Dodgers Waste Little Time in Driving Cubs from Their Den, 11-4

For the second straight night, the Dodgers made it tough on latecomers to Dodger Stadium, not to mention also-rans in the National League East.

Parking-lot congestion was still at peak level Thursday when the Dodgers cleared out the Chicago Cubs, scoring five runs in the first inning en route to an 11-4 win before a crowd of 34,656.

The Dodgers, who pounced on Cardinal rookie Greg Mathews for four first-inning runs Wednesday, pounded out 11 hits against Moyer, Gumpert, Frazier and Hoffman.

That may sound like a Chicago law firm, but that’s what’s passing for a pitching staff these days for the Cubs, who are 13 games under .500 and 22 games behind the Mets.

Nine different Dodgers had RBIs as the team matched season highs for runs scored in a game and an inning. They didn’t hit any home runs--the Dodgers have hit just one in their last 14 games--but they had six doubles, giving them 11 in two nights.

First on the firing line was Jamie Moyer, a left-handed rookie who came into the game with an 8.04 ERA and had the distinction of starting the Cubs’ 19-1 loss to the Phillies on June 23, the most one-sided game in the big leagues this season.

Moyer lasted two-thirds of an inning, by which time Orel Hershiser had a five-run lead with which to work.

Moyer’s successors, Dave Gumpert, George Frazier and Guy Hoffman, fared no better than he had.

Hershiser retired the first nine batters he faced but was unable to close out the Cubs himself, coming out after giving up Gary Matthews’ eighth home run and an RBI single to Chris Speier.

But Carlos Diaz and Tom Niedenfuer--who now has been unscored upon in his last seven outings--finished off the Cubs, who in two years have gone from division champions to an aging team with few prospects of improvement in the immediate future.

The Cubs have changed managers--Gene Michael replacing Jim Frey--but little else. Instead of lights in Wrigley Field, fans may soon be asking for a shroud.

Rookie Reggie Williams had three hits, scored twice, drove in a run and stole a base to lead the Dodger attack. Williams, with seven hits in his last 13 at-bats, raised his average to .320, matching his season high.

Bill Russell double and singled, and Ken Landreaux, Enos Cabell and Alex Trevino all doubled, Trevino driving in two runs with his pinch hit in the seventh.

Dodger Notes Fernando Valenzuela, as expected, was named to the National League All-Star team, and Dodger officials also were booking passage to Houston for second baseman Steve Sax, who will be officially added as a reserve today. Sax finished second in the voting behind Ryne Sandberg of the Cubs, although he was batting 45 points higher than Sandberg (.321 to .276) entering Thursday’s game. . . . Mike Marshall, who has missed eight of the last 11 games, is going back to the doctor’s office today for more tests to determine the cause of his lower back pain. “Nothing new I can tell you,” said Marshall, who will see Dr. Robert Watkins today. . . . Pedro Guerrero ran the bases with no apparent difficulty before the game. . . . Cubs catcher Jody Davis had thrown out five straight runners attempting to steal and six out of seven until Reggie Williams stole third with two out in the third Thursday. Davis had thrown out 48 of 98 runners, two more than he had caught all of last season. . . . Davey Lopes, who turned 40 on May 3, singled to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Lopes was batting .365 in his last 30 starts, with 5 home runs, 25 runs scored, 12 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases in that stretch. Cubs Manager Gene Michael said Lopes has been the team’s best player. “I didn’t know how long I could play,” Lopes said. “I fooled a few people, maybe myself, too, a little bit. I can’t go all out, I pick my spots more. My whole game is predicated on speed, so I take a pounding, my legs take a pounding. And you can only take so much pounding. That’s why the Cubs use me three, four, five times a week, and give me days off. That keeps me strong.” Lopes, playing on a one-year contract, said he’d like to play one more year, preferably with the Cubs. But with the Cubs out of the Eastern Division race, Lopes anticipates going to a contender later in the season, just as he went from Oakland to the Cubs for the last month of the 1984 season. “I’ve already heard rumors,” Lopes said. “I don’t like to think about it, but it’s a tangible fact, I guess. If I can’t play (in Chicago), I’d like to go play somewhere close to home.” For Lopes, who was a Dodger through the 1981 season, home is Pacific Palisades. . . . On Thursday, Lopes started at third base, previously the province of Ron Cey, another ex-Dodger who lost his starting job in spring training. Cey has made 29 starts since May 7 and is batting .336 with 5 homers and 17 RBIs. Overall, he has 13 doubles, more than any Dodger except for Sax, who has 21. Lopes left the game in the fifth inning with a slight strain of his right elbow. . . . Tonight’s game will start at 5:20 because NBC is televising it nationally. Sunday’s game will start at 2:05 because of the Equitable old-timers’ game preceding it. The 1963 and 1965 Dodgers will play in the old-timers game.