Leary Is Off to New Start in 5-3 Win

The Dodgers’ long-playing dilemma about what to do about a fifth starter and how to handle the rest of the bullpen still hasn’t been solved, but Manager Tom Lasorda liked the way the latest scenario unfolded in Tuesday night’s 5-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Tim Leary, ineffective as a reliever, pitched well in his first start in seven weeks. Alejandro Pena, ineffective as a starter, pitched well in his first crucial relief appearance of the season.

After Leary gave up only two runs and five hits in six innings to earn his first win as a Dodger, and Pena pitched three innings of relief to earn his first save of the season, Lasorda was talking like a man with all the answers to his pitching puzzle.

“I’d say tonight was the answer to my prayers,” Lasorda said, smiling.

It was difficult to tell whether Lasorda was serious or sarcastic. Obviously, though, he is hoping this will be more than a one-night phenomenon from a bullpen that often makes unpredictably commonplace.

Anything had to seem possible to Lasorda after Tuesday’s win, which catapulted the Dodgers (28-29) from fifth to third place in the National League West.

Another productive offensive night--led by Mike Marshall’s third home run in three games, John Shelby’s fourth home run as a Dodger and Steve Sax’s three-hit performance--provided enough runs for Leary, and gave Pena enough of a late-inning cushion.

So for better or worse--or at least until after Sunday’s game against Houston--Lasorda said he will go with Leary as the fifth starter. In a more surprising pronouncement, Lasorda listed Pena and Brian Holton, who had a save Monday night, as the club’s short relievers.

“(Leary) is the fifth starter,” Lasorda said. “We put him into the fifth spot because he had been a starter before (in Milwaukee last season). He threw the ball real good and gave us exactly what we needed.

“I’ve always known (Pena) can be a reliever. I think he can really help us in that role. He’s going to be a short man, along with Holton.”

But what about Matt Young and Ken Howell, whose roles had seemingly been unalterably defined as the left-handed and right-handed short relievers following the departure of Tom Niedenfuer?

Well . . .

Young’s job is perhaps the most secure in the bullpen, but he’s out for a few days with a strained ligament in his left elbow. Howell, meanwhile, may have a strained neck from watching the game-losing home run he gave up to Cincinnati’s Eric Davis last Friday and then getting the hook from Lasorda. He hasn’t pitched since.

Lasorda quickly added that Howell still is in his plans. But the last two games, when a short reliever was needed, he called upon pitchers who normally work middle and long relief.

That had been Leary’s role most of the season. Leary had a spot start April 21 in San Francisco after Pena had contracted the chicken pox, but he gave up four runs in six innings and earned a no-decision.

It also put Leary in limbo in the bullpen. More than once, he had expressed his dislike of his long relief role to Lasorda and pitching coach Ron Perranoski.

But the Dodgers stuck with Pena for the first two months, then dropped him and went with a four-man rotation for a week.

Tuesday night, Leary finally got his second chance.

“Now, it’s like a new beginning for me,” Leary said. “Hopefully, I can get more starts. This is what I’m geared to do. I think I work better in that role. I’m sure every starter will tell you he’s more effective if he works regularly.

“The first month, I was a little frustrated and got a few things off my chest (with the coaching staff). But they told me just to be patient, be ready and work hard. . . . It’s tough to be patient.”

Some of Leary’s anxiety showed in the early going, when the Braves scored single runs in the second and third innings and hit Leary reasonably hard. But he escaped both jams without major damage.

The Braves kept the 2-0 lead until the sixth. With Sax on first, Marshall homered to deep center field off Brave starter Zane Smith to tie it.

In the seventh, Leary was lifted for a pinch-hitter. He was hoping the Dodgers could score the go-ahead run that would give him a chance for a win. They scored three that inning off Smith, Sax smashing an RBI single and then Shelby driving a two-run home run to center.

Despite giving up a ninth-inning solo home run to Dale Murphy, his 17th, Pena pitched strongly in relief.

While Leary said he is more suited as a starter, Pena mostly remained noncommittal when told that Lasorda wants him to be a “closer.” The Dodgers had hesitated in using Pena in relief because it was believed that he needed longer to warm up as a result of his major shoulder surgery in 1985.

Said Pena: “I don’t know if my arm is strong enough to throw every day out of the bullpen. The only way to find out is to do it. I get loose quick now.

“I can say, yeah, I’ll do it. I can say, no, I won’t. It (being a short reliever) certainly would be different. What I’d like to do is help the team any way I can.”

Dodger Notes

Shortstop Mariano Duncan, who bruised his left hip in a spill at second base Monday night, is listed as day-to-day by team trainers. Duncan said that he should be ready to return in “a couple days.” But if he needs a longer recovery, the Dodgers might consider activating infield coach Bill Russell. “I really haven’t projected it that far ahead,” Vice President Fred Claire said. “In a day, we’ll see how Mariano is feeling. If we have a situation where he’ll be out for more than a few days, yeah, Bill is an option.” . . .

Duncan, released from a local hospital Tuesday morning, was hurt after Atlanta’s Gerald Perry took him out of a double-play chance at second base. The way Duncan told it, Perry hit his right knee, which flipped Duncan. He fell on his left hip. “Right when I was hit, I didn’t want to move because there was a lot of pain,” Duncan said. “It scared me because I thought maybe something was broken. But when I moved, it was still sore.” Duncan said he endured a sleepless night in the hospital because “the doctors wouldn’t tell me if anything was wrong with me. I was worried. Then Charlie (Strasser, the Dodgers’ assistant trainer) picked me up today and told me there was nothing broke or anything.” . . .

The strained ligament in reliever Matt Young’s left elbow is improving, according to trainer Bill Buhler. “It really is up to Matt (when he starts throwing again),” Buhler said. . . . Because left-hander Zane Smith started for Atlanta, Manager Tom Lasorda benched left-handed-hitting first baseman Franklin Stubbs. This was the first time in several weeks that Stubbs has been sat down against a left-hander.