Guerrero Comes Back With a Homer : Three-Run Blow Gives Welch His 7th in Row; Dodgers Win, 3-1

Pedro Guerrero stepped off an airplane and struck a blow for the late-sleepers of the world Friday night.

The timing of his return here may have been off by a day, but there was nothing out of synch with Guerrero’s swing, as he demonstrated with a monster three-run home run on his first turn at bat against the Cincinnati Reds before 44,935 fans at Dodger Stadium.

That first-inning homer, Guerrero’s fifth in six games and his league-leading 28th of the season, was all the Dodgers and Bob Welch needed in a 3-1 win over the Reds, restoring the Dodgers’ five-game advantage over Cincinnati in the National League West.

Without Guerrero, who had missed his flight back to Los Angeles on Thursday after oversleeping, the Dodgers had lost the night before, 6-5, in 13 innings. Even so, Guerrero said he couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about when he arrived here Friday.

“I think you guys (the media) are the only ones that made a big deal about this,” Guerrero said. “I know what happened. I don’t feel like it’s a big deal.”

Guerrero’s presence was a big deal to Welch (8-1), who won a career-high seventh straight game by limiting the Reds to Nick Esasky’s second-inning home run.

The Reds put eight runners on base in the first five innings against Welch, who said he didn’t start throwing his breaking pitch for strikes until later in the game. Two singles by Dave Parker were the only hits Welch allowed from the fifth on.

Welch, who retired the last seven Reds in succession, finished with an eight-hitter. One of the Reds’ hits was a first-inning single by Pete Rose, who is now 21 hits away from breaking Ty Cobb’s all-time record of 4,191.

But Welch chose to talk about another Pete--Guerrero.

“Pete has hit a lot of home runs for me, even when we played in Albuquerque,” Welch said. “He made some great defensive plays behind me tonight, too.”

Guerrero went to the track in left to flag down Buddy Bell’s drive with a man on in the third, and had four putouts in all.

But his bat, not his glove, was the story as usual. After singles by Mariano Duncan and Enos Cabell--one of three hits by Cabell Friday night--Guerrero looked at a strike from Red starter Tom Browning, then drove the next pitch more than 400 feet between the flagpoles in center field.

It was Guerrero’s fifth home run against Cincinnati and second in five days against the left-handed Browning, who gave up only four hits the rest of the way but took the loss, his ninth against nine wins.

“When I came to the park today, I asked him to take the day off,” Browning said, “but it didn’t work.”

Guerrero was docked a day’s pay--$7,716--for his absence. “I was disappointed until that ball sailed over the center-field wall,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said.

Someone asked Lasorda if he might pick up Guerrero’s tab.

“I ain’t that forgiving,” Lasorda said, laughing. “Missing $7,000 isn’t bad for him. He’ll pay that out of the kitty box.”

Guerrero, who flew in from New York this morning, said he was tired after the five-hour flight.

“I didn’t even go home and take a nap,” he said.

If he had, you can be sure the Dodgers would have placed one wakeup call at least.

To make sure he arrived in time for this one, Guerrero said he requested two wakeup calls Friday morning at his New York airport hotel, one at 8 a.m., the other at 9.

After arriving at the ballpark shortly after 3, Guerrero met with Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, and Al Campanis, vice president for player personnel. Campanis informed Guerrero of a directive he had received earlier in the day from National League President Chub Feeney, instructing clubs not to pay tardy players for games they had missed.

“I did not ask for an explanation,” Campanis said. “I told him, ‘Whatever happened is your business. You missed a flight, but we’re glad you’re here.’

“I regard Pete as a friend. I told him I respect him as a player and a man.

“This was not a disciplinary action. There was no punishment involved.”

Not every team was as forgiving toward its absent players. Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, for example, had said that he planned to show Rickey Henderson who was boss when Henderson failed to show up for the Yankees’ doubleheader with Cleveland Thursday night.

But no one has ever mistaken Steinbrenner’s bombast for Peter O’Malley’s conciliatory tones, and Friday would be no exception.

“I think Pedro expressed well how he felt badly about it,” O’Malley said of his Hancock Park neighbor. “These things happen.

“We could have used him last night.”

The Dodgers, in their usual fashion, staged an impromptu press conference for Guerrero before batting practice.

“What do you want me to say?” Guerrero asked publicist Steve Brener as he stepped up to the microphone.

After explaining that he was either in a “deep sleep” or never got his wakeup call on Thursday in the Dominican Republic, Guerrero issued an apology.

“It’s too bad I missed the game last night,” he said. “I want to apologize to my teammates, the organization and the fans.

“I feel sorry we lost the game last night. If I was here, it probably would have been different.”

Guerrero appeared to accept being docked a day’s pay.

“Al told me I wasn’t going to get paid for the day I missed,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”

Dodger Notes Dodger second baseman Steve Sax, on his bases-loaded error in Thursday’s 6-5, 13-inning loss to the Reds: “It was a real downer. I blew it, I blew the play. I’d like to forget that game.” Sax’s error came on a double-play grounder on which he attempted to tag base-runner Ron Oester instead of flipping the ball to second. “I wasn’t going to bare-hand it, but then I had to reach for him (Oester), and he knocked the ball out of my hand,” Sax said. . . . Earlier in the day, Sax had lunch with Pete Rose, who also appeared on Sax’s TV show (Channel 56) as a guest. . . . Rose said he decided to lay down his game-winning bunt in the 13th inning after Eddie Milner’s infield out moved Cesar Cedeno to third. “That opened the possibility,” Rose said. “I’ve had four or five bunt base-hits.” On whether it was a high-percentage play: “If you can bunt, it is. When they are two out and a runner on third, there aren’t a hell of a lot of high percentages going for you.” . . . Len Matuszek, struck by a Mario Soto fastball in Thursday night’s game, said he was OK despite suffering bruises on both arms. Matuszek had used his arms to shield his face. “I couldn’t move out of the way in time, that’s the only chance I had,” Matuszek said. “I knew it was going to hit me somewhere. The ball ricocheted off my right arm and then hit me in the left. I was lucky.” . . . The Dodgers have rescheduled the two games they lost to the strike in Atlanta. They’ll play the Braves Monday night, Sept. 9, on what was to have been a travel date, then will play a doubleheader against the Braves on Sept. 10. . . . Tonight is Hollywood Stars night. The celebrity game begins at 6:15, the regular game at 7:35 p.m.