Belcher Wins Praise, but Browning’s Two-Hitter Beats Dodgers

People in these parts remember Tim Belcher as a nice kid who was a decent high-school infielder a few years back in Sparta, Ohio, a small farming town about 100 miles north of here.

Wednesday night, they saw a totally different Tim Belcher, on the mound and in a Dodger uniform, at Riverfront Stadium.

After being converted to a pitcher in college, being picked first overall in the secondary phase of the January (1984) draft, spending four seasons in the minor leagues and being traded from Oakland to the Dodgers a week ago, Belcher made his first major league start against the Cincinnati Reds.

The folks from home--about 80 of Sparta’s 250 citizens made the trek--saw Belcher make a respectable first start in the Dodgers’ 4-1 loss to the Reds. Belcher allowed two runs in five innings and would have lasted longer, had the Dodgers been able to solve Reds’ starter Tom Browning.

Browning (7-11), who pitched a two-hitter, had a perfect game through five innings before giving up a run and two hits in the sixth. He retired the last 10 Dodger hitters.

A solid first start for Belcher was greeted with cheers from the Spartan fans and impressed nods from Dodger decision-makers.

Should Belcher prove to be a legitimate big-league starter in the the final month of the season, the Dodgers can be more flexible in off-season trade talks.

“I was very pleased,” said Fred Claire, Dodger vice president. “It gives us another pitcher who certainly would be contending for a spot in the rotation (in spring training). He showed poise and confidence in a difficult situation.”

Belcher admitted he was a little nervous, which was to be expected. After all, about 30% of his hometown was watching, and Belcher was pitching in a stadium in which he spent many days during adolescence.

“Well, I’d say not everyone from Sparta was here tonight,” Belcher said, smiling. “If I had answered the phone today, there would have been more. But I had already exceeded my limit of tickets and got all I could from the other players.”

As it was, Sparta was virtually shut down. Belcher’s grandparents have owned the general store for 45 years. Two of his aunts run the beauty shop. And his in-laws own the pizza parlor. All were at Riverfront on Wednesday.

“Sparta is just a crossroads near Columbus,” Belcher said. “There’s only one four-way stop in the whole town. It doesn’t take much to close down the entire town. If there’s a fire outside of town, everybody gets in the car and watches it.”

Belcher’s first major league start was considered a major event on Sparta’s cultural calendar. The citizens read the reports from Belcher’s first appearance last Sunday at Dodger Stadium, when he pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win in the Dodgers’ 16-inning victory over the Mets.

Wednesday, Belcher gave up two runs and seven hits and struck out two Reds. He escaped minor jams in the second and third innings, but Cincinnati struck for two runs in the fifth. Terry McGriff opened the inning with a double to left and scored on Barry Larkin’s double to right. Larkin eventually scored on Tracy Jones’ single.

With the Dodgers trailing, Belcher (1-1) was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the sixth.

The Dodgers’ run--and only hits--off Browning came in the sixth when Mike Devereaux broke up the perfect-game bid with a double to right and scored on Browning’s two-base throwing error on a pick-off attempt. Steve Sax doubled to left, but was stranded on second.

After bemoaning his club’s inability to hit Browning, Manager Tom Lasorda praised Belcher’s debut.

“He’s got a good arm,” Lasorda said. “I think we’ve made a hell of a trade (giving up Rick Honeycutt) for that boy. I like the kid.”

The main rap on Belcher during his four seasons in the minors was his control. He had 133 walks and 136 strikeouts for the A’s Triple-A team in Tacoma.

But in two Dodger appearances, Belcher has allowed only one walk. Wednesday, he did not walk a batter through five innings.

“I heard that same thing about him,” Lasorda said. “That he was wild. But he looked good against the Mets and he had good control tonight.”

Said Belcher about his control: “I consider myself a pitcher who’s always in the strike zone. I’m not wild. I just got to watch myself and not give hitters too much to hit. Tonight, I’ve had as good a stuff as I’ve had all year, but I can be more consistent.”

Dodger Notes Reds’ starter Tom Browning, who had a perfect game through five innings, said he felt strong in the early going. “The first couple of innings, I was just unconscious out there,” Browning said. Dodger hitters were like that the entire game. . . . Orel Hershiser’s uncle did not suffer a heart attack on Tuesday night, Hershiser and the Dodgers discovered Wednesday morning. Apparently, the call received by the Dodgers during Tuesday’s game was a hoax. Hershiser talked about returning to Los Angeles to be with his uncle and perhaps missing his next start, scheduled for Sunday in Atlanta . . . Ken Howell, whose right shoulder soreness prevented him from pitching in the Pacific Coast League championship series, will be examined again today by Dr. Frank Jobe in Los Angeles to determine if surgery will be needed . . . After breaking an 0-for-33 slump with two hits Tuesday night, Franklin Stubbs found himself back on the bench Wednesday because Browning is a left-hander. “I don’t worry about that,” Stubbs said. “I just got to do my job when I get in.”