Dodger Start Goes From Bad to Worse, 8-1

A dark cloud hung over Dodger Stadium Thursday, even though it was a beautiful April afternoon and the stadium itself never looked better than on the day before its 25th anniversary.

But the Dodgers’ home opener against the San Francisco Giants could only be described as bleak. With the fallout from Al Campanis’ firing still being felt, the Dodgers had to endure an 8-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants, scattered boos from the sellout crowd of 46,289 and the additional bad news that third baseman Bill Madlock will undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery today.

And you thought it couldn’t get any worse after Wednesday’s developments . . .

The Dodgers are 0-4 after Thursday’s loss and, if the Giants beat them again tonight, the 0-5 start will equal the club’s worst in Los Angeles history. The Dodgers started 0-5 in 1970. Dodger fans were understandably subdued for most of the game, watching the Giants nail Dodger starter Bob Welch for 7 runs in 4 innings. But there were enough boos heard to make Manager Tom Lasorda voice his disappointment.

“I’d love to have some noise like I heard in Houston,” Lasorda said afterward. “I’d love to hear those fans show how much they are pulling for them.

“It’s a little unusual to hear booing on opening day. But they pay their money. It’s their prerogative.”

Based on the first four games of the season--and depending on how you view things--the Dodgers either need support or deserved the booing.

They certainly need healthy players.

Madlock, 36, bothered by soreness in his right--throwing--shoulder all spring, had to remove himself from Tuesday night’s game because of pain.

Thursday, results of a CAT scan and an arthrogram on the shoulder showed a “defect” in the cartilage, and Dr. Frank Jobe scheduled arthroscopic surgery for this morning at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood.

Trainer Bill Buhler said the condition is not serious, such as Alejandro Pena’s career-threatening shoulder surgery in 1985.

“Dr. Jobe said (Madlock) will be able to toss a ball in two weeks.”

Fred Claire, the Dodger vice president who took over Campanis’ duties Thursday, met with Lasorda late Thursday afternoon. They decided to put Madlock on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Wednesday and recalled outfielder Reggie Williams. That gives the Dodgers two extra outfielders and a good right-handed pinch-hitter.

Pedro Guerrero, who has tendinitis in his right knee, missed his fourth start in left field. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning Thursday but said afterward he is 90% certain he can play tonight.

The Dodgers need Guerrero--and much more. Although it is only four games into the 162-game season, the Dodgers say they are concerned.

Said catcher Mike Scioscia: “We’re obviously not off to a textbook start. Today, we’d be hard pressed to find anything good.”

That was evident four pitches into the game, when the Giants already had a 2-0 lead. Will Clark singled to right field on Welch’s first pitch. Chili Davis, the next batter, hit a 1-and-2 pitch over the fence in right center.

San Francisco’s other Davis, starting pitcher Mark, knocked in the third run with a double off the center-field wall with two out in the second. That made it 3-1, the Dodgers having scored in the first inning when Mike Ramsey came in on Mike Marshall’s sacrifice fly.

The Giants knocked Welch out of the game in the fifth by scoring four runs on five hits, including a two-run homer by Chris Brown, to make it 7-1. They added their final run in the sixth against Jerry Reuss.

Because of the injuries and a decision to keep 11 pitchers and only one spare outfielder, the Dodgers ran out of players late in the game. When Lasorda looked down the bench for a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, he had to call on pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who is a good hitter for a pitcher. That move received the most positive response heard from the crowd all day.

Valenzuela, who went 2 for 5 as a pinch-hitter last season, struck out against reliever Jim Gott to end the game.

“You saw who I had to put in there last,” Lasorda said when asked about the club’s bench problems. “I didn’t have anyone left. . . . (But) we’ll take care of that. We’ll straighten that out as soon as possible.”

The Giants, meanwhile, have rarely been in better shape. The victory improved their record to 4-0, their fastest start since 1974.

Mark Davis, who hadn’t won a game as a starter in his last 17 attempts, limited the Dodgers to one run and five hits through seven innings. The Dodgers managed four hits but no runs in the final two innings off relievers Greg Minton and Gott.

Welch was at a loss to explain his shaky pitching performance.

“I threw the ball decent one inning (the fourth),” he said. “The other 25 hitters, I stunk.”

Dodger Notes Unlike the 25 other major league teams, the Dodgers did not observe the 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier with a ceremony at second base. The Dodgers said that will be part of their tribute to Robinson Saturday. . . . The tendinitis in Pedro Guerrero’s right knee, which was aggravated by a bad reaction to an anti-inflammatory shot, still is bothering him too much to play. Dr. Frank Jobe said that it is unusual for soreness resulting from a bad reaction to last more than 72 hours. Guerrero had the injection Sunday afternoon. . . . NBC will show a 15-minute program on Robinson breaking the color barrier before Saturday’s nationally televised Dodger-Giant game. NBC taped its show on Robinson more than a week ago, and Al Campanis, deposed Dodger vice president, is in four segments. Michael Wiseman, executive producer of NBC Sports, said Thursday that three of the four Campanis segments have been edited out of the show so that news of the events of this week can be added. Tape of Campanis talking about Robinson still will appear. Wiseman also said that NBC has invited Campanis and Peter O’Malley to appear live on Saturday’s pregame show. The Dodgers said that O’Malley received the request Thursday and has yet to respond.. . . Tonight’s Dodger-Giant game at 7:05 will be televised locally on Channel 11. The Dodgers are televising it to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Dodger Stadium.