Dodgers Win by a Neck, 4-2 : Hershiser Irons Out the Kinks and Beats Padres

By the bottom of the first inning Saturday night, the drought-stricken San Diego Padres already had reached their quota of runs--two--so the Dodgers knew right then what it would take to beat the worst the National League West has to offer.

With Orel Hershiser’s near flawless pitching in the final eight innings making sure the Padres stopped at that number, Dodger hitters spent the rest of the night trying to scare up enough runs to win off San Diego starter Storm Davis.

Methodically and a bit sluggishly, the Dodgers found ways to score three runs off Davis through six innings and another off reliever Craig Lefferts in the ninth for a 4-2 victory before a Dodger Stadium crowd of 48,687.

As for Hershiser (2-2), it took about 90 minutes worth of treatment before the game to work out the knots and tightness in his neck. As late as a half-hour before the first pitch, Hershiser wasn’t sure he could throw without pain, so Manager Tom Lasorda had Rick Honeycutt warming up in the bullpen.

Hershiser, who threw a five-hitter and struck out eight, seemingly went through a tougher workout before reaching the mound.

“After an hour and a half of treatment by you guys,” Hershiser told the Dodger training staff afterward, “I can beat anybody. . . . They had me in traction. I was on the stimulator, had hot packs attached. Now, I’ve got all this ice. I feel like (Pedro) Guerrero.”

Maybe a reason why Hershiser didn’t want to miss this start was that the impotent Padres were the opponent. It may be as close to a night off as a starting pitcher can find.

Indeed, after yielding two runs in the first inning on two infield singles followed by Marvell Wynne’s two-run single to left, Hershiser became a pain in the neck to Padre hitters.

Until Wynne reached first base on an infield single in the ninth, San Diego did not get a hit after the third inning.

The frustration of a non-productive offense and the inevitability of the club’s 15th loss in 19 games had to fester inside Padre Manager Larry Bowa all night, because he unleashed another scathing attack on his players afterward.

Bowa’s attack was certainly more explosive than anything his players did after the first inning.

“We have people who are scared to swing bats,” said Bowa, screaming. “They are looking for walks. Until they get past this part, they are going to fail.

“We get two runs and we think we can coast. We’ve got too many people playing for themselves. People who worry about themselves are losers. These guys don’t know how to win.”

Lately, however, the Dodgers don’t know how to lose. Saturday’s win was their fourth straight and their 11th in the last 14 games.

What was particularly pleasing to the Dodgers, even if it irked Bowa, was that they were able to win on a night when they really didn’t have it offensively.

With Mike Marshall and Mike Scioscia igniting rallies in the fourth and sixth innings with two singles each, the Dodgers were able to get to Davis (0-3). Franklin Stubbs didn’t hit any home runs, but he had a run-scoring single in the sixth and had a bunt single that scored Pedro Guerrero in the eighth.

About the only complaint the Dodgers had on this night was that someone forgot to leave food in the clubhouse afterward. Yeah, Saturday was a real struggle.

“We were kind of dead tonight,” said Scioscia, who is hitting .348. “We weren’t saying that all we had to do was score two runs, but we did seem sluggish. But that’s a good sign that we can win even when we play like that.”

Hershiser, who has never missed a major league start because of an injury, wasn’t shaken by the Padres’ surprising two-run first inning. He didn’t blame what happened on his neck, either.

“I just woke up this morning with a stiff neck,” he said. “It got worse when I got to the park. But things went well, and I felt all right out there. I went out about 25 minutes before the game and threw some warmups pitches so that (Honeycutt) would know whether he was going to pitch.

“That first inning wasn’t because of my neck or anything. I could have easily been out of the inning if those two infield hits got to people. Or they could have scored more runs if those hits got through.”

After the first inning, Hershiser received only token resistance en route to his second complete-game victory.

At one point in the middle innings, Hershiser retired 6 Padre batters in a row and 10 of 11.

But in the first inning, at least, the usually weak-hitting Padres looked like an offensive machine.

With two out and Tony Gwynn on first base, Hershiser gave up a single to Carmelo Martinez that bounced through the pitcher’s legs and was nabbed on the back edge of the infield by Steve Sax. Kevin Mitchell, the next hitter, bounced a similar single that Sax cut off.

This loaded the bases for Wynne, hitting just .154 when he stepped to the plate. Wynne, however, lashed a line-drive single to left, scoring Gwynn and Martinez. Hershiser worked out of the inning by striking out Garry Templeton.

Staked with a 2-0 lead, it was Davis’ job to make it hold up. For a while, he did a surprisingly good job, considering he was coming off a start in which he gave up 5 runs and 8 hits in 3 innings Monday.

In the fourth inning, however, the Dodgers cut the Padres’ lead to 2-1. Marshall led off with a single to right, then went to second on Scioscia’s single. The Padres had a chance to silence the Dodger threat, but the defense let Davis down. Tracy Woodson hit a roller to Templeton, who tried to scoop the ball to second to initiate the double play but bobbled it instead. That loaded the bases with one out, and Sax scored Marshall with a ground ball to second.

The Dodgers weren’t heard from again until the sixth inning, when the tandem of Marshall and Scioscia again got a rally going. This time, Marshall singled to left. Then, with the hit-and-run on, Scioscia hit a well-placed single to left that could have been an out had Templeton not broken to cover second.

Marshall went to third on the single, but he didn’t stay long. Stubbs, the next batter, battled back from an 0-and-2 count and bounced Davis’ 2-and-2 pitch over Martinez’s head and into right field, scoring both Marshall and Scioscia.

Said Sciosia of his hit-and-run single: “You don’t have time to react and recognize who’s covering (second base) and hit it one way or the other. I was just trying to put the ball in play.”

Dodger Notes

Bill Madlock tested his right shoulder again before Saturday night’s game by throwing on the sidelines. It was the second straight day Madlock has thrown, and he said he is closer to coming off the disabled list. Asked when he will return, Madlock said: “Some time on the road.” The Dodgers leave Monday on an eight-game Eastern trip. When Madlock is activated, the likely candidate to be sent to the minors is either third baseman Tracy Woodson or outfielder Reggie Williams. Said Manager Tom Lasorda: “As soon as his arm is ready, we’ll put him back in.”