No Offense, but Dodgers Have No Offense : Phillies Score 4-0 Win; Hershiser Loser as L.A. Falls Into Cellar

The Dodgers could have used Captain Midnight--or another few hours of rain--Friday night.

But the skies finally cleared, after 2 hours 14 minutes of rain-induced delay, and pitcher Orel Hershiser wasn’t wearing his decoder ring at 11:51 p.m. EDT, when Gary Redus of the Phillies broke a scoreless tie in the seventh with a two-run, opposite-field single.

Von Hayes added a home run off reliever Joe Beckwith in the eighth, Juan Samuel stole his way around the bases for a fourth run, and Phillie pitchers Don Carman and Steve Bedrosian combined to shut out the Dodgers on six hits, 4-0, before what was left of a crowd of 15,245.

It took them 4 hours 48 minutes to do it, but the Dodgers tumbled back into the National League West cellar for the first time since July 26. With 27 games left to be played, they’re tied for last place with San Diego, 13 1/2 games behind Houston.

That’s a position Manager Tom Lasorda has never found himself in at the end of a year--not at Pocatello, Ogden, Spokane, Albuquerque or Los Angeles.

“It’s not that we want to avoid finishing last,” Lasorda said. “I want us to finish second. If we can’t win it, then I want to finish second.”

Hershiser, an incredible finisher last season, when he went 11-0 after the All-Star break en route to a 19-3 record, is almost at the end of his rope this season. He lost for the fourth time in his last five decisions, and for the sixth time the Dodgers were shut out while he was on the mound.

Hershiser had held the Phillies scoreless on four hits until the seventh, when Samuel drew a walk to open the inning. John Russell then lined a shot off Hershiser’s leg, the ball carrying to third baseman Bill Madlock, who threw out Russell.

Hershiser walked pinch-hitter Greg Gross intentionally, and the runners moved up on an infield out. That brought up Redus, who came to the plate 0 for 3, with two strikeouts. This time, the Phillie leadoff man stroked a low pitch into right field for the only runs the Phillies would need.

“I can’t do anything about us not scoring runs,” said Hershiser, now 12-11. “ . . . And I can’t chalk up all my losses to us not scoring runs.

“Eleven losses, they’re not all because of my teammates. They can be chalked up to me.

“I’m the one who had the ball in my hand. I could have gotten Redus out. It was only me pitching. But he made a good swing, and hit a good pitch.”

As usual, the Dodgers squandered their scoring chances. Steve Sax had three hits but was thrown out while trying to steal on a hit-and-run play after his leadoff single in the first, then was picked off after his one-out single in the third.

In the second, Bill Madlock’s double and Larry See’s first big league hit put runners on first and third with none out, but Carman retired Mike Scioscia on a fly ball to shallow left, then struck out rookies Jose Gonzalez and Reggie Williams.

Madlock doubled again to start the seventh but advanced no farther on three fly balls.

“You stay around this long, you want to win the game,” Hershiser said solemnly. “It was almost like an extra-inning game. . . . But it seems time has caught up with us. We just can’t compete--contend--right now.”

Dodger Notes Steve Sax’s singles in his first two at-bats gave him six straight hits, including four Wednesday night in Montreal. He grounded to shortstop in his next at-bat but then doubled, raising his average to .320. . . . Rookie Brian Holton, 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA in five relief appearances, will get his first big league start here Sunday, replacing Alejandro Pena in the rotation. . . . In his first start in the majors, first baseman Larry See had one hit in three trips, singling to right on his first at-bat. . . . Reliever Joe Beckwith gave up a home run to Von Hayes on his first pitch after entering in the eighth, the fifth home run he has allowed in 11 innings. . . . After Sax threw wildly to first on an attemped double play that would have ended the eighth, Juan Samuel scored by stealing second, stealing third and coming home on catcher Mike Scioscia’s throwing error.