Fernando Wins One From Mets

It’s a tossup as to who has gotten in more trouble with the citizenry of Houston this summer--Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, with his “the Astros are only renting first place” remark, or the Mets, who had four players arrested outside a popular drinking spot there.

While the Met players await their dates in court, Lasorda remains undaunted. The Dodger manager chose the aftermath of Fernando Valenzuela’s 17th win of the season--a 7-4 decision over the Mets Sunday afternoon before 45,678 in Shea Stadium--to issue another proclamation that should be as popular in Houston as another drop in oil prices.

“I like Fernando’s chances of winning 20, and I also like his chances of winning the Cy Young award,” Lasorda said.

“If he doesn’t get the Cy Young, there should be an investigation.”

The only investigation Astro fans might want to launch concerns Lasorda’s sanity, memory, or both. They point to their own candidate, Houston right-hander Mike Scott, who has three fewer wins than Valenzuela but leads the league in earned-run average, innings pitched and strikeouts.

For that matter, Met fans might impolitely inquire as to whether Lasorda noticed that the Mets have two starters who are 15-4--Sid Fernandez and Bob Ojeda--and a reliever, Roger McDowell, who has 12 wins and 18 saves.

Lasorda, however, counters with what he considers the crux of the argument: Look who Valenzuela has had to pitch for.

“Fernando is pitching for a team that isn’t a fully manned ballclub and has lost its best players,” Lasorda said.

“That makes it a more difficult situation than what somebody else has been doing. And he’s been pitching with a lot of errors, too. That’s no secret.”

As usual Sunday, Valenzuela pitched through the errors, going the distance for a league-leading 16th time despite a yield of nine hits and a walk.

And for a change, the Dodgers scored some runs behind him--more runs, in fact, than they’ve scored since Aug. 6, when they put a seven on the board against the Astros.

Rookie Reggie Williams drove in three runs with a two-run homer and a single, Dave Anderson had three hits, two runs scored, and a stolen base, and Bill Madlock collected two RBIs with a sacrifice fly and a seventh-inning single that knocked out Met starter Ron Darling (12-5).

With their first win in six tries here, the Dodgers were able to leave New York with something other than their shopping bags from Bloomingdale’s. They also ended a nine-game losing streak against the Mets, who went 9-3 in the series between the teams.

“How many starts you got left, Freddie?” Madlock asked the Dodger left-hander after the game.

“No, no” Valenzuela said, shaking his head in protest.

Madlock pushed on, tongue planted in cheek.

“Six? And how many games do we have left? Thirty-two? We’re going to go six and twenty-six. I’m going to ask to play only when Freddie pitches.”

Valenzuela could have teased Madlock about the ground ball that went through the third baseman’s legs in the sixth, which prolonged a two-run Met rally that cut the Dodger lead to 5-3. He didn’t.

He could have said something about the way the Dodgers--who were expecting a bunt from Darling in the third--came undone when Darling swung away, with second baseman Steve Sax throwing the ball into left field. He didn’t.

He might have mentioned how right-fielder Williams overran Tim Teufel’s double during the sixth. He did, but not in the way you might have expected.

“I made a pitch too good for the hitter,” Valenzuela said. “The count was 0 and 2.

“But the guys behind me don’t ask me why I made a bad pitch.”

There’s probably a good reason for that: For every bad pitch Valenzuela makes, he comes back with a rally-killer, like the double-play ball he threw Teufel that took the Mets out of the third, or the double-play ball he threw Kevin Mitchell after going 3-and-0 on the Met rookie in the eighth with no outs and a runner on.

The Mets did get one final run off Valenzuela in the ninth, when catcher Ed Hearn homered into the Dodger bullpen.

Valenzuela’s reaction?

“Mark Cresse made a nice catch,” he said, complimenting the Dodger bullpen coach on his running grab.

Such nonchalance has been part of the Valenzuela persona, of course, as long as anyone can remember.

“He acts like he’s still pitching for an American Legion team,” catcher Mike Scioscia said.

And when did Valenzuela ever pitch for the American Legion?

“I don’t know what they call it there,” Scioscia said. “Let’s see, there’s the Babe Ruth League, maybe the Hector Espino League.

“All I know is, he’s not in awe of anyone. That’s Fernando.”

Dodger Notes

Outfielder Reggie Williams, who has had some inflammation in his right wrist, aggravated the condition when his hand banged into the wall during his futile pursuit of Tim Teufel’s sixth-inning double. “It hurts pretty good right now,” said Williams, who came out of the game for pinch-hitter Bill Russell in the eighth. . . . Len Matuszek, playing despite a strained hamstring, singled in the Dodgers’ first run. “It may blow out or it might hold up,” Matuszek said. “But I want the playing time. I can make it another day.” . . . Franklin Stubbs pulled back the thumbnail on his left hand while sliding in the sixth but remained in the game. Met pitchers have been especially tough on Stubbs, who singled and scored off Ron Darling in the fifth but had just 2 hits in 26 at-bats (.077) against New York this season. Lifetime, Stubbs is batting .137 (7 for 51) against the Mets. His single also was his only hit in 14 at-bats against Darling. . . . Dave Anderson’s first three-hit game of the season broke an 0 for 11 string. . . . Steve Sax, the Dodgers’ most consistent hitter, has one hit in his last 15 at-bats, which has dropped his average eight points to .314, the lowest it’s been since July 6. Sax knocked Darling over with a line drive in the seventh, but the Met pitcher held onto the ball.