Davis’ 20th Homer Provides Fireworks; Dodgers Fizzle, 8-6

The burst of fireworks in the sky above Riverfront Stadium late Friday night was meant as a celebration of Eric Davis’ dramatic game-winning home run. But it also could have symbolized the disintegration of the Dodgers.

Bit by bit, the Dodgers’ early six-run lead over the Cincinnati Reds slipped away, until Davis hit a three-run homer off reliever Ken Howell in the seventh inning to give the Reds an 8-6 victory before a crowd of 33,556 that would not stop cheering until Davis had taken a curtain call.

Had this been just another uneventful Dodger loss, it might quickly fade from memory. This one, however, may be hard to forget, because (a) the Dodgers rarely have six-run leads to blow and (b) Davis ended it so explosively.

The Dodgers could have moved within four games of the division-leading Reds with a win. Instead, they remained in fifth place, floundering.

“We’ve still got a lot of games left,” said Manager Tom Lasorda when asked about the demoralizing effect of blowing a six-run lead. “There’s a long way to go. The good thing is we scored six runs. Unfortunately . . . “

Lasorda paused, then added: “A tough loss. Very tough.”

That may have been an understatement, given the circumstances surrounding the loss. But it was mild compared to the rationalizations coming from Howell, who insisted that he pitched well despite all available evidence.

“I’m real pleased with the way I threw the ball tonight,” Howell said. “I knew what I wanted to do, and I did it. I threw a good fastball. When you do things you want to do and you get beat, you can’t get down on yourself.”

Perhaps Howell was shellshocked from the concussive force of Davis’ 20th home run--most in the major leagues--and wasn’t thinking straight. His performance in the seventh inning certainly would not satisfy most pitchers.

After replacing starter Rick Honeycutt in the sixth and temporarily preserving the Dodgers’ 6-4 lead, Howell ran into trouble in the seventh. He gave up consecutive singles to Bo Diaz and Ron Oester, then gave the Dodgers some hope by striking out pinch-hitter Kal Daniels and Tracy Jones.

But when Howell’s demise was at hand, it came swiftly and with a lot of force.

It began when Barry Larkin’s single up the middle, which almost decapitated Howell, scored Diaz to make it 6-5, Dodgers. That brought up the dangerous Davis, struggling through an 0-for-17 slump.

Howell had one strike on Davis before the slugger struck back. Showing his power to hit to all fields, Davis drove an inside and low fastball over the right-field fence to complete the Reds’ comeback and the Dodgers’ collapse.

Although it was not one of Davis’ more aesthetic home runs, he counted it among his more important because it broke his first prolonged slump of the season. At about the same time the fireworks exploded, Davis pumped his fist in the air as he rounded first base.

“That (gesture) was more or less relief when I got the hit,” Davis said. “I wasn’t really concerned. When you play every day, it’s eventually going to come.”

That may be Howell’s thinking. If he keeps accepting the ball and shrugging off his poor performances, he might eventually earn his long-sought first save of 1987. As it stands now, though, Howell is 0 for 5 in save opportunities this season and has made 40 appearances since earning his last save in mid-September.

“It was just a situation where the batter came through and I didn’t,” Howell said. “I threw him a fastball. It wasn’t a mediocre fastball. I know he’s not the guy I want to drive the ball and beat me. But he just hit the ball the opposite way.

“I can’t say that it was a mistake pitch. Obviously, he swung late. Another guy, who doesn’t swing as well (as Davis), it’s a routine fly to right. At first, I thought (right fielder Mike) Marshall was going to get it, but the ball just got caught in a jet stream or something.”

Howell’s theory on the home run seemed to be just hot air, since the flags at Riverfront Stadium were as limp as the Dodgers’ spirits after a loss that had to rank as their most demoralizing yet in a frustrating season.

If the first four innings seemed almost too easy for the Dodgers, that’s probably because they were. They scored two runs in the first and three in the third (including a two-run homer by Steve Sax) off Red starter Bill Gullickson, and added another in the fourth off reliever Frank Williams.

On the flip side, Honeycutt had a no-hitter through four innings, the only baserunner being Davis on a walk.

The Dodgers’ undoing began in the fifth inning. By the seventh, they were done. The Dodger offense managed only one hit--a rather benign single by Alex Trevino--in the final five innings off three Red relievers.

Meanwhile, the blister on the middle finger of Honeycutt’s left hand became irritated in the fifth inning, and it showed in his pitching. He gave up three runs on four hits in the fifth and a single run in the sixth after the multi-talented Davis walked, stole second and third and was brought home by Dave Parker’s single off first baseman Franklin Stubbs’ leg.

“I didn’t make the pitches,” Honeycutt said. “I don’t want to make excuses, but the blister came up again. Every pitch kept ripping it.”

Howell, who entered with the Dodgers clinging to a 6-5 lead, was not immediately ripped. He pitched the Dodgers out of a jam in sixth, but his good fortune didn’t last.

“Their bullpen was able to contain us, and our bullpen was not able to contain them,” Lasorda said. “You get the picture.”

The picture seemingly was clear to anyone, except maybe Ken Howell.

Dodger Notes

Mark Polan, agent for free-agent relief pitcher Terry Forster, said that negotiations are on-going with Dodger vice president Fred Claire. “The talks are still preliminary, but there is some interest from the Dodgers. Now, we’re also getting interest from other clubs, but Terry’s first choice would be the Dodgers.” Polan said that Forster, not signed by the Angels after last season, would need about two week’s work, probably in the minors, before facing major-league pitching. . . . Steve Sax, who had been slumping yet hitting the ball hard, had three hits Friday, including his third home run of the season. Sax’s home run came in the third inning, when he faked a bunt, pulled back and then launched a shot over the left-field fence. . . . John Shelby, Pedro Guerrero and Mike Marshall all had two hits. . . . After giving up four runs in five innings, Rick Honeycutt’s earned-run average jumped from a league-best 1.82 to 2.28. . . . Pitcher Orel Hershiser said Friday that reports of his right elbow injury have been greatly exaggerated. “I’m fine,” Hershiser said. Hershiser left Wednesday’s win over the New York Mets after 6 innings because he felt a “twinge” in his right elbow.