Dodgers Lose It in Ninth, 7-6 : Niedenfuer Gives Up the Game-Winning Homer to Durham

It may simply be bad timing. Or perhaps, as the mystics in double-knits might say, it’s bad karma.

Whatever the reason, Tom Niedenfuer is starting to earn a reputation that is as undesirable for a relief pitcher as being caught in a lie is for a politician: He gives up home runs.

The gossip that began when a certain J. Clark was seen taking Niedenfuer downtown with disastrous results last October increased in volume here in Wrigley Field Tuesday afternoon. Leon Durham hit Niedenfuer’s third pitch into the right-field bleachers in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Cubs a 7-6 win over the Dodgers before a crowd of 15,937.

Niedenfuer, who gave up just six home runs in 64 appearances last season, has now allowed three in 15 innings in 1986. The first two were hit by Rafael Ramirez and Omar Moreno of the Atlanta Braves on the first pitch that Niedenfuer threw upon entering a game.

Throw in the ninth-inning homers he gave up to Dave Parker on the last day of last season and to Ozzie Smith and to Clark in the playoffs, and it’s understandable why Niedenfuer stands as a man accused, fairly or not.

“I have nothing to say today,” said Niedenfuer, dressing quickly after the Dodgers’ second straight loss on the heels of a seven-game winning streak.

He could have said that he wasn’t the only one who gave up a home run Tuesday. With a 21-m.p.h. wind threatening to turn every pop-up into a souvenir for Wrigley’s bleacher bums, there were four home runs by the Cubs and three by the Dodges.

One wind-aided fly in the fifth inning turned into a three-run homer for Dodger pitcher Bob Welch, his first hit of the season. When Mariano Duncan followed with a drive into the right-center-field bleachers, the Dodgers led, 5-2.

But in the bottom of the inning, the Cubs scored twice, once on Shawon Dunston’s home run and again on Duncan’s 10th error of the season, then in the seventh took a 6-5 lead on Keith Moreland’s two-run homer.

“I’ve never hit a three-run homer, so it’s not a matter of wasting it,” Welch said. “The disappointing part is to have a lead like that and give it up.

“I didn’t have good rhythm, but I had good stuff. A couple of times I made good pitches to get out of jams, but I threw three too many fat pitches and they hit ‘em over the fence.”

Steve Sax, who had homered in the first off Cub starter Guy Hoffman, doubled in the eighth off reliever Jay Baller and scored on Mike Marshall’s single, tying the score.

And after Dodger reliever Ken Howell struck out Moreland with the bases loaded in the eighth, the Dodgers had a chance to win it in the ninth when Cub reliever Lee Smith, just off the disabled list, threw eight straight balls to Mike Scioscia and Dave Anderson.

But Bill Russell, sent up to bunt by Manager Tom Lasorda, popped out, and Smith retired Duncan on a fly ball and Sax on strikes.

“Everybody will think we lost that game on home runs,” Lasorda said. “But not executing fundamentals (Russell’s bunt) is the real reason we lost.”

The way the Cubs tell it, it was inevitable that the Dodgers would lose, making Niedenfuer almost incidental to the outcome.

Durham, the first batter in the Cub ninth, was playing for the first time in a week.

He had recently been home to Cincinnati for the funeral of his half-brother, Nathaniel Cook, who had been found dead in an automobile under circumstances that have not been fully explained. Cause of death was listed as carbon monoxide poisoning, but Durham said he did not believe that his half-brother had committed suicide.

Durham said that his family was very much on his mind as he approached the plate in the ninth. He also turned and spoke to Jody Davis, the on-deck hitter.

“I told him not to bother to pick up a bat,” Durham said. “I’ve never done that before.”

Durham took the first pitch for a ball, then skipped out of the way of the second. The third, a high fastball out over the plate, Durham transformed into a low line drive that would have cleared the ivy-covered wall even if the wind had suddenly reversed direction.

“Sometimes things like that are just meant to be,” Davis said.

Sometimes, Lasorda said, thinking of the effect of Durham’s home run on Niedenfuer, things like that make the outcome of a game less important than it might otherwise be.

“Nobody feels any worse than him right now,” Lasorda said. “As manager, it’s easy to be upset because we lost the ballgame.

“But I’ve got to talk to him, to build up his confidence. We need him in the right frame of mind.”

Then, as if to illustrate his point, Lasorda walked over to Niedenfuer’s clubhouse cubicle. But his timing was no better than that of reporters who had approached the Dodger reliever. Obviously inconsolable, Niedenfuer left after an exchange of just a few words.

“The thing about this game, he’ll be right back tomorrow and back in the game,” Welch said. “He’ll have a lot of opportunities to pitch again.

“A tie game, in those situations, if you don’t do well right off the bat, you start to think, ‘Oh my God, I’m in for a long, long year.’

“But he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

If not, an exorcist might be in order.

Dodger Notes

Pitching coach Ron Perranoski, on the problems of Tom Niedenfuer, now 0-2 with an earned-run average of 4.11: “He’s very emotional, and I’m sure he’s not pleased with the way he’s producing. But there’s no question about the type of pitcher he is, and what kind of pitcher he is for this ballclub. He’s throwing the ball good.” . . . Pedro Guerrero, wearing a hinged brace on his left knee, is traveling with the team. One of his brothers is accompanying him. . . . Steve Sax, after hitting a few balls out during batting practice: “Do you know how many home runs I could hit if I played here?” How many, someone asked. “Sixty,” Sax said. “Well, ten.” Sax already has two homers, one more than he hit all of last season, and has just three fewer doubles, five, than he hit in 1985.

Dave Anderson, who had a bloop double Tuesday, now has hit in seven straight games--8 for 21, a .364 clip--while filling in at third for Bill Madlock. Madlock will be eligible to come off the disabled list Friday. . . . Bob Welch’s home run was the second of his career. He hit one off Cincinnati’s Mario Soto on July 17, 1983. . . . Ryne Sandberg of the Cubs, who had three hits, now has hit in 10 straight games--17 for 42, .405. . . . Ron Cey, who left five men on base while going hitless in four trips and striking out twice, is down to .150. . . . Bill Russell, on his unsuccessful bunt attempt: “You like to bunt a better pitch than that. It was buntable, but (Lee Smith) throws hard and the ball tails off. I just didn’t get my bat over the ball and hit it down.” . . . Today’s pitchers: Rick Honeycutt (1-2) vs. Steve Trout (1-0).