Phillies Find That Leary Has Something on Ball : Dodger Pitcher Draws First Blood, Then Finishes With One-Hitter in 4-0 Win

One batter into what would be the best game Tim Leary has ever pitched, an unusual substance was detected on the ball. The umpires came to the mound and inspected both the ball and Leary’s right hand. A Dodger trainer did, too. Curious teammates circled like bystanders at the scene of a crime.

The substance found on the ball was . . . blood.

It turned out that Leary somehow had sustained a cut on the middle finger of his right hand, no bigger than if he had pricked himself with a needle. That appears to be an occupational hazard for a pitcher whose repertoire includes a split-finger off-speed pitch and a cut fastball.

Once the bleeding stopped, nothing could stop Leary from cutting down the Philadelphia Phillies en route to a one-hitter in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win here Wednesday night before a crowd of 24,444 at Veterans Stadium.

It was Leary’s second straight shutout and third of the season. The one-hitter--the lone hit being Darren Daulton’s third-inning single--bettered Leary’s three-hit shutout of the San Diego Padres last month.

Leary’s pitching, combined with two-run home runs from Mike Scioscia and Jeff Hamilton off loser David Palmer, enabled the Dodgers (24-17) to climb into a virtual first-place tie with the Houston Astros in the National League West.

Leary has thrown 19 scoreless innings, has an 0.82 earned-run average over his last 33 innings and had gone 24 innings without walking a batter before issuing a walk to Milt Thompson, the first hitter he faced.

Right then, Leary knew something was not right.

So, he checked his finger and noticed a bead of blood. He had been unthinkingly wiping it on his pants leg during Thompson’s at-bat. After being treated with “Tough-Skin,” described by trainers as a liquid Band-Aid, Leary was too tough for Phillie hitters, who badly needed an offensive transfusion.

“You can’t see (the cut) now but, when I grabbed the ball, I noticed a strange slickness,” Leary said. “I must have scratched my finger with a pebble or something--the mound was a mess--or maybe I cut it on the seam (of the baseball.)

“I didn’t really feel affected by it, but it was bleeding and distracting.”

After that interruption, Leary dismissed Philadelphia with relative ease. He threw only 107 pitches, relying mostly on fastballs and occasionally mixing in a split-finger--his version of a change-up--and a cut fastball, which moves away from right-handed hitters and sinks.

Basically, though, Leary just kept rearing back and firing those 90-mile-per-hour fastballs. Leary (4-3) has had just one poor outing this season--a six-run shelling in two-thirds of an inning against St. Louis May 1. His 2.48 ERA is second only to Orel Hershiser (2.33) among Dodger starters.

“I moved the ball in and out good tonight,” Leary said. “I kept the ball down, mostly. It was sinking for me, but it would move around, too. I didn’t feel I threw as hard or as good as my last start (a seven-hit shutout of Montreal), but things just worked out.”

Had it not been for Daulton’s third-inning single, Leary would have no-hit the Phillies, who have a .225 team batting average. Daulton hit a hard groundball that Dodger first baseman Mike Marshall tried to backhand, but it skidded beyond his reach and into right field.

Daulton advanced to second after Steve Jeltz walked, but Leary started a double play after fielding a bunt by Palmer, throwing out Daulton at third to start it.

Third base was unexplored territory for Phillies’ baserunners on this night. Leary issued only two walks, but the Phillies also had two baserunners because of fielding errors by Hamilton at third base and Dave Anderson at shortstop.

“Leary was dominating tonight,” Scioscia said. “You aren’t going to lose many games when a guy’s throwing like that. His location was in the strike zone. When a guy is throwing that hard and has location, it works. His cut fastball was effective, and the split-finger was working when he decided to use it. His pitches were moving real well.”

The difference between Leary this season and last is startling. After coming to the Dodgers from Milwaukee in the Greg Brock trade, Leary lost his spot in the starting rotation during spring training and never adapted to the role as a long reliever.

But pitching in the Mexican winter league at Tijuana improved Leary’s arm strength, honed his split-finger pitch and bolstered his confidence.

“I’m pitching better than any time in my life,” said Leary, who had two four-hitters as a Brewer. “There’s no comparison between this year and last year. . . . As long as my arm feels strong, it’s just a matter of not making a stupid pitch. When you get a lead like tonight, that’s a bonus. That helps your confidence.”

In the absence of suspended Pedro Guerrero, the Dodgers relied on previously untapped sources for offense. Scioscia hit a home run to right field in the fourth inning, one out after Marshall had singled. It was Scioscia’s first home run of 1988. Three innings later, the Dodgers made it 4-0 on Hamilton’s first home run this season, coming one out after John Shelby doubled.

Hamilton was 1 for 17 this season with only one start before Guerrero was suspended Tuesday for throwing his bat at New York Met pitcher David Cone. In two subsequent starts, Hamilton is 3 for 9 with 2 RBIs.

“I know I can hit, when I do get to play,” Hamilton said. “I think they know that. But you never know what’s going to happen. Maybe if I get on fire. . . .”

Hamilton did not finish his sentence, knowing his role is as a late-inning defensive replacement for Guerrero. But if Leary can resurrect his career from long relief to a starter who leads the team in shutouts, maybe there is hope.

“Leary’s like a different pitcher,” Lasorda said. “That’s what happens when you get a lot of confidence. I’m impressed by the guy.”

Probably the only disheartening thing Lasorda found out about Leary Wednesday night is that when his pitcher bleeds, it isn’t Dodger blue.

Dodger Notes

More fallout from Pedro Guerrero’s suspension: While many on the Dodgers felt Met pitcher David Cone should have been fined or suspended for allegedly throwing at Guerrero last Sunday, Met players said Guerrero’s four-day suspension, handed down by National President Bart Giamatti, was too lenient. “It’s a joke,” Met relief pitcher Roger McDowell said. “Some justice. I mean, this guy (Giamatti) is going to crack down on the balk rule, and Guerrero gets only four days.” Met pitcher Bob Ojeda said: “The embarrassment (Guerrero) must feel in looking at his wife and kids after doing something that unmanly is probably punishment enough, because he’s going to have to live with it for the rest of his life.” Mike Lupica, columnist for the New York Daily News, wrote: “If Giamatti had been any softer on Guerrero, the Dodger would have gotten community service.” Lupica said that Cone “hit him with a Frisbee-like curveball that Oprah Winfrey could have avoided.”. . . . Add bat throwing: It turns out there was one other incident--besides the Bert Campaneris incident in 1972--of a hitter throwing his bat at the pitcher. It happened in 1977, when Frank Taveras threw his bat at pitcher Joe Hoerner. Taveras was suspended five games and fined. . . . Last add Guerrero: Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said he is not concerned that Guerrero, among the league’s leading hitters at .326, will lose his stroke during his enforced absence. “He’s taking a lot of batting practice,” Lasorda said. “He’s hitting against live pitching. Even if he didn’t hit, I don’t think it would hurt him.”. . . . Alfredo Griffin will join the Dodgers today in Philadelphia after having his broken right hand examined again Wednesday in Los Angeles. According to Charlie Strasser, the club’s assistant trainer, surgery on Griffin’s hand definitely has been ruled out. Griffin’s hand has been placed in a cast, and Strasser said the timetable for his return is still one month. . . . Pitcher Ken Howell cleared waivers Wednesday and reported to Albuquerque, N.M., the Dodgers’ triple-A affiliate.