Welch’s Four-Hitter Helps Dodgers Score 12-0 Win Over Cubs

In the last week, the bleary-eyed Dodgers have worked the graveyard shift in St. Louis, put in for overtime twice here at Wrigley Field and have experienced almost every occupational hazard imaginable.

Then, just before they punched out their time cards for the three-day All-Star break, the Dodgers worked out all their pent-up job stress from a disastrous trip by bombing the Chicago Cubs, 12-0, on Sunday behind Bob Welch’s four-hitter.

Even though the Dodgers returned to Los Angeles having put together their most dominating game in a mostly submissive season, no one was suggesting that the break did not come at the right time.

This was a trip in which the Dodgers endured a total of 8 1/2 hours of rain delays, played until 3 a.m. in St. Louis, started a game at 10:30 a.m. in Pittsburgh, lost back-to-back doubleheaders against the Cardinals and had two games suspended because of darkness against the Cubs.

The result was a 3-8 trip, which gives the Dodgers a 39-49 record at the break. They still reside in fifth place in the National League West but, incredibly, trail first place Cincinnati by only 8 games.

“That’s so amazing,” said Mickey Hatcher, who supported Welch with a home run and four runs batted in on Sunday. “It just seems like we should be 15 back, but we’re only 8. Right now, everybody’s got to believe. But with the hard times we’ve had, it’s tough to be positive.”

Recently, Manager Tom Lasorda has been grasping for corroborating evidence to support his contention that the Dodgers will forge into contention in the second half.

Sunday’s win gave him that.

“I kept telling you guys something good was going to happen, said Lasorda, segueing into his sermon-on-the-mound mode. “We’re going to have a good second half. I can feel it in my bones. My bones tingle. They really do. They were tingling out there today.”

The Dodgers were impressive Sunday, using the rare coupling of excellent pitching and productive hitting to bury the Cubs.

The 12 runs amassed against Cub starter Les Lancaster and successors were the most the Dodgers have scored since they beat Cincinnati, 13-7, on June 7. That also happened to be the last win for Welch, who had a six-start dry spell.

Welch, pitching on three days’ rest for the second straight time because of the Dodgers’ unusual scheduling, simply overpowered the Cubs. He went four innings before giving up a hit and never appeared to be in trouble, even when Chicago had a runner on third in the seventh inning.

“I’ve had better stuff in some of my other starts,” said Welch, who had a 5.45 earned-run average over his previous six starts. “But I was throwing the ball all over the place. Today, I just wanted the concentrate. I went back to the old routine of being aggressive instead of trying to go for the corners and pitch too fine.”

By not pitching fine, Welch pitched a fine game to improve his record to 9-5. But while warming up in the bullpen beforehand, Welch said he was not throwing well.

“I’m glad we had that rain delay because I was sloppy warming up,” Welch said of a 20-minute rain delay before the first pitch. “After the break, I was relaxed and felt a lot better.”

Once the brief summer shower passed and sunshine prevailed the rest of the afternoon, the Dodgers got hot at the plate.

Tops on Sunday’s hit list included:

--Hatcher, perhaps the most consistent Dodger hitter the last month. The third baseman hit a two-run home run off Lancaster in the fourth and a two-run single in the club’s four-run fifth.

Hatcher added another single in the sixth to improve his average to .331, best on the team. Pedro Guerrero, who had an RBI single Sunday, is hitting .321 with 148 more at-bats.

“He’s done a hell of a job, no question about it,” Lasorda said of Hatcher.

--John Shelby, who scored the game’s first run with a solo home run to center and added a single and scored a run in the sixth.

Shelby, who has played every inning in center field since the Dodgers acquired him on May 22, has a 12-game hitting streak.

“I don’t think about streaks or anything,” said Shelby, hitting .272 with 10 home runs. “I think I’ve been hitting the ball good since I’ve been here.”

--Ken Landreaux, the seldom-used former center fielder who replaced Mike Marshall midway through Sunday’s game and launched a three-run home run over the right-field fence and into the street in the sixth inning against reliever Ron Davis.

“I was just up there trying not to strike out,” Landreaux said.

That probably had been the thinking of other hitters on the Dodgers, shut out four times in the last 13 games.

But Sunday’s offensive bonanza resulted in the most lopsided Dodger win since Oct. 2, 1982, when they beat San Francisco, 15-2.

That 1982 game came during the heat of a pennant race, which the Dodgers lost the next day. This Dodger team, 10 games under .500 with 74 to play, obviously will have to put together more games such as Sunday’s before entertaining any pennant-race aspirations.

“It can be done, and we will do it,” Lasorda proclaimed. “You’ll see.”

But for now, the Dodgers are just happy this draining 11-game trip is history and that they are not--not yet, at least.

“I’ve never had a trip in my whole career like this,” said the 32-year-old Hatcher. “I should’ve just brought a bed roll to the park and slept there. A lot of guys are looking forward to the three days off. Then, we’ll see what happens.”

Dodger Notes

With the luxury of a 12-run lead Sunday, Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda substituted freely. In the bottom of the sixth, he inserted Steve Sax at third base, giving the Dodgers the following infield lineup: Franklin Stubbs at first, Mariano Duncan at second, Dave Anderson at shortstop and Sax at third. “Put whatever significance you want on that,” Lasorda said with a laugh. Added Sax: “It was just a freak thing. What I really wanted to do was pitch.” . . . Fernando Valenzuela was available for relief use Sunday had Welch ran into trouble. There was a coin flip before the game between Welch and Valenzuela, supposedly to see who would pitch. Welch won. However, even if Valenzuela had won, pitching coach Ron Perranoski said he wanted to give Valenzuela a rest. Valenzuela, who last pitched Wednesday--five innings, six runs--is expected to start Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh at Dodger Stadium. But Lasorda said he might change his mind. . . . Perranoski said he is considering asking Brad Havens, the club’s top middle and long reliever, whether he might want to become the fifth starter. But Havens said Sunday: “I’m more effective and more comfortable as a reliever.” . . . The Dodgers announced Sunday that Perranoski will marry June Stevenson on Tuesday in Reno.