Dodgers Get a Lesson From Reds : Cincinnati Wins, 6-3, and Shows Why It Leads NL West

In case anyone was still wondering why Cincinnati is first and the Dodgers are fourth in the National League West, the Reds provided the answer Wednesday night.

The Reds were able string together a big scoring inning, while the Dodgers found ways to avoid one. The Reds managed to catch and throw the ball on the artificial turf, while the Dodgers were victims of bad hops and bad fielding. And the Reds again used solid relief pitching, which the Dodgers haven’t consistently had this season.

So, the 6-3 defeat dropped the Dodgers 9 1/2 games behind the Reds and left them only 8 games ahead of the last-place San Padres Padres. Either way, the Dodgers may be involved in a race this summer.

All of the stark differences between the Reds (58-50) and the Dodgers (48-59) were painfully obvious to Dodger slugger Pedro Guerrero, who had three hits and his 23rd home run but again could not overcome his teammates’ deficiencies.

Guerrero delivered a state-of-the-team address, which mainly pointed out that the club is in distress and close to packing it in with 55 games remaining.

“I see why the Reds are in first place and we aren’t,” Guerrero said. “They’re doing everything right, and we aren’t. Look at Bo Diaz. The guy has 14 home runs (actually 13) and 70 RBIs (actually 71). I’ve got 23 home runs and a lot of those with nobody on base.

“I tell you the truth, they deserve to be in first place. A guy like (Dave) Parker, hitting .250 (.261) with 80 RBIs (75). They deserve it. They get runners on base. They make the routine plays . . .

“Look at their bullpen. They may give up a few hits, but they won’t let in the tying run and the winning run. They do the job.”

Guerrero, hitting .347, said he doesn’t see an end to the Dodgers’ inconsistent play unless there is drastic improvement--soon.

“We still got two months,” Guerrero said. “I’d be scared if we had 15 games left. If we lose confidence, we better just pack our stuff and go home. . . . We have to play the way you’re supposed to. We have to make the routine plays, bunt guys over, score guys from third with less than two outs, get our bullpen better, get our starters to go at least six or seven innings . . . “

All that may be too much to ask from the Dodgers.

Wednesday night, Fernando Valenzuela (9-9) was charged with six earned runs, but the Dodger infield was more to blame.

In the first inning, Valenzuela made trouble for himself by walking Buddy Bell and Eric Davis. Then, on a routine double-play grounder to first, shortstop Mariano Duncan made the force play at second but threw the ball into the Reds’ dugout, scoring Bell.

Tracy Jones reached first base on an infield single that might have been the third out had third baseman Jeff Hamilton made a better throw. That set up Diaz’s run-scoring single to right.

The Dodgers tied it, 2-2, in the fourth when Guerrero doubled and scored on Mike Marshall’s double that caromed off third base. Mickey Hatcher scored Marshall with a single to left field.

But the Reds put another win away with a four-run sixth inning that typified the Dodger woes.

Valenzuela issued a leadoff walk to Davis, then Parker singled Davis to third. Dave Collins slashed a ball up the middle that Duncan grabbed, but he flipped the ball over Sax’s head, trying for a force-out. Davis scored, and Collins was credited with a single.

Diaz bunted the runners to third and second, and after an intentional walk to Nick Esasky to load the bases, the beleaguered Dodger infield failed to make the big play once more. Dave Concepcion bounced a double-play grounder to Hamilton, but the ball took a bad hop off the artificial turf and ricocheted off his shoulder to make it 4-2.

The Reds added two more runs on a sacrifice fly and a single.

“It hit a hump (in the infield),” Hamilton said.

Manager Tom Lasorda wasn’t exactly buying Hamilton’s explanation.

“It was a perfect double-play ball, that’s all I know,” Lasorda snapped.

Four of the eight hits Valenzuela allowed were infield singles, or so the official scorer ruled.

Valenzuela was most upset by the walks that preceded them. But he also was aware of what was going on behind him.

“You saw the game tonight,” he said. “I can’t say anything more about it.”

The Reds certainly realized this was basically a gift win.

“They didn’t help (Valenzuela) out much,” Reds’ Manager Pete Rose said. “They gave us some runs. They played some sloppy baseball in crucial situations.”

The Reds, in turn, helped starter Ron Robinson (5-3) and their trio of relievers by turning in solid, and sometimes spectacular, defensive plays.

While the Dodgers bungled the sixth-inning force play after Duncan’s good play to get the ball, the Reds were able to complete a similar play in the seventh. Concepcion made a diving stop on Danny Heep’s ground ball up the middle, then flipped to Barry Larkin at second for the force play, killing a potential rally.

“We’ve got some guys here who are starting to smell it now that we have a chance to win the West,” Rose said. “You can feel it in the dugout.”

Dodger Notes

Several injured Dodgers will by examined today. Dave Anderson (bruised right hand) will see Dr. Martin Zemel, while Franklin Stubbs (dislocated shoulder) and Brad Havens (strained rib cage muscle) will see Dr. Frank Jobe. Brad Wellman (laceration on the right eye) will return to San Francisco and see his personal physician. . . . The search for effective fourth and fifth starting pitchers has Dodger executives considering recalling right-hander Shawn Hillegas from Albuquerque. Hillegas is 13-5 for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate. But Manager Tom Lasorda said the Dodgers will likely continue with either Tim Leary, Rick Honeycutt, Ken Howell or Brian Holton. . . . Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ vice president, will fly to San Antonio today to watch the Dodgers’ Double-A team. . . . Howell will re-join the Dodgers Friday after attending the funeral of his grandmother in Michigan. The Dodgers have not named their starting pitcher for Sunday against the Braves, but Howell is the likely candidate.