Fernando Not Allowed to Continue; Dodger Losing Streak Does, 5-4

The temptation was to ignore the warning signs of fatigue that had crept up on Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, and let him try to work out of another bases-loaded predicament in the ninth inning Sunday.

Ron Perranoski, the Dodgers’ pitching coach, said he and Manager Tom Lasorda considered it. Valenzuela, a little miffed afterward, certainly wanted to continue. And the Dodger Stadium crowd of 27,360, which had seen Valenzuela deftly work out of two earlier bases-loaded jams against the Montreal Expos to preserve a 4-2 lead, voiced its approval.

A decision had to be made, and the Dodgers chose to take the ball from Valenzuela and bring in reliever Tim Crews. And before Valenzuela probably had his left arm submerged in ice in the clubhouse, the 4-2 lead was transformed into a 5-4 loss to the Expos.

The startling change in mood among the crowd was directly attributable to the change of pitchers.

When Valenzuela left, he was given a standing ovation. When Crews walked off the field, having given up a run-scoring fly ball and then a two-run, pinch-hit double to Wallace Johnson, he was serenaded with boos.

But the fans’ reaction was tame compared to the Dodgers’ reaction to their fourth straight loss, all by one run. A frustrated Lasorda paced the clubhouse, muttering. Perranoski staunchly defended the decision.

And the normally unflappable Valenzuela was upset that he wasn’t allow to continue.

“I wasn’t feeling strong (in the ninth), but I feel I could’ve kept going,” he said. “Everybody’s been talking about my arm (being) tired, but it’s not. If I’m tired, I’ll leave the game myself. I know when I have to leave the game.

“They don’t think I could (have finished the game). I wanted to finish. I worked a hard game, and I wanted to stay in. It was my game. But (Perranoski) had his decision made before (he came to the mound). He knew I threw a lot.”

It wasn’t announced how many pitches Valenzuela, who had thrown 152 and 166 in his previous two starts, made on Sunday. Perranoski said: “I didn’t count them all. . . But he’s averaging 133 pitches, and I think he had a lot more than that.”

Valenzuela, who struck out 10 but walked 7 and allowed 10 hits, was forced to throw a lot of pitches to bail himself out of self-imposed jams in the fifth and eighth innings. He came away unscathed each time, but perhaps the cumulative strain of the pitches hurt him later.

For whatever reason, Expo Manager Buck Rodgers said he thinks Fernando isn’t the same these days.

“Fernando didn’t have the fastball he used to have,” he said. “He can’t challenge the hitters like he used to, but he’s still a great pitcher.”

The fifth and eighth innings showed that.

In the fifth, the Expos loaded the bases after a walk was sandwiched between two singles. But Valenzuela then struck out the next three batters--Andres Galarraga, Vance Law and Mike Fitzgerald--all on fastballs on the outside corner.

In the eighth, Montreal put together two singles and another walk to load the bases with two out. But Valenzuela struck out Mitch Webster on another fastball on the corner.

So, even though Valenzuela gave up a single to Reid Nichols, then walked Law and gave up a bunt single to Fitzgerald to again load the bases in the ninth, there was a temptation to let Valenzuela continue.

But the Dodgers went with Crews, who had a 0.95 earned-run average and three saves.

Casey Candaele lifted Crews’ third pitch deep enough to center to score Nichols from third, cutting the margin to 4-3. Then Johnson hit a chest-high fastball down the right-field line to score two runs.

All it took was five pitches for a two-run Dodger lead to turn into a one-run deficit. Crews eventually retired Herm Winningham to end the inning.

The Dodgers advanced Phil Garner to second in the bottom of the ninth against Tim Burke, but pinch-hitters Danny Heep and Mickey Hatcher could not knock him in.

“I needed to get that ball (to Johnson) inside and at his midsection,” Crews said. “I didn’t do it. . . I thought (Valenzuela) was getting tired. I think they wanted to get a fresh arm in there.”

Valenzuela didn’t agree. It was obvious from his postgame comments, and from his reaction when they took him out. An upset Valenzuela would not shake hands with teammates, and when he reached the dugout, he headed straight to the clubhouse.

Perhaps he knew what was coming.

Said Lasorda, on the pitching change: “That’s why we took him out. He made a lot of pitches.”

Said Perranoski: “I would think there’s a temptation to leave him in, especially with that type of pitcher. But you got to (consider) that he has thrown a lot of pitches three games in a row. You’ve got to decide whether he’s got enough left to get out of another jam.

“I’m sure he did want to continue. But what if you leave him in when you know he’s tired and (the Expos) hit one out? What would you be asking the manager--did you leave him in too long?”

Catcher Mike Scioscia said he could see both sides of the dilemma. “That’s a tough situation,” he said. “Fernando is the type of pitcher that, even when he gets tired, he can still be effective. No pitcher is going to say he wants to come out. But neither one of those pitches they hit off Tim was blatantly bad. It could have been two fly balls, and we would’ve won the game.”

Instead, the worst-case scenario struck the Dodgers once more. They scored four runs off Expo starter Neal Heaton in the third inning, then were shut out the rest of the afternoon.

The Expos, meanwhile, scored single runs off Valenzuela in the third and sixth innings before the ninth.

“The way the team is going, things just happen this way,” Perranoski said.

Dodger Notes

Outfielder Mike Marshall, eligible to come off the disabled list on Sept. 4, said Sunday that he is rehabilitating his badly bruised left shin without the aid of the Dodger training staff. That, apparently, was a mutual decision. Trainer Bill Buhler, asked for an update on Marshall’s condition after Saturday night’s game, said: “Mike is on his own program.” Marshall, who has taken batting practice the last two days, said he and Dr. Frank Jobe have determined his therapy program and together will decide when Marshall can start working out. “This is probably the first time in Dodger history this has happened,” Marshall said. “I can understand how the trainers feel. Maybe they are taking a little heat because I’m out of the lineup a lot. I know I’ve caused them a lot of work.” Marshall, however, is still working on back exercises devised for him by Pat Screnar, the club’s physical therapist. Said assistant trainer Charlie Strasser about Marshall’s left shin rehabilitation: “His contusion has subsided and there’s not much more therapy to do on it, anyway.”

Speculation continued Sunday on which Oakland Athletics’ minor league player the Dodgers will receive in the Rick Honeycutt trade. In addition to several A’s infield prospects, the Dodgers also have scouted Triple-A pitcher Tim Belcher (9-11 at Tacoma) and Double-A pitcher Wally Whitehurst (9-5 with a 4.64 earned-run average last year at Huntsville, Ala.). Two other minor league pitchers available are Tim Birtsas and Stan Kyles, both in Triple-A, as well as Double-A infielder Darrin Duffy. . . . An injured wrist epidemic has hit the Dodgers. Shortstop Glenn Hoffman and third baseman Tracy Woodson both missed Sunday’s game with sprained left wrists. Mike Scioscia has a bruise on his right wrist, and Pedro Guerrero has a chronic left-wrist sprain. Hoffman, the latest to be injured, hurt his wrist Saturday night.

The victory Sunday went to Jeff Parrett (5-5), who retired the Dodgers in the eighth inning. . . . With Phil Garner on second base and two outs in the ninth against Expo right-hander Tim Burke, the Dodgers had wanted to use Ken Landreaux, a left-handed batter, to pinch-hit. But Landreaux has been bothered by a sore back, so Mickey Hatcher, a right-handed batter, hit for Garner and flied to left. . . . Scioscia, Steve Sax and John Shelby each had two hits, and Pedro Guerrero had only his fifth run batted in during August with a third-inning single. . . . Ken Howell has tendinitis in his right arm and missed a start in Albuquerque on Sunday. He is expected to start Tuesday or Wednesday.