Sax (4 for 4) and Hershiser Hit the Astros in 5-1 Dodger Victory

With Steve Sax at the wheel, the Dodgers played Avis to the Houston Astros, the No. 1 name in Rent-a-Divisions, Wednesday night before a crowd of 27,534 at Dodger Stadium.

Sax, bearing down on the league lead in hitting, went 4 for 4 in the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over Houston, the all-but-permanent occupants of first place in the National League West.

The Astros, who have won 22 games this season in their final at-bat, did some serious teasing again in the ninth as they loaded the bases against reliever Ken Howell on three singles.

But Howell retired Billy Hatcher on a foul pop-up and Billy Doran on a shallow fly to end the game.

The Astros, nine games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds, long ago lost the need to be inspired by a remark made by Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda--”The Astros are only renting first place.” But they found another way to be insulted by the Dodgers when Orel Hershiser knocked down Astro slugger Glenn Davis with a pitch after Davis had belted a long foul leading off the sixth inning.

Davis, with a still-fresh memory of Hershiser hitting him in the back on an 0-and-2 pitch last month at Houston during a game in which Hershiser did not walk a batter, took one step toward the mound and pointed his finger at Hershiser. He went no farther, however, and lined out on the next pitch.

“I’ve seen them (the Dodgers) do this before,” said Davis, who has 28 home runs but also has been hit nine times this season.

“(Hershiser) hit me square on the back when he was throwing good all night long.

“I know if I don’t say anything, they’ll keep doing it. I have to stand up and do something about it.”

Houston Manager Hal Lanier sees it that way, too, although Lanier seemed to be on the verge of doing something himself when he advanced to the top step of the dugout before turning back.

“He (Davis) is not afraid to go out there (to the mound),” Lanier said, “but he has to understand one of these times that he’s been hit so damn much that maybe somebody is throwing at him.”

Lanier said it was no coincidence that when it was time for Hershiser to bat again, he was lifted for a pinch-hitter.

“I think Mr. Lasorda knew what was going on or he wouldn’t have pinch-hit for him,” Lanier said.

The Dodgers said Hershiser came out because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, but that hardly swayed Lanier.

“He (Lasorda) knew what he was doing,” Lanier said.

Both Hershiser and Lasorda went to lengths to protest their innocence.

“I want people to know I don’t throw at people,” Hershiser said. “The frustration and intensity of the game gets you to do that. We pitch him inside. He dives into the pitch, anyway, a lot like Mike Marshall. . . .

“I saw him point at me. After that, I put my head down.”

Lasorda said: “Believe me, believe me when I tell you, there’s no way he threw at him. I guarantee you that. I don’t think Hal should look at it that way. We pitch him inside, and I’m sure he’s been hit a few times, but Hal’s got to understand that.”

Sax, meanwhile, was the hitter instead of the hittee. He singled in the first, doubled in the third, beat out an infield hit in the fifth and dropped a perfect bunt in the seventh for his second four-hit game in a week.

The four hits raised Sax’s average to .329, just four percentage points behind the league-leading .333 of Montreal’s Tim Raines. San Diego’s Tony Gwynn, the 1984 batting champion, is second at .331.

Sax, who had dropped as low as .312 during a 3-for-23 slump on the Dodgers’ last trip, is now batting higher than at any time since June 7, when he was hitting .330.

The Dodger second baseman, whose total of 177 hits is second in the league only to Gwynn’s 183, has to average a hit a game to become the first Dodger since Steve Garvey in 1980 to collect 200 hits in a season.

He also has a chance to be the first Dodger to lead the league in hitting since Tommy Davis won batting titles in 1962 and ’63.

Rookie center fielder Jose Gonzalez hit his first big-league home run, and Dave Anderson, batting behind Sax in the No. 2 spot, had three hits and two RBIs for the Dodgers, who had lost 9 of their previous 12 games to the Astros.

Hershiser had lost four of his last five decisions. But in six innings, he checked the Astros on five hits--including Ty Gainey’s first big league homer--for his first win since Aug. 13, raising his record to 13-11.

Dodger Notes Were Mao Tse-tung alive today, would he be wearing Dodger blue? No one will ever know, of course, but Friday in Tianjin, China, Dodger owner Peter O’Malley is scheduled to be present for the dedication of Dodgers’ Field, a new amateur baseball facility, sponsored by the Dodgers, that will become part of the Tianjin Physical and Cultural Institute. O’Malley, who has taken an avid part in promoting international baseball--he played a large role in bringing Olympic competition to Dodger Stadium in 1984--has carried on a relationship with the Chinese since 1980, sending instructors there as well as inviting Chinese teams to train with the Dodgers in Vero Beach.