Dodgers Produce for Welch; Could It Be a Blessing? : 16-Hit Attack Routs Padres, 9-1; Marshall Homers Twice

Maybe it was the assistance of the priest whom Mickey Hatcher collared outside the Dodger clubhouse Sunday morning after an Easter Mass and persuaded to sprinkle holy water over the Dodger bats.

Or maybe it was just the cumulative fallout from all the times in recent years that the Dodgers have failed to produce enough runs for starter Bob Welch to win without thinking a shutout would be the only way.

Whatever the reason, the Dodgers put on a torrid offensive display and combined it with Welch’s solid pitching for a 9-1 shelling of the San Diego Padres Sunday afternoon before 16,430 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Before Sunday’s game, Welch’s teammates had scored only one run for him in 12 innings this season and averaged only 1.6 runs in Welch’s 13 losses last season.

All that changed on a sunny Easter afternoon as Dodger hitters produced 9 runs and 16 hits off three Padre pitchers. Three of those hits were home runs, Mike Marshall hitting two and Franklin Stubbs the other.

One of the things Marshall credited for the Dodger offensive explosion was Hatcher’s suggestion that the priest bless the Dodger bats.

Knowing Welch would be on the mound, and the offensive drought that usually coincides, perhaps something extraordinary was needed.

“After the service, I just asked the guy if he’d do it and he did,” Hatcher said. “It worked, didn’t it?”

Said Manager Tom Lasorda, shaking his head: “Hatcher is an unusual guy.”

The Dodgers took three of four games in a series that both angered and baffled rookie Manager Larry Bowa. Sunday, the Padres’ most lopsided loss of the young season, was even more maddening because it came after a closed-door, players-only meeting that was strongly suggested by Bowa on Saturday.

So, while the Padres (2-11) were sorting through the mess, the Dodgers (7-7) had a padre of their own helping them.

Welch, so sharp he retired 14 straight batters at one point, was ready to thank anyone responsible for the runs. The last time the Dodgers gave him this kind of support was last September when he beat Atlanta, 7-0.

Even though Welch didn’t have to pitch a shutout this time, he came close anyway. Two Padre hits, coupled with a bungled play by right fielder Ken Landreaux in the ninth inning, resulted in San Diego’s lone run.

But Dodger hitters, with bats properly blessed, sent shots all over the place. Among the more productive Dodgers:

--Marshall, who ended a noticeable home-run drought by hitting home runs in both the seventh and the eighth innings.

Marshall’s first home run, off reliever Dave Dravecky’s first pitch, was a three-run shot to dead center field that carried an estimated 450 feet. The second was merely a two-run home run to left-center off Greg Booker. For the day, Marshall went 3 for 4 and had 5 RBIs.

“I was as surprised as anyone when that first one went out,” said Marshall, who had a pregame meeting with Lasorda to talk about his lack of production.

--Stubbs, who capped a prosperous series against the Padres with a solo home run in the second inning and a two-run single in the sixth, both coming off starter Ed Wojna.

It was Stubbs’ fourth home run of the season, tying him for the team lead with Pedro Guerrero, and third of the series. He hit solo home runs in Thursday and Friday’s games.

--Guerrero, who racked up two more hits and scored two runs.

After missing the first four games of the season with tendinitis in his right knee, Guerrero has improved his average to .302. He leads the club with 13 RBIs. All told, every Dodger regular except Steve Sax and Welch had at least two hits. And Welch helped himself with an RBI single in the seventh inning. Sax went 0 for 6 and saw his average drop to .200.

Could it be that the holy water missed Sax’s bat in the rack?

“The Lord moves in mysterious ways,” Hatcher quipped.

Said Lasorda: “He’ll be all right. I’m not worried about Saxy.”

As long as someone on the Dodgers is hitting, an occasional slump seems allowable.

“That’s the kind of game I like,” Guerrero said. “The kind when everybody hits. I can’t do it every day. Same with Marshall, Stubby and (Mike) Scioscia.”

Welch had to leave the game with none out in the ninth, one run in and a runner on second base. He caught a spike on the rubber and felt some discomfort in the back of his left leg. Lasorda thought it best to bring in reliever Tom Niedenfuer, who retired the three batters he faced.

“All I can do is go out there and pitch,” Welch said. “I can’t go out there and say, ‘Oh my God, they aren’t going to score any runs for me.’ We’ve got a good offensive ball club. It’s good for everyone to get going.”

Asked what the best stuff he had going for him Sunday, Welch smiled and said: “Our bats. That’s what really worked best.”

Dodger Notes

Mariano Duncan was hit on the left elbow by an Ed Wojna pitch in the first inning but continued to play. Duncan came out of the game in the eighth inning for precautionary reasons. The soreness didn’t affect Duncan’s hitting. He had a double, an infield single and was robbed of a home run by Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn in the fifth inning. . . . Manager Tom Lasorda said he didn’t think of asking Fernando Valenzuela to pitch on three days rest. Orel Hershiser got the call when it was learned that Alejandro Pena would miss his start tonight in San Francisco because of the chicken pox. Lasorda is concerned that, after pitching more than 260 innings in each of the last three seasons, Valenzuela’s arm is tiring. “I’ve asked him 80 times how his arm is, and he’s said fine,” Lasorda said. “I don’t think he’d ever say if it was sore. I’m not going to make him pitch on three days rest. He’s pitched too many innings (over the years). Hershiser can do that (pitch on three days rest) well.” Hershiser said he volunteered “because there was a need. It doesn’t bother me. (In the past), I’ve done pretty well on three days rest.” . . . John Kruk was back in left field for the Padres Sunday afternoon even though on Saturday he badly misplayed a Steve Sax line drive that resulted in the Dodgers’ first run. Manager Larry Bowa eventually pulled Kruk, who had two hits, for a defensive replacement. Said Bowa Sunday: “I don’t think he’ll ever be a great outfielder, but he’s trying. That’s all you can ask. You can’t blame the guy.” Bowa said Kruk eventually might be the club’s first baseman. “Maybe long range, he’ll be our guy,” Bowa said. . . . Bowa on current Padre first baseman Steve Garvey, who was benched on Saturday but was back in the lineup on Sunday: “It was a day game after a night game yesterday,” Bowa said, explaining Garvey’s absence. “Maybe right now, Steve doesn’t agree with it. But in August and September, I think you’ll see him a lot fresher.” . . . The Dodgers left San Diego Sunday night on a commercial flight to San Francisco. Bill DeLury, the club’s traveling secretary, said that what the Dodgers saved by flying commercial was “in the five-figure range.” The Dodgers used to have their own airplane. After selling that, they always have flown charter flights. They will make five trips on commercial flights this season to save money.