Sax Reaches 200 Hits, but Win Goes to Giants

Dodger second baseman Steve Sax continued his late-season batting surge, but most of the celebrating at Candlestick Park Saturday was done by the San Francisco Giants.

Although Sax had three hits for his first 200-hit season and extended his hitting streak to 25 games, best in the majors this season, the achievement was dampened when the Giants beat 20-game winner Fernando Valenzuela, 8-3.

A 12-hit attack helped left-hander Vida Blue (10-10) score his first victory since Aug. 12. Right-hander Jeff Robinson worked the final four innings for his eighth save.

Valenzuela (20-11) was roughed up for eight runs, nine hits and four walks in five innings while dropping to 5-10 in his career at Candlestick and to 9-12 overall against the Giants.

Sax’s two singles, a double and a walk lifted his average to .330. He is batting .406 during the streak, which is the longest by a Dodger since Willie Davis hit in 25 straight in 1971. Montreal’s Tim Raines leads the National League in batting at .337 while San Diego’s Tony Gwynn is hitting .330.

Bob Melvin hit a homer, his fourth of the season, to break a 2-2 tie in the second inning for San Francisco. The Giants increased their lead to 4-2 in the third on Joel Youngblood’s RBI double and then added four runs in the fifth, two on Chili Davis’ pinch home run. It was the Giants’ 10th pinch homer this season, tops in the majors.

The Dodger runs came on Pedro Guerrero’s leadoff homer, his third of the season, and Jose Gonzalez’s run-scoring double in the second, and Ralph Bryant’s homer in the seventh.