Dodgers Hardly the Cat’s Pajamas in Loss to Pirates

This Independence Day game may not have started by the dawn’s early light, but it certainly was early enough so that the Dodgers had a built-in excuse in the likely event of a third straight loss.

But a 10:30 a.m. start after a night game at the outset of an extended Eastern trip did not faze them at all.

No, the Dodgers performed just as poorly in the glare of the morning light Saturday as at any other time, losing, 4-2, to the Pittsburgh Pirates before 12,935 fans at Three Rivers Stadium.

Other than the early start, which drew grumbling from the sleepy-eyed players, the only thing that separated this from just another Dodger loss was a plate-blocking controversy involving catcher Mike Scioscia that had very little effect on the outcome.

It was about all the Dodgers wanted to talk about afterward, a wise move considering that they were victims of four double plays and have scored just 2 runs in their last 29 innings.

The play in question occurred in the eighth inning with the Pirates leading, 3-1. Pirate reliever Don Robinson, who earned the save, singled to right field off Dodger reliever Matt Young. Bobby Bonilla was sent home on the play and was involved in a collision with Scioscia in front of the plate.

Bonilla and Scioscia collided, then Scioscia apparently tagged out the runner. Umpire Charlie Williams called Bonilla safe, which elicited strong protests from Scioscia and Manager Tom Lasorda.

Williams called Scioscia for obstruction on the play, giving Pittsburgh a 4-1 lead that was more than sufficient to withstand a ninth-inning rally against Robinson.

“He blocked the runner, then he caught the ball, which is obstruction,” Williams said. “Scioscia’s argument was that he’s got to be there to make the play. My contention is that he’s got to have the ball to make the play. He hit the runner before he had the ball, and he was way up the line.”

Lasorda and Scioscia were enraged by Williams’ call.

Said Scioscia: “The change of call is what I couldn’t believe. He didn’t change it to obstruction until Tommy came out. We were talking 30 seconds, and he never mentioned anything about obstruction. The impression I got was that Charlie was trying to cover up for making a bad call. “

Said Lasorda: “(Williams) is full of (bleep). How the hell can he call obstruction when (Scioscia) is catching the ball. That’s the worst (bleeping) call I’ve ever seen in my life. . . . Go ask (Williams) if he called (obstruction) right away. If he does (say that), he’s a (bleeping) liar.”

Williams later said that obstruction was his call all along, but that he didn’t voice it until Lasorda questioned him.

“No, I didn’t say it right away, but that was the call,” Williams said. “I did not change the call.”

At stake could be Scioscia’s effectiveness as plate blocker extraordinaire. Only once before has Scioscia been called for obstruction in a home-plate collision. Scioscia argues that he simply is bracing himself to catch the ball and make the tag. “Even if he made it right away, I still don’t think it was a good call,” Scioscia said. “I’m not doing anything illegal. It’s a bad call, not even consistent with the rules. That rule is in there to prevent the flagrant violations.

“Maybe I’m the only catcher in the league who (blocks the plate), but it’s not against the rules. I’m sure (Williams) had that call set in his mind, that the runner was going to be safe on that play.”

Even an incensed Lasorda admitted that the home-plate controversy didn’t mean that much in the whole sorry scheme of things with his club.

The Dodgers, last in the league in runs scored and batting average, broke a 20-inning scoreless streak with a run in the second off starter Bob Kipper. But they were blanked the rest of the way, until getting a run off Robinson in the ninth.

In between, two Dodger rallies were killed by double plays, almost a repeat of Friday night’s horrors.

“We did hit a lot of balls hard today, but it just comes down to fundamentals,” Scioscia said. “We just didn’t execute again today.”

The Dodgers committed three errors, two in the Pirates’ two-run fourth inning against starter Bob Welch (8-5).

Andy Van Slyke, who went 3 for 4 and scored twice, opened with a double to left field, but Pedro Guerrero’s bumbling enabled Van Slyke to advance to third base. Johnny Ray hit a one-hop grounder that handcuffed second baseman Steve Sax, allowing Van Slyke to score. A ground-rule double by Sid Bream and a sacrifice fly by Bonilla, scoring Ray, accounted for the other run.

Pittsburgh’s third run, in the fifth inning, was indirectly attributable to the Dodger defense. With two out, Van Slyke tripled off the center-field wall. He might have been held to a double, but center fielder John Shelby misplayed the carom off the wall. Ray’s single under Mickey Hatcher’s glove at first base scored Van Slyke.

Welch was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the next inning, and the game trudged on until the eighth-inning controversy.

The Dodger offense staged a brief revival in the ninth, scoring a run off Robinson on singles by Shelby, Guerrero and Hatcher. The Dodgers had the tying run on first base with two out, but Mariano Duncan flied to left field to end it.

Lasorda was not so single-minded about the home-plate controversy that he didn’t touch upon the many Dodger failings on a make-or-break trip that has begun with two defeats

“No way am I saying that that play lost us the ballgame,” Lasorda said. “What cost us the game is hitting into double plays and not making the plays.”

Dodger Notes

Mike Marshall (strained left thigh muscle) did not play again Saturday and is questionable for today’s game against the Pirates. Marshall, believed to have asked to be traded amid charges of malingering from teammates, has long been rumored headed for the New York Mets in exchange for troubled slugger Darryl Strawberry. That speculation probably will be revived, now that Strawberry has asked to be traded for the same reason as Marshall’s reported trade request--charges of faking injuries. . . . Marshall took treatments in the training room before the game, but he left shortly after the final out. . . . Mariano Duncan, just reactivated after being spiked two weeks ago in Houston, started in right field in place of Marshall for the first time. Duncan, who moved to second base later in the game, said he will play wherever Manager Tom Lasorda asks. “It doesn’t bother me,” Duncan said. . . . Why the early starting time? Well, the Pirate promotions department thought that people would prefer spending the afternoon and evening at home celebrating the Fourth of July. . . . Dodger starting pitcher Bob Welch on the early start: “It was early but . . . they (the Pirates) were out there, too. The only bad part is, what do we do now (in Pittsburgh) with the rest of the Fourth of July.”