Reds Wail as Dodgers Win in 9th : Duncan Scores Only Run on a Disputed Call by Wendelstedt

In a single moment of Dodger daring, an umpire’s judgment and Cincinnati fury, a scoreless tie was transformed into a maelstrom of epic baseball proportions in the Dodgers’ 1-0 win at Dodger Stadium Tuesday night.

The Cincinnati Reds twice came within split seconds of a double play that would have sent the game into extra innings. Instead, they first watched, then wailed in horror as plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt ruled that Mariano Duncan had slid under catcher Bo Diaz’s tag at the plate after Bill Madlock had beaten Ron Oester’s double-play relay at first, all on the same play.

Duncan was on second and Enos Cabell on first when Madlock hit a ground ball to Buddy Bell at third. Bell forced Cabell at second, but first-base umpire Terry Tata signalled Madlock safe at first.

Cincinnati first baseman Tony Perez looked at Tata for a moment, then saw Duncan being waved home by Dodger third-base coach Joe Amalfitano. Perez threw a strike to Diaz that arrived ahead of Duncan, who virtually threw himself at the plate, spikes high.

Wendelstedt spread his arms in the safe sign, which sent Diaz raging from the plate, jumping up and down and flinging the baseball to the ground.

From the mound, an even more enraged Red reliever, John Franco, charged Wendelstedt and, according to the umpire, bumped him before being restrained by teammates.

Franco was officially ejected from the game, Wendelstedt said.

At first, Franco refused to discuss the play.

“If you saw the truth, then print it,” he said.

As to whether he had bumped Wendelstedt, Franco said he didn’t want to talk about it.

Later, after finishing a plate of green beans, Franco was more expansive--and bitter.

“If that had been the first inning, they (Duncan and Madlock) would have both been out,” said Franco, who came up in the Dodger system before being traded to the Reds in 1983 for infielder Rafael Landestoy.

“I guess they (the umpires) must have had dates or something.”

Catcher Diaz refused a request from Red publicist Jim Ferguson to discuss the play, leaving unanswered the question of whether he had blocked the plate as thoroughly as he might have.

“One of the toughest calls I can remember in a long time,” said Red player-manager Pete Rose, whose team fell 10 games behind first-place Houston while the Dodgers remained 6 1/2 back.

“I told Harry, ‘I just can’t believe you called that runner safe.’

“It wasn’t a high throw. It was thigh-high--perfect. And Diaz was sitting on the plate. . . .

“I thought the man was out, but I’m in the dugout. But just from the reaction of my players and coaches on the scene, I have to believe the man was out. Obviously, Duncan didn’t slide away from the tag.”

Wendelstedt, his voice still reflecting the agitation he experienced while surrounded by the Reds’ players, Rose and coaches, came to the door of the umpires’ room to answer reporters’ questions.

“You want to call it?” he said, with a stab at humor.

“I thought the runner’s feet got there before the man (Diaz) got to him. He tagged him high.

“Franco bumped me, and he was ejected. What did he say to me? You wouldn’t be able to write it, anyway.”

The run made a winner of Tom Niedenfuer for the second straight night. Niedenfuer pitched one inning in relief of Rick Honeycutt, who shut out the Reds on four hits to run his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 16, his best back-to-back performances since his first two starts for the Dodgers in 1983.

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda gave much of the credit to third-base coach Amalfitano for sending Duncan home on the winning play.

The Dodgers had been shut out for seven innings on four hits by left-hander Chris Welsh, a one-time San Diego Padre who had bounced up and down from the minors since once incurring the wrath of then-Padre manager Dick Williams.

But Duncan opened the ninth with a single off Franco, who had seven saves in his last 11 appearances. Steve Sax sacrificed Duncan to second, and Cabell was walked intentionally in the first base on balls issued by either team.

Franco went 0-and-2 on Madlock, who then hit a two-hopper to Bell to start the double-play attempt.

“You did a hell of a job coaching, Joey,” Lasorda said to his third-base coach.

“I sent him and he made it,” Amalfitano said. “If he makes it, it’s a good play.

“I decided to do it when I kind of saw Oester throw the ball to first base. I decided to roll the dice. I figured if Mariano stays there, they might walk (Mike) Marshall and pitch to (Franklin) Stubbs.

“And we only had one right-handed hitter on the bench, Dave Anderson.”

Duncan said he was safe. “He tagged me right here,” he said, pointing at his left shoulder. “I think I was safe all the way.”

Rose gave grudging praise to the Dodgers.

“It was a strange play, but a hustling play on their part,” he said.

Initially, he also gave the benefit of the doubt to Wendelstedt, an umpire of 20 years’ experience.

“Harry’s a decent umpire, a real good umpire,” Rose said. “But I still can’t convince myself the runner was safe. I know it will go down as an ‘L’ but my pitcher and catcher aren’t going to react like that.”

Rose mentioned later how Wendelstedt hadn’t reacted angrily on the field. “He said, ‘Get this mob away from me so we can talk,’ ” Rose said.

Rose added one other thought.

“They (reporters) write bad about us in the paper when we do bad,” he said. “Maybe they ought to start following these guys (umpires).”

Dodger Notes Raider owner Al Davis was an on-field visitor during batting practice. When it was suggested that Davis might be there looking for a quarterback, Enos Cabell shook his head. “Ain’t nobody on this team can throw,” Cabell said. Davis chatted with several players, including Mariano Duncan. “I want to be a running back,” Duncan said, “just like Michael Allen.” Duncan, who has never played football, meant Marcus Allen, of course. . . . Jerry Reuss has been told that the Dodgers won’t need a fifth starter until June 22. Where does that leave him? “I don’t know,” Reuss said. “If I’m not starting and I’m still here, I guess I’m in the bullpen.” Manager Tom Lasorda said that Reuss is out of the rotation because of the two off-days that the Dodgers have between now and June 22. He said nothing about the fact that Reuss is winless in his last seven starts. Reuss, of course, is at the point where he wonders if it’s time to make some major adjustments, perhaps adding another pitch. “I don’t know if I’ve reached the point where it’s time to tear it down and start all over again,” said Reuss, who has been in an unsettled state ever since the trade rumors of spring training and wasn’t encouraged by Lasorda’s remarks after his loss on Saturday. After that game, Lasorda said: “I felt he should have pitched better than that.”