Pena Allows a Grand Slam; Dodgers Lose

This time, the Dodgers played it for real--sort of. Nearly all of the regulars returned to the lineup Friday night, and Bill Russell reluctantly relinquished managerial duties back to Tom Lasorda.

But it still turned out to be a night for experimenting for the Dodgers, which was a major reason they were 4-2 losers to the Cincinnati Reds before a crowd of 43,309 at Dodger Stadium.

After starter Fernando Valenzuela made what amounted to a cameo appearance with four shutout innings, and reliever Bobby Castillo pitched a scoreless fifth, Lasorda decided to test Alejandro Pena for only the second time this season.

Pena, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder two days before spring training began and is preparing for winter ball instead of the playoffs, gave up a grand slam to pinch-hitter Wayne Krenchicki in the sixth inning for the Reds’ only runs of the game.

Krenchicki’s home run wasn’t exactly a blast, fluttering just inside the right-field foul pole. But it was his first career grand slam and more than enough to do in the Dodgers.

But really, it was all the Reds needed. Starter John Stuper limited the Dodgers to one hit in six innings in his first start since mid-June. Only a Mike Marshall solo home run in the seventh off reliever Mike Smith and another run on a Stu Pederson sacrifice fly in the ninth prevented the Dodgers from being shut out for the second straight game.

Marshall, in fact, was almost the entire Dodger offense Friday night, getting two of the club’s three hits. Stuper had his no-hitter broken by Marshall’s fifth-inning single. Other than that, he shut down the Dodgers.

Not that it matters much, but the Dodgers have lost both games after clinching the National League West title. They might have pulled this one out, though, if Pena hadn’t allowed Krenchicki’s grand slam.

Lasorda could shrug off the loss and Pena’s less-than auspicious outing. What was most important to him, he said, was that Pena threw without pain.

“All I want him to do is pitch this winter without injuries,” Lasorda said. “That’s important to his career. He said (Friday night) he felt OK. So, I guess he didn’t have any pain. That he’s throwing without pain is a tremendous accomplishment.”

The last time Pena pitched was Sept. 13 at Cincinnati, when he threw 2 innings, allowing one unearned run. In two innings of work--37 pitches, in all--Friday, Pena allowed four runs on five hits and got the loss.

While the rest of the Dodger hitters took the night off, Marshall continued his torrid hitting. His seventh-inning home run was his 28th and his fourth in five games.

“I’m just getting in shape for the playoffs,” Marshall said. “I took one day off (Thursday), but it wasn’t enough to lose my edge. Tommy right now is leaving it up to the individual as to whether he wants to play.”

Although all the regulars except Mariano Duncan started, it seemed their minds and bats weren’t in it. The Dodgers are merely waiting for their opponent--probably St. Louis--to be determined.

“We’ll worry about their running,” Marshall said, when told that St. Louis had clinched a tie Friday night. “They have two or three pitchers that have been hot. In 1983 (playoff series against Philadelphia), we didn’t score enough runs. If we score runs, we’ll be hard to beat.”

Friday night didn’t serve as a tuneup, though.

Dodger Notes

Pete Rose said that Dave Parker, his right fielder, deserves to be the National League Most Valuable Player. “Parker’s been the most consistent and steady player in the league since day one,” the Cincinnati player-manger said. “I’ve played with a lot of great players in a lot of years. None has had as consistent a season as Parker. I don’t mean this as a knock on (Pedro) Guerrero, at all.” . . . Going into Friday’s games, Parker ranked fifth in the league in batting average (.310), fifth in home runs (32) and first in RBIs. Guerrero ranked second in average (.323), second in home runs (33) and out of the top 10 in RBIs with 87. “This is not a knock at Guerrero, but (Mike) Marshall has more RBIs,” Rose said. “L.A. played well without Guerrero. I don’t know what would happen if we didn’t have Parker in the lineup.” . . . Add Rose: He reacted coyly when the subject of Manager of the Year honors was brought up. “I don’t know who should win it; that’s for you guys (media) to decide. Yes, I’d like to win it. Any manager would like to win it. (Tom) Lasorda told me the last time we were here that if I’d just let him win the title, he’d let me have the Manager of the Year. I laughed.” . . . Speaking of player-managers, Dodger Bill Russell ended his tenure with an 0-1 record. When Lasorda passed Russell in the dugout before Friday’s game, he told him there was no way he’d let him assume command again. Russell’s response: “I didn’t win because the third-base coach (Lasorda) missed all the signs, and I didn’t get to make out my own lineup.” . . . Bob Welch (13-4) will pitch for the Dodgers against Ron Robinson (7-6) today at 1:05 p.m. The Dodgers still haven’t decided on a pitcher for Sunday’s season finale. Rookie Tom Browning (20-9) will pitch for the Reds.