Dodgers Get Past Giants, 5-0 : Hershiser Allows Only 3 Hits, Drives In Winning Run

This wasn’t supposed to be the way the Dodgers would need to score runs anymore. A lineup saturated with power hitters and augmented with speed shouldn’t have to hope for walks and balks, errors and infield hits to win games, should it?

Well, for the longest time Tuesday night, it appeared the Dodgers’ entire offensive output against the San Francisco Giants would be umpire- or error-aided. But after needing more than five innings to get a baserunner, the resourceful Dodgers went a long way on just four hits to record a 5-0 win over the Giants before 37,472 fans at Dodger Stadium.

Runs manufactured in any fashion, no matter the aesthetic value, were a welcome sight to Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser, who threw a masterful three-hit shutout and had to take the initiative himself to produce the only run he really needed.

“We definitely need nights like this,” said Dodger catcher Mike Scioscia, who had 2 of the 4 hits and scored 2 runs. “We aren’t always going to get our big hammers to hit three-run home runs. We have to manufacture (runs) sometimes.”

The Dodgers’ 5 runs on this night certainly didn’t come off the assembly line. These were originals.

Giant starter Kelly Downs was nursing a perfect game for 5 innings before Scioscia lofted a single over the head of Giant shortstop Jose Uribe for the Dodgers’ first hit.

Scioscia then went to second on an unusual pickoff play often employed by Giant Manager Roger Craig. This time, however, it backfired. First baseman Will Clark broke for home plate as if a bunt was forthcoming, while second baseman Robby Thompson covered first to take the throw. But Downs’ throw hit Scioscia, who pushed Thompson out of the way and then ran to second.

Hershiser then popped a 2-and-2 pitch to center field for the apparent second out of the inning. But second base umpire Dave Pallone had called a balk on Downs, nullifying the pitch. So, Scioscia advanced to third, and Hershiser was given a reprieve at the plate.

Even with the less-than-fleet Scioscia on base, Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda employed a favorite tactic of his--the squeeze play. Hershiser put down a perfectly placed bunt down the first base line, scoring Scioscia.

The way Dodger bats remained silent both on opening day on Monday and for the first 6 innings of Tuesday’s game, a 1-0 lead was about all Hershiser could expect.

But, against Giant reliever Scott Garrelts in the eighth inning, the Dodgers combined a walk to John Shelby, a subsequent passed ball and then an RBI single to left by Scioscia, almost identical to his sixth-inning hit, for a second run. Hershiser then sacrificed Scioscia to second, earning a standing ovation from offense-starved Dodger fans.

Scioscia went to third on another balk and, after Steve Sax walked, Alfredo Griffin doubled to right-center field to score both runners. The Dodgers’ fifth run came when Kirk Gibson, who had been intentionally walked after Griffin’s double, took out Thompson at second base on Jeff Hamilton’s ground ball, an error that allowed Griffin to score from second base.

An offensive windfall, it wasn’t. But this game likely will be remembered for the resourcefulness of the Dodger offense on a night when the so-called Awesome Fivesome was shut down again, Hershiser’s outstanding pitching in a tight game and the latest installment of controversy in the long-running Dodger-Giant rivalry.

In what later turned out to be little more than a minor subplot, the early part of the game was highlighted by brushback pitches delivered first by Downs and then by Hershiser.

Downs fired an 0-and-2 pitch directly over Mike Marshall’s head in the second inning. Then, in the third, Hershiser hit Will Clark in the right leg on an 0-and-2 pitch. Hershiser’s pitch drew a warning from home plate umpire Jim Quick. Clark and the Giants called the hit pitch an intentional act; Hershiser shrugged off the controversy.

Hershiser, a victim of run deprivation many times last season, admitted he was a little worried in the early innings about the Dodgers’ offensive drought. After all, the club’s five power hitters have combined for just a lone Pedro Guerrero infield single in 30 at-bats in two games.

But the Dodgers mustered enough offense and were flawless in the field--as opposed to the Giants’ two errors. Hershiser retired 14 straight batters before walking Mike Aldrete to open the ninth. He walked only 2 and struck out 6.

“I was aware, when it was 0-0,” Hershiser said. “So, I wasn’t real comfortable. But I felt good out there. I felt fortunate, because some of those were loud outs I threw. They hit the ball well sometimes.”