Sax Has a Grand Game in 8-4 Dodger Victory

Steve Sax always has been good for a laugh.

Sometimes, his mirth-making is intentional--skillful impersonations of everyone from comedian Billy Crystal to Dodger Coach Monty Basgall.

Sometimes it’s unintentional--artless impersonations of a second baseman fielding and throwing a baseball.

But the Dodgers’ good-humor man extended Sax appeal to previously unseen levels Wednesday with the first grand slam of his major league career in the Dodgers’ 8-4 win over the Chicago Cubs before 15,844 fans at Wrigley Field.

Sax’s homer was his third in the last 25 at-bats this season, after two in 1,057 trips during the previous two seasons. It broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning and was hit just when it was beginning to seem as if the Cubs might enjoy a nice little chuckle at Tom Lasorda’s expense.

The Dodger manager orchestrated a pratfall the inning before by bringing in untested rookie Balvino Galvez to protect a 4-2 lead with runners on second and third and Ron Cey at the plate.

Lasorda had a choice between the 22-year-old Galvez, who is here only because Dennis Powell had elbow surgery, and Tom Niedenfuer, the purported ace of the Dodger bullpen but a recent victim of home runs.

Lasorda opted for the Dominican-born Galvez, whose big league debut lasted exactly two pitches.

Cey, who went into the game batting .150 with three runs batted in, looked at the first pitch, then lined Galvez’s next delivery into left field for a single, driving in two runs and saddling Dodger starter Rick Honeycutt with a no-decision.

Why Galvez?

“Well, No. 1, the lightning hit so fast that Niedenfuer wasn’t ready,” Lasorda said. “And No. 2, we got to find out what (Galvez) can do. I didn’t think (Cey) hit the ball that good.”

Galvez also warmed up in the fifth, but Niedenfuer told at least one teammate that he, too, was ready to pitch. Niedenfuer, who eventually entered the game and worked 1 innings of scoreless relief, didn’t stick around after the game to say whether he felt slighted that Lasorda went with a rookie in the sixth. Niedenfuer dressed and quickly left the clubhouse when reporters arrived.

Honeycutt, who shut out the Cubs last week in Los Angeles and allowed just five hits and one earned run in 5 innings Wednesday before being lifted, tried to be diplomatic about the Galvez issue.

“You have to ask (Lasorda),” Honeycutt said when asked about the strategy. “I guess you have to find out what Galvez can do, put him right in the fire.

“Fortunately, even though they tied it up, Buff (Niedenfuer) and Kenny (Howell, who finished) came in and did the job.”

Sax buried the issue for the time being the next inning, launching his home run into a wind that turned around in 24 hours and was blowing toward home plate.

Dave Anderson opened the seventh against Cub reliever Jay Baller by bouncing a double over Cey’s head. Mike Scioscia walked, and Mariano Duncan lined a single up the middle, loading the bases.

Sax, who singled in the first and drove in a run with an infield out in the fifth, picked Baller’s first pitch to try out his newest impression. Babe Ruth?

“I still find it hard to believe,” said Sax, who sent the pitch into the wire basket hanging above the ivy-covered wall in left.

“I told the dugout it might be another thousand and something at-bats before I hit another one.”

Especially if he takes Lasorda’s advice to heart.

“He told me to stop hitting the ball in the air anymore,” Sax said.

Enos Cabell, who hit one of five Dodger singles off Cub starter Steve Trout in a four-run fifth, wasn’t shocked by Sax’s recent muscle-popping.

“Sax is still young,” Cabell said. “He’s going to be a good hitter. He is a good hitter, but now he’s looking for his pitch and driving it. He’s a strong little guy.

“Sax doesn’t throw balls away like he used to. I think he was more worried about his fielding than his hitting.

“When you’re not playing good defense and people are on you all the time, you tend to get paranoid.

“But now, he’s playing the best ball I’ve ever seen him play. He’s even got his head in the game.”

Sax, who has led National League second basemen in errors in two of the last three seasons, has made just one error so far this season.And after the first five-RBI game of his career, he is hitting a team-leading .319.

Dodger Notes Dodger center fielder Reggie Williams, whose third-inning error led to a Cub run, was given special treatment by Wrigley Field’s famed bleacher bums. When Williams, who charged Ryne Sandberg’s single but had the ball skip under his glove, warmed up the following inning with left fielder Cesar Cedeno, the fans stood and cheered each time he caught the ball. “Reggie, you know you’re my friend and I love you, but I laughed so hard in the bullpen I was dying,” said Dodger reliever Ken Howell, who struck out four Cubs in the last two innings. “It was funny,” Williams said. “I was laughing myself. I didn’t let it affect my game. I smiled at ‘em a little and gave ‘em a tip of the cap. By the sixth and seventh inning, they were on my side, saying ‘Reggie, you’re all right.’ A lot of ‘em even waved goodby.” . . . With Bill Madlock due to come off the disabled list Saturday in Montreal, Williams is a leading candidate to be sent down to Albuquerque, even though he has played very well defensively, Wednesday’s error notwithstanding. “If I get sent down, it’s part of the game,” Williams said. “I just want to do the best I can to make it a tough decision for them.” . . . Tom Niedenfuer, who had refused comment after giving up a game-winning home run to Leon Durham Tuesday, addressed his performance before Wednesday’s game by saying: “I have too good stuff to be pitching this bad. They say you should come out to the ballpark every day with a new attitude, but this is getting tiresome. The fans realize, I realize and my teammates realize I’m not going very well, and I have to change it.” . . . Pitcher Alejandro Pena, making his second start as part of his rehabilitation assignment in Florida with the Vero Beach Dodgers, gave up six hits and three runs in three innings against the Class A Tampa Reds. Pena threw 61 pitches, and his velocity was in the upper 80s, according to Dodger officials. Pena is scheduled to pitch again Monday.