had grounded to the pitcher, and that time, Marshall never got home.

Advertisement

This time, Brock singled to right, scoring Marshall, and although the Dodgers left two more runners on that inning, a run is a run.

For Brock, it was his fifth hit--all singles--in 32 at-bats. Brock has missed 20 games with sprains in not one, but two, elbows.

“I didn’t know what to think,” Brock said. “It’s frustrating coming to the park and not being able to swing a bat. This can be a nasty game. It can drive you crazy if you let it.”

The Dodgers, averaging under three runs a game, need RBIs from someone. They lead the league in leaving runners on base, averaging nearly eight a game. They left nine Friday.

The Pirates have problems of their own. Much bigger problems than scoring runs. The big news in Pittsburgh, of course, is the drug investigation centered there and said to involve players throughout the National League.

A federal grand jury is meeting in Pittsburgh, and rumors are more abundant than Pirate runners.

Advertisement

“It has to get to you,” said Madlock, the Pirate captain.

Perhaps the investigation has affected the Pirates, who have the worst record in the National League. They’re constantly being asked about drugs. Of course, there isn’t much to ask them about baseball.

The Pirates are 1-10 on the road this season, 0-3 on this trip. They have that classic baseball problem--inconsistent hitting and spotty pitching.

The Dodgers, on the other hand, have gotten consistently good pitching and consistently bad hitting.

On Friday, the trend held. But the Dodgers won anyway, their sixth shutout victory and their ninth victory in 16 one-run decisions.

Dodger Notes Steve Howe said he had no comment on Friday’s story in The Times saying he wanted a new contract with the Dodgers that would include incentives and deferred payments or that he would seek free agency He did tell a TV interviewer, however, that the headline--”Howe Wants New Contract or Free Agency”--was accurate but that the rest of the story wasn’t. . . . Tom (The Flamingo) Brennan has apparently lost his place in the Dodgers’ starting rotation. Scheduled to pitch Sunday, Brennan has been replaced by Bobby Castillo. Brennan, who had been starting in place of injured Bob Welch, was rocked in his last two appearances--4 runs on 11 hits in 5 innings May 7 as a starter and 5 runs on 4 hits without retiring a batter May 3 in relief. . . . Brennan, 32, who spent parts of 10 seasons in the minor leagues, made the Dodgers the day before the season began. Now, he must be worried about his place on the roster. When Welch returns, the Dodgers will probably send a pitcher down. . . . Orel Hershiser (3-0) will go for the Dodgers today at 1:05 against Jose DeLeon (0-5).

Advertisement