Stubbs’ 3-Run Homer Is All Valenzuela Needs

Tom Lasorda, never a silent figure in the dugout even in his most sedate moments, took managerial encouragement to extremes Tuesday night in a desperate attempt to reawaken his slumbering Dodgers.

At strategic periods early in the Dodgers’ 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves, Lasorda stomped around the dugout and issued body contortions and hand signals like an aging lounge singer doing Sinatra.

Lasorda lasted only until about the fifth inning.

“Then, I ran out of gas.”

The same cannot be said for the Dodgers, who looked homeward Tuesday night in hopes of discontinuing their backward slide.

But snapping a three-game losing streak and erasing some of the memories of a stretch in which they lost 9 of 11 was not easy.

Lasorda had incited the Dodgers to such a feverish state, both before and after Franklin Stubbs’ three-run home run in the second inning, that it seemed this new-found enthusiasm had reached a peak and could only lessen as the night wore on.

Indeed, despite Lasorda’s pleadings, an offensive windfall was not forthcoming. So, it was up to Dodger starter Fernando Valenzuela to shut down the Braves the rest of the way.

That may not have been an enormous task in old times like, say, last season. But the troubled Valenzuela of 1987, sporting a 5.03 earned-run average in his last five starts coming into Tuesday’s game, has left even a noted talker such as Lasorda lacking an explanation.

On this night, though, Valenzuela stretched that three-run lead as far as he could take it. He yielded an unearned run in the third, a hard-earned Brave run in the seventh before teetering on the brink of ruin in the ninth inning.

Valenzuela walked Bruce Benedict, the leadoff batter, who was replaced by pinch-runner Trench Davis. Glenn Hubbard then sacrificed Davis to second, and pinch-hitter Graig Nettles’ groundout moved Davis to third with two out. Ozzie Virgil was sent up to pinch-hit, but Valenzuela forced him to groundout to third, ending the threat and snapping the Dodgers’ losing streak.

Once again, Valenzuela (6-5) did not look overly impressive, but he did pitch his second complete game in his last three starts. The Braves managed only five hits, all coming on the ground.

Valenzuela said he threw more breaking balls and significantly held back on his famous screwball, which had betrayed him in a few previous outings.

“Between starts, I threw it a lot,” Valenzuela said. “The screwball was working OK, but the breaking ball was what worked. I tried to use it more.”

As far as the Braves were concerned, this was the same Valenzuela who won 21 games last season and, at various times in his six-year career, had been baseball’s most dominating pitchers.

“He’s the best pitcher we’ve faced in a long time,” Brave Manager Chuck Tanner said. “He has how many wins, six? The ballclub has won how many games, 31? So, he’s won 20% of their games. That’s pretty good pitching.”

The Dodgers needed a strong effort by Valenzuela since the offensive was limited to Stubbs’ first home run since June 3, which also happened to be a three-run home run, against the New York Mets’ Ron Darling.

“I didn’t feel the pressure (to produce) tonight,” Stubbs said. “I just tried to relax at the plate.”

The Dodgers, who wasted two early scoring opportunities, were fortunate that Stubbs hit his first home run in three weeks in the second inning off loser Charlie Puleo, who left after four innings because of flu symptoms.

Stubbs’ three-run shot couldn’t have made Puleo feel much better. But it certainly sent the Dodger dugout into delirium.

Asked if he heard the reaction from the bench, both before and after his home run, Stubbs laughed and said he simply focused on Puleo’s high slider.

“I didn’t hear anything; I just watched the ball,” said Stubbs, whose power has shorted out because of a lack of selectivity at the plate, according to Lasorda. “We needed a lift tonight.”

That was the premise behind Lasorda’s dugout exhibition.

“Like I told the guys in the dugout, I feel great,” Lasorda said. “We’ve got to try everything to get it going again and get things in the right direction. We’ve got to get this ship on the right course.”

The one-run win was the only the club’s fifth of the season. They have lost 13 one-run games, including five straight.

But the combination of Stubbs’ hitting, a resumption of Valenzuela’s solid pitching and Lasorda’s exhortations changed all that, at least for one night.

Will Lasorda continue his expanded role as a cheerleader?

“Why not?” he shrieked. “We need all the help we can get.”

Dodger Notes

After the game, the Dodgers called up infielder/outfielder Danny Heep from Double-A San Antonio and optioned outfielder Reggie Williams to Triple-A Albuquerque. Before Tuesday’s game, the Dodgers’ clubhouse men put up Heep’s name and number (12) in the locker stall that has been empty since Bill Madlock’s release last month. . . . Dave Anderson, the club’s player representative, on the players-only meeting held before Tuesday night’s game: “We definitely had to talk a few things over. Every once in a while, you got to talk it out yourself. We sometimes see things on the field that the coaches can’t. And anyone who wanted to get something off their chest did.”

In other minor league news, the Dodgers Tuesday traded right-hander pitcher Tim Meeks, 8-2 in Albuquerque, to the Oakland A’s for left-handed pitcher Bill Krueger, who was 0-3 with a 9.53 ERA with the A’s and 3-3 with their Triple-A club at Tacoma. Krueger will report to the Albuquerque. . . . Medical update: Mike Marshall said before Tuesday’s game that he still didn’t know what caused his high fever and swelled face last Saturday night. But he was back in the lineup Tuesday. Mickey Hatcher, not in Tuesday’s lineup, said he feels better, too. Hatcher and Marshall had eaten together hours before they became ill last Saturday in Houston. “Hatcher and I hung around together for three days, so I don’t know whether it was the meal,” Marshall said. “I feel fine now. No problems.” . . . Newly acquired infielder Phil Garner was given permission to stay in Houston Sunday to attend to personal business while the rest of the Dodgers flew home. Garner missed Tuesday night’s game but is expected to return for tonight’s game. . . . The Dodgers’ Bob Welch (8-3) opposes Zane Smith (7-4) tonight at 7:30.