IT’S ONLY A GAME : But When Giants and Dodgers Play, It’s Usually All Out, Often Bitter

The Dodger-Giant rivalry, founded and perpetuated by an explosive combination of proximity and pugilism, always has been at its most noteworthy when the on-field actions match the angry reactions.

That was the case again Tuesday night when, in the notorious tradition of Juan Marichal, John Roseboro and others, the Giants and Dodgers fought it out in both the literal and figurative sense for 3 hours 58 minutes before the Dodgers won, 11-8, on Mike Marshall’s three-run home run in the 10th inning.

It’s always something when these teams play.

On an unseasonably warm night at Candlestick Park, with the players already tense because of six lead changes, Marshall turned out to be the instigator in the latest chapter of this storied rivalry.

Marshall, letting off steam after going 0 for 5, leaving nine men on base and enduring the indignity of the Giants walking Pedro Guerrero three times to pitch to him, pointedly pointed his finger at San Francisco Manager Roger Craig while rounding the bases.

So intent was Marshall on expressing his feelings, he almost missed touching home plate. After doing so, he reared his right arm back and waved his finger at Craig once more.

The game continued without incident for, oh, about 15 seconds. That was the time it took for Giant pitcher Scott Garrelts, reeling from his home run pitch to Marshall, to throw his first pitch to Alex Trevino. The ball sailed at the head of Trevino, who ducked out of the way.

But that pitch emptied the benches, and for five minutes, the teams circled in baseball’s tribal dance that passes for a brawl. No punches were thrown, though many tried.

Twice, Guerrero was ushered out of the pile by Dodger Coach Joe Amalfitano, but he broke free each time and jumped back in. Giant infielder Chris Brown did enough prancing and finger-pointing to make up for Marshall’s display.

Once that broke up, and the Dodgers headed for the dugout on the third-base side, the episode spilled over to the stands. Fans threw coins, paper cups and beer at the players, and catcher Mike Scioscia said someone threw a baseball at the players from the upper deck.

Police, some in full riot gear, arrested several fans. A few Dodger players and Charlie Strasser, the assistant trainer, climbed nearly into the stands to point out alleged offenders to security personnel.

The game finally resumed, and the Giants got out of the inning without giving up more runs. Dodger reliever Ken Howell struck out the side in the bottom of the 10th to give the Dodgers the win.

Then came the tough part--leaving the field.

Escorted by police and serenaded by boos, taunts and more paper cups, the Dodgers made it safely to the clubhouse.

Forgotten, somewhat, in all the controversy was the fact that Dodger first baseman Franklin Stubbs hit two home runs, giving him the National League lead with six, and that Giant Jeff Leonard also hit two home runs.

The 10th-inning incident was all anyone talked about.

Marshall made it a point, so to speak, to publicly apologize for his actions. But he also said the events leading up to his game-winning home run made those feelings fester.

“I regret my actions,” Marshall said Tuesday night. “Like I said, a lot of it was just the circumstances. I let out frustrations. Sometimes, your emotions just take you away.

“I think it was the combination of getting thrown at (Monday night, when Mark Davis hit him in the back with a pitch), Davis popping off to Scioscia (again on Monday) and having them walk Guerrero to pitch to me. They were saying they don’t have any confidence that I can beat them. . . . I didn’t mean to cause a riot and get Alex thrown at. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t done it.”

Marshall and Lasorda called Craig in the Giant clubhouse late Tuesday night and apologized. Marshall, who sat out Wednesday night’s game with a cold, said he received “only positive telegrams but only negative phone calls” in the wake of the incident.

“I’d like it to be forgotten,” Marshall said. “Probably once or twice in my whole life of playing sports have I reacted like that. Maybe in Little League, I threw a helmet over the dugout. . . . (Tuesday) I just snapped a little--a lot. It wasn’t premeditated.”

Still, Craig was incensed.

“That was bush league,” Craig said. “This is the big leagues. I don’t know where (Marshall) has been. The fans never would have done what they did if Marshall hadn’t done what he did.

“Any manager would have done what I did by walking Guerrero. Guerrero is one of the best hitters in baseball and he had a great night (3 for 3 with 3 walks, 2 intentional). I’ll do it 100 times.

“(Marshall) rants and raves like that; he knows where I am. He isn’t a pimple on Guerrero’s (backside) . . . as a hitter. Give him credit, he hit a homer and he beat us, but he doesn’t have to do all that bush crap.”

Lasorda apologized for Marshall, but he also threw out some criticism for the Giants’ apparent retaliation of throwing at Trevino as well as the fans’ violent reaction.

“Those things happen, but Roger doesn’t deserve something like that,” said Lasorda, his voice especially hoarse. “I don’t condone what Mike did. I don’t want my players doing that.

“But you saw what else happened. The (bleeping) fans. . . . If I lived in this city, I’d do something about those fans. It spoils going to the game. I can’t believe that fans would do things like that in America.”

Lasorda may not have liked it, but he had to expect immediate retaliation for Marshall’s action. It’s the traditional macho baseball code.

“Of course, I knew something was coming,” said Trevino, a former Giant. “I don’t want to comment about the Giants. (But) you knew this was going to happen, especially in a ball game like this. We came back, then they came back, then we came back.”

Garrelts would not comment when asked if he intentionally threw at Trevino. Told of Marshall’s apology, Garrelts said: “After the fact, big deal. . . . He’s been playing baseball long enough to know you don’t do that.”

It is a perverse kind of baseball etiquette that calls for a brush-back pitch after a blatant emotional display such as Marshall’s.

Of course, no one on the Giants would comment. But Lasorda was as upset about the brush-back pitch as he was about the fans’ unruly behavior.

“You saw what happened,” Lasorda said. “Did you see how they threw at Trevino’s head? What did (Trevino) do to them? Nothing.”

There were harbingers, according to Scioscia, as early as Monday night that the rivalry would heat up again.

Scioscia said that when Giant pitcher Mark Davis scored the game-winning run in Monday night’s 4-3 Giant win, he taunted the Dodgers with a string of insults too explicit to repeat. “He slid into home and he started talking,” Scioscia said. “The literal translation I can’t give you. But you don’t do something like that. You just make the play and go to the dugout. We didn’t retaliate or do anything after that.”

Then, there was an exchange of brush-back pitches Monday night. It was tame compared to Tuesday night.

“It’s natural that emotions would swell,” Scioscia said. “But there has to be some restraint on both the teams’ part and the fans’.

“You can hate each other, but you shouldn’t go over the limit. The fans went over the limit, and the teams did, too.”

So, what’s new. A Dodger-Giant series wouldn’t be the same if limits were set.

“I can’t remember when it hasn’t been like this,” said Craig, who pitched in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles. “This reminded me of some of those games at Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds. Both teams would not quit, and then there was (an incident).”

At least one veteran of the rivalry scoffed at the idea that Tuesday night’s episode ranked with the most heated and hated.

Don McMahon, a Dodger coach who pitched for the Giants several years back, said it was relatively tame.

“Naw, this doesn’t rank,” McMahon said. “There were no punches thrown.”

The funny thing about the rivalry in the 1980s is that a lot of the characters have switched sides. Craig and four of his five Giant coaches have ties to the Dodgers, and the Giants have several former Dodger players, including Candy Maldonado and Jeff Leonard. Likewise, Dodger coach Amalfitano is a former Giant player.

Even though he was still fuming a half-hour after the final out, Craig took time to pause and say, slyly: “It’s good for baseball.”