As a Starter, Castillo Proves He Is a Stopper; Dodgers Win, 2-0

Bobby Castillo’s first start since returning to the Dodgers was everything he could have hoped it would be. Coming off a serious shoulder injury, he shut out Pittsburgh Sunday for 6 innings in full view of his mom, his wife, his daughter and 40,924 fans at Dodger Stadium.

And, following the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory over the Pirates, Castillo (1-0) appeared on both postgame radio shows--English and Spanish versions--only to find about a dozen reporters waiting to talk to him.

“I haven’t seen this many guys since the last car I stole,” he said.

That’s the old Bobby Castillo, the one who loves to kid, even about himself. He’ll long be remembered by baseball people, but not necessarily for his pitching.

He is, of course, the answer to the trivia question: Who taught Fernando Valenzuela how to throw the screwball? That isn’t, by the way, his favorite subject.

But in Dodger circles, Castillo is at least as well remembered for driving his car into the railing of a bridge late one spring night in Vero Beach. He hurt his leg in the accident and hurt himself even more with the Dodger front office. He stuck around a couple more years, but he was never taken seriously.

Now, he’s back as a Dodger after three years in Minnesota, an old (30) married man looking to salvage his career. Signed as a free agent, Castillo is the Dodgers’ long reliever and spot starter. And just now, the Dodgers need a guy in that spot.

Pitching against the Pirates, of course, isn’t the greatest test, but Castillo, who still is recovering from the rotator cuff injury, was certainly up to it. He allowed only four hits, walking two and striking out six. After allowing a one-out double to Bill Almon in the seventh, a tiring Castillo gave way to reliever Tom Niedenfuer, who went the rest of the way.

“It was a laugher,” Castillo said.

For the Dodgers, a two-run victory is cause for some celebration, especially considering how they got the runs. Greg Brock drove in both, his second and third RBIs of the season. One came on a home run in the second, Brock’s first of the season.

But shutting out the Pirates isn’t exactly news; Pittsburgh has scored in only two of its last 41 innings. Both of those innings came on Saturday, and one of them accounted for three runs and a 12th-inning win over the Dodgers.

If the Dodgers could have done some hitting of their own, they might have swept this series. They won the game Friday night, 1-0.

Manager Tom Lasorda was so concerned that he called a pregame meeting for his hitters. Somebody wondered if anyone showed up.

“I just told them to relax, that they were trying too hard,” Lasorda said after the game.

“That isn’t what you said,” challenged a straight-faced Bill Russell. “And I was at the meeting.”

Whatever Lasorda said, it didn’t work.

Working against winless Lee Tunnell (0-4) and reliever Rod Scurry, the Dodgers managed all of six hits, three of them by rookie Mariano Duncan.

Brock’s RBI single against Scurry in the seventh inning, scoring Duncan from second, was a slow roller that barely made it up the middle and into the outfield. But, it counted. It was one more run than Castillo and Niedenfuer needed, anyway.

Castillo’s role is to play any role, and right now the Dodgers need a starter. With Alejandro Pena probably out for the season and Bobby Welch also on the disabled list, the Dodgers needed help. Castillo’s shoulder wasn’t strong enough, so they went to Tom (The Flamingo) Brennan, who wasn’t strong enough.

Last Friday, Castillo pitched three shutout innings against Chicago, striking out five, and the Dodgers were ready to see what he could do as a starter.

“I was nervous,” said Castillo, who was a starter for two years with the Twins. “It has been a long time. I tried to think of it as just like coming out of the bullpen.”

He wasn’t nervous afterward. In fact, he was in top form.

Looking back on the injury, a rotator cuff near the end of the 1983 season, Castillo said he was concerned about his career.

How concerned?

“I was looking in the yellow pages, trying to find a job,” he said.

He was in a cast for six weeks in the fall of 1983. The cast covered his body from his waist up to his shoulder and then down his right arm, with a bar from his waist to the elbow.

It forced him to learn how to use his left hand. He became, he said, a switch drinker.

He knew it would be a long way back, but he never dreamed the road back would lead to Los Angeles, his home town. The Dodgers had signed him out of the Mexican League in 1977. They traded him in 1982 and then last year picked him in the free-agent draft.

Most teams were afraid to take a chance on him, but the Dodgers signed him for a season, and at this point everyone seems happy.

The injury, and everything else that came before, is just so much water under the bridge.

Dodger Notes The Dodgers are off today. They resume play Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium in the first of a two-game set against the Chicago Cubs. Fernando Valenzuela (3-3) goes against ex-Dodger Rick Sutcliffe (4-3). . . . Injury report: Mike Marshall missed the game with a bruised foot. Dave Anderson said his back injury is improving. Bob Welch was unable to throw Sunday but hopes to throw Tuesday or Wednesday. . . . Pirates’ reliever Al Holland was taken to St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica with an ear infection and is expected to miss several days. . . . Catcher Tony Pena threw out Dodger rookie Mariano Duncan trying to steal in the first inning. Pena has now thrown out 16 of 30 would-be base stealers. . . . Castillo hadn’t pitched as many as 6 innings since 1983.