Griffin and Davis Spark Dodgers Over Braves, 6-3

Two Dodger newcomers, Oakland chapter, finally displayed some of the expected talent that made them the subject of Executive Vice President Fred Claire’s fervent winter personnel pursuit.

After a contagious slow start that affected most Dodger hitters, former A’s Alfredo Griffin and Mike Davis emerged from offensive lulls Friday night to lead the Dodgers to a 6-3 win over the Atlanta Braves before 10,723 fans at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.

Davis, who began the night with a 1-for-10 record at the plate, cut loose a 3-for-3 night, including a double off the center-field wall and a single that contributed to a decisive five-run sixth inning. It was Griffin who finished the rally with a bases-loaded triple to right-center that broke a 3-3 tie. Friday night’s result no doubt would have made Claire feel better about two of his publicized and expensive off-season acquisitions had he not been laid up at a local hospital suffering from acute muscle spasms in his lower back.

As if there weren’t enough contributions from Oakland expatriates for one night, former A’s minor leaguer Tim Belcher pitched four scoreless innings in relief of starter Tim Leary to earn his first major league save. And had Belcher faltered, Manager Tom Lasorda had former A’s short reliever Jay Howell warming up in the bullpen.

These new Dodgers were too busy savoring the club’s third win in the season’s first four games to either wax nostalgic about bygone days or scold their former organization for letting them go. But a little satisfaction eventually did seep through.

“I think Sandy Alderson (Oakland’s vice president) might look at the box score in the morning and cringe,” said Belcher, acquired by Claire late last season in the Rick Honeycutt trade. “Yeah, but they’ve got a good team over there, anyway.”

Davis said that the A’s, World Series aspirants, will miss Griffin, shortstop and team leader, more than any other departed player.

“If they want to win this season, I don’t think they could afford to let Alfredo go,” Davis said. “Not just because he gets everything at shortstop. Not just because he gets big hits. He does the little things, like being a leader and positioning the infield, that I don’t think the Oakland A’s gave him credit for. Those are the things you can’t substitute.”

The Dodgers saw Griffin’s knack for delivering the big hit first-hand here Friday night. Although submerged in a 2-for-17 slump, Griffin’s two hits have accounted for five runs batted in. He had a two-run double Tuesday night against the Giants, and Friday night against Brave reliever Chuck Cary, Griffin tripled with the bases loaded to send the Braves reeling toward their fourth straight loss.

“Some of Alfredo’s at-bats don’t look too good,” Jay Howell said. “You can laugh at some of them. But, you watch, he comes through most of the time when you need the big hit.”

Even if Griffin was only a steadying influence in an unpredictable infield, which he already is, his value to the Dodgers would be nearly incalculable. But Griffin, who had 60 RBIs in 144 games last season, also has the early club lead in RBIs with 5.

“I needed that hit,” Griffin said, smiling. “It makes me a better hitter when (there are) men on base. When no one’s on base, I’m too aggressive. I swing at anything. “It’s too early, so I can’t worry about a slump. This always happens to me at the start. But there’s a lot of at-bats left, and I’m a contact hitter.”

When Davis and Belcher’s words made it to Griffin’s ears, he brushed them aside like lint. No, he said, he does not think the A’s prematurely traded him or that they will suffer with rookie Walter Weiss at shortstop.

“One player cannot win a pennant for a team,” Griffin said. “For you to win a pennant, you need 24 guys working together. Sandy (Alderson) is my friend. And I talked to Tony (LaRussa, the manager). They are pulling for me here.”

The entire Dodger bench was spurring on Griffin, a switch-hitter, when he flipped over to the right side of the plate to face Cary with the bases loaded and the score tied, 3-3. The Dodgers already had scored two runs in that sixth inning to erase a 3-1 Atlanta lead. John Shelby’s ground ball force-out off Brave starter Kevin Coffman had scored Pedro Guerrero, and Mike Scioscia’s deep fly to left had scored Mike Marshall from third.

But after Coffman walked both pinch-hitter Danny Heep and Steve Sax, and Cary entered, Griffin jumped on a slider and slipped it between right fielder Dale Murphy and center fielder Dion James for the game-winning RBIs.

Leary, who allowed 3 runs and 5 hits and struck out 3 in 5 innings, had been lifted for a hitter in the top of sixth, so Lasorda called on Belcher to protect the lead until he could summon his short relievers.

Except for a self-induced, bases-loaded jam in the seventh, Belcher easily handled the beleaguered Braves, who appear to be quite disposable this season. Belcher, temporarily displaced as the club’s fifth starter because of two early off-days, said he welcomes any work Lasorda brings his way.

“This has worked out OK,” Belcher said. “They say they still want me to start, and I’m glad I’m getting the work. I didn’t want Tim (Leary) to do bad, but I wanted to pitch, too. I’m just glad we won.”

Dodger Notes

Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, was carried out of the team’s hotel Friday morning on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a local hospital after experiencing severe muscle spasms in his lower back. Claire, who told Dodger trainers that he could not move from bed Friday morning, underwent tests and was examined by Dr. Bob Wells, the Braves’ orthopedic specialist. The Dodgers said Claire will spend the next two days at the hospital. . . . It took only one start for the first accusations about Don Sutton illegally doctoring the ball to be thrown out. Chuck Tanner, the Atlanta Braves’ manager, showed an Atlanta reporter a supposedly scuffed ball that Sutton had thrown during his 5-inning stint Thursday night. “He scuffed it,” Tanner said. “He’s pitching with his head now and a little scuff on the ball. But as long as nobody’s going to do anything about it, he’s going to keep doing it. Gerry Davis, the home plate umpire on Thursday, inspected the ball, then threw it out of play but did not warn Sutton. Sutton’s comment about the latest in the scuffing allegations: “Chuck sounds like a very, very frustrated man to me. (The umpire) didn’t say anything to me all night. He asked to see the ball once, that’s all.” . . . Brave reliever Bruce Sutter, coming off three elbow operations, made his second appearance Friday night and pitched a perfect eighth inning. In Sutter’s first appearance on Tuesday night against Chicago, he blew a two-run Brave lead that ultimately led to a 10-9 loss in 13 innings. . . . Kirk Gibson had his second double in as many games and his first Dodger RBI. John Shelby went 0 for 3 Friday night. In five games, Shelby is 0-for-12. . . . Tim Leary, who earned the win, said he was mildly pleased by his effort and thanked teammates for the offensive support. “Last year, that would have been a loss,” Leary said . . . Minor-league outfielder Ralph Bryant, whose contract was sold to the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese league, may have impressed Japanese team officials when he blasted a 400-foot home run in an exhibition game between the Dodgers and Dragons, who trained at Dodgertown for several weeks. Bryant was expendable because of a glut of outfielders in the Dodgers’ minor-league system. . . . Injury update: Ken Howell, on the disabled list while rehabilitating from offseason shoulder surgery, pitched a 10-minute simulated game Friday afternoon. Howell, pitching coach Ron Perranoski and selected Dodger hitters said Howell had an effective fastball and curveball. But Howell tired in the third inning, walking two batters before Perranoski stopped the game. “I had no pain, and I worked on my mechanics,” Howell said. “I still think it’s going to take a while to get back. I need to get to where I can pitch five or six innings without tiring.”