Young Is Unable to Put Out Fire; Expos Get Sweep

The assignment relief pitcher Matt Young was given in the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ 8-3 loss to the Montreal Expos here Sunday afternoon might have been his most treacherous yet. Certainly, it turned out to rank among his most frustrating.

Another stressful situation awaited Young when he entered with the Dodgers and Montreal Expos tied, 3-3. There were runners on first and second with no outs and the dangerous Tim Raines at the plate.

Young, who constantly treads the line between relief and grief, dramatically struck out Raines to give the Dodgers hope of escaping the predicament unscathed.

Whatever confidence Young might have gained soon crumbled, as did the Dodgers’ chances of winning. Tim Wallach, the next batter, slashed a two-strike double scoring both runners, and Herm Winningham added a three-run double later in the inning.

By the time Young and the Dodgers slinked off the Olympic Stadium carpet, they were losing, 8-3, and on their way to being swept by the Expos, who amassed 24 runs in the three games against the Dodgers.

Afterward, a downcast Young, who had not allowed a run among the previous 18 inherited runners he had faced, expressed disbelief about his latest relief adventure.

“This was ultra-frustrating,” Young said. “It was frustrating when you get out a guy like Raines and then that happens. Sure, you’ve got the heart of the lineup, but it’s do or die in that situation and you go with your best pitches and see what happens.

“It tears me up. I can’t believe it. It’s more frustrating than anything else, because I know I’m making good pitches.”

Had home-plate umpire Dick Stello had the same opinion, perhaps Young might have made it out of the eighth without giving up a run.

Young says that a curve ball on the inside corner to Wallach was a strike and potentially could have led to a strike out. He also said his 2-and-2 fastball to Winningham hit the outside corner for a strike. Winningham doubled on the next pitch.

“I’m not going to criticize the umpire, because you may need calls in the future,” Young said. “But it (upsets) you. Ask (catcher Mike) Scioscia where those pitches were.

“I made great pitches to Raines and great pitches to Wallach. You saw what happened.”

Orel Hershiser, the Dodger starter, saw a well-pitched game turn into his fourth loss in eight decisions.

Hershiser had allowed just three hits through five innings before giving up a run without having the ball leave the infield in the sixth, and two more runs in the seventh on doubles by Andres Galarraga and Vance Law.

By the eighth inning, the Dodgers had lost an early 2-0 lead and were tied, 3-3. Hershiser, who hadn’t made many bad pitches to that point, gave up a lead-off double off the right-field wall to Casey Candaele and then walked Mitch Webster on consecutive pitches.

With Raines coming up, Manager Tom Lasorda sent out pitching Coach Ron Perranoski to take out Hershiser and bring in Young.

It was a move that was not popular with Hershiser or with those who like to play the percentages. Raines, a switch-hitter, was hitting .475 right-handed--nearly twice his average as a left-handed batter--but Lasorda went with Young, a left-hander, anyway.

The reason?

“I thought (Hershiser) got tired,” Lasorda said. “Check out that hit the one guy (Candaele) got against him. He hit it hard.”

Added Perranoski: “He might have felt strong, but he didn’t look strong. We didn’t give him a chance to talk us out of it.”

Hershiser, who had doubled and scored a run in the fifth and brought home another run in the seventh by bunting safely, said he didn’t feel at all fatigued despite his active day.

“I could have pitched another five innings,” Hershiser said. “I could have pitched as long as they wanted me to pitch.

“I was just a little frustrated when they took me out. It was a game where I was mowing them down. Here I was, tied 3-3, and then it turns out I get the loss. It was a frustrating situation.”

The most frustrated Dodger had to be Young. Working out of pressure situations are part of his job and, when he couldn’t do it Sunday, it showed.

After the 1-and-1 curveball to Wallach that Stello called a ball, Young gave him a look of disbelief. After the 2-and-2 ball call to Winningham, Young stalked off the mound. Then, after Winnigham’s base-clearing double, Young passed by Stello at home plate and gave him a menacing glare.

Young admitted he got rattled after Wallach’s double.

“After what happened with Wallach, when the next guy (Andres Galarraga) came up, I just got up there and threw without thinking.”

That made a bad situation worse. Galarraga was walked intentionally, then Young got pinch-hitter Mike Fitzgerald to fly to left. But that was followed by a walk to Law, loading the bases, and then Winningham’s three-run double. Clearly, it was a disastrous ending to what was a good start for the Dodgers on Sunday.

Steve Sax opened the game with his first home run of the season, nailing Ubaldo Heredia’s fourth pitch over the left-field fence. Sax singled home Hershiser in the fifth to give the Dodgers their 2-0 lead, but things slowly deteriorated from there.

“We should have won this game,” Young said. “It is frustrating.”

Dodger Notes

The Dodgers appear to be losing faith in rookie center fielder Mike Ramsey, whose outstanding fielding ability cannot adequately compensate for deficiencies at the plate. Ramsey, hitting just .234 going into the game, was benched Sunday in favor of Ken Landreaux. Ramsey entered the game in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement and grounded out in the ninth. . . . Tom Niedenfuer, struck on the right knee by a liner on Saturday night, said his condition has improved. But Niedenfuer said he doesn’t know if he will be able to pitch, if called upon, tonight. . . . The Dodgers open a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies tonight.