Guerrero’s Hit in 10th Inning Beats Reds, 4-3

That presumptuous “Boys of Lumber” manifesto that remains scrawled on a blackboard in the Dodger clubhouse still might draw a few snickers from passers-by who know that it remains a misnomer.

With the Dodgers, every run has been a struggle and smash hits lately are about as rare as one by Leo Sayer.

But Saturday night against the Cincinnati Reds, the Dodgers turned to their main power source, Pedro Guerrero, to end a night’s worth of squandered scoring chances in the 10th inning of a 3-3 tie.

Guerrero, in an 11-for-56 slump, lofted a two-out single to center off Reds’ relief ace John Franco that scored Steve Sax from third to give the Dodgers a 4-3 win before 45,299 at Dodger Stadium.

This win had to be especially satisfying to the Dodgers, given Guerrero’s slump, the 15 runners they left stranded earlier in the game and the fact that Franco is a former Dodger.

Guerrero’s soft liner to center culminated a late-inning Dodger rally that, if not impressive in force and power, at least resulted in sufficient production.

One of the Dodgers’ two runs in the eighth inning that tied it was unearned. And the game-winning run was, too.

But the Dodgers, no doubt, don’t care about how they scored, just that they did.

Red shortstop Kurt Stillwell’s second costly error, this one a bobbled grounder by Sax to leadoff the 10th, began the Reds’ undoing. Pinch hitter Ken Landreaux sacrificed Sax to second with a bunt and John Shelby’s infield hit put Sax on third.

That brought up Guerrero, who had only managed an infield hit earlier in the game. His 10th-inning single won’t go down as one of his hardest hit, but it certainly was needed.

The Dodgers left a trail of stranded runners throughout the early innings, but they finally got the payoff in the bottom of the eighth.

Trailing, 3-1, the Dodgers began their game-tying rally when Mike Marshall walked. Manager Tom Lasorda sent Mickey Hatcher to pinch hit for Franklin Stubbs, since left-hander Rob Muprhy was pitching for the Reds.

Hatcher hit what seemed to be a harmless grounder to first base. Terry Francona, a defensive replacement for Dave Parker at first, threw to Stillwell covering second to begin the double-play attempt.

The only problem was that Stillwell forgot to catch the ball. It sailed into the outfield, Marshall taking third and Hatcher second on the error.

Lasorda, again wanting a right-handed hitter against Murphy, brought up Alex Trevino to hit for Mike Scioscia.

Trevino made that move look good, smashing a Murphy fastball off the wall in left-center for a triple that scored both runners and tied it, 3-3.

The Reds lost more than the lead on Trevino’s triple. They also lost star center fielder Eric Davis, who ran face-first into the wall in left-center trying to run down the drive. Davis slumped on the warning track for about a minute and continued in center before being replaced after the inning.

The Reds said Davis left because of a right ankle sprain.

Only then did Reds’ Manager Pete Rose bring in ace reliever Franco, who has 15 saves this season.

Franco forced Jeff Hamilton to ground to short. Sax was intentionally walked to give the Reds a force play and force Lasorda to pinch hit again for the pitcher’s spot. Phil Garner, Lasorda’s choice, walked to load the bases.

But that was when Franco bore down and when the Dodgers couldn’t bear up.

With the infield in, Dave Anderson hit a ground ball to short, which resulted in a force-play at home on Trevino. Still, the Dodgers had one more chance with two out, the bases loaded and Shelby at the plate. But Franco forced Shelby to fly to right.

The Dodgers might not have found themselves in that predicament had they not given the Reds a run in the top of the eighth without yielding a hit.

Cincinnati’s manufactured rally began with two outs when Davis walked. He stole second and after Parker walked, Davis stole third. Scioscia had no play at third against the speedy Davis, but he tried to pick off Parker leaning far off first. Stubbs could not handle Scioscia’s low throw, which trickled behind first, allowing Davis to score.

Both starting pitchers--the Dodgers’ Tim Leary and the Reds’ Ron Robinson--pitched well and left after six innings without receiving much offensive support. That’s nothing new to the Dodgers, but it is to the Reds.

Still, Robinson had a 2-1 lead when the changes were made.

The Dodgers wasted a couple of scoring opportunities in the early innings.

They loaded the bases in the second and third innings, but only had run run to show for it. That came in the third, when Robinson deftly averted a big inning despite prolonging it with wildness.

Dave Anderson led off with a single to right, pushing his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games. John Shelby followed with a ground-rule double down the left-field line that moved Anderson to third.

Pedro Guerrero walked on four pitches, loading the bases for Mike Marshall, who has faced this situation a few times this season and produced. This time, Marshall meekly flied to left, so shallow that Anderson could not tag up and score.

Franklin Stubbs’ fly to center was deep enough, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Robinson’s wildness made another appearance when he walked Scioscia to reload the bases. But Jeff Hamilton hit a foul pop up to first to end the threat.

An inning earlier, the Dodgers loaded the bases when Scioscia doubled with two out, Hamilton walked and Sax reached first on an infield single. But Leary grounded to second, squelching another scoring chance.

Cincinnati’s runs against Leary came in the fourth and fifth innings. Consecutive doubles by Buddy Bell and Bo Diaz tied it, 1-1. Diaz’s double was one of Leary’s few glaring mistakes. He belted a hanging curveball down the left-field line.

In the fifth, Ron Oester sliced a looping fly down the left-field line that Guerrero tried to catch. The gamble didn’t pay off, as the ball fell and then rolled to the fence, giving Oester a triple. Robinson flied deep enough to right to score Oester and make it, 2-1.

Dodger Notes

Dan Opperman, the Dodgers’ first-round draft pick in this June’s draft, has reinjured his right elbow while pitching for Great Falls (Mont.) in the rookie league. Before the draft, there were reports that Opperman, an outstanding right-handed pitcher that had been touted as a young Bob Welch by Dodger scouts, had elbow problems. But Dr. Frank Jobe examined him before the draft and pronounced him fit. After Opperman’s latest elbow flareup, the Dodgers flew him to Los Angeles to be examined by Dr. Ralph Gambardella, a colleague of Jobe’s. The Dodgers said Jobe prescribed rest for Opperman, who will be examined again next week. . . . Opperman, who signed with the Dodgers just three weeks ago, had not even faced real pitching in Great Falls before suffering the injury. He was pitching on the side when pain developed. . . . Going into Saturday’s game, Pedro Guerrero had just 5 hits in his last 30 at bats. Hitting coach Manny Mota said Guerrero’s problem is that he is too eager at the plate. “He’s chasing bad pitches,” Mota said. “He’s upper-cutting and he should not do that. He’s also trying too hard.” So, what to do? “You tell him to be more selective and try for more line drives, instead of trying to hit the ball out of the park all the time. I think he’ll be all right.” . . . One recently slumping Dodger who has broken out of it is catcher Mike Scioscia, who was 4 for 7 in the last two games before Saturday. Said Scioscia: “It’s coming slowly. The little things start to come around and come together. Better late than never.” . . . Add Eric Davis mystique: When the Dodgers intentionally walked Davis in ninth inning of Friday night’s game, some among the Dodger Stadium crowd booed. Quipped Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda afterward: “They were all his relatives.”