Tempers Cool but So Are Dodger Hitters : Mets’ Darling Keeps Them Quiet in Rain-Delayed Game, 3-2

Bats and balls, occasionally flung in anger the last time the Dodgers met the New York Mets, were used only for their intended purposes in Monday night’s eagerly awaited rematch between the combatants.

None of the anticipated acrimony, after Pedro Guerrero’s bat-throwing incident and the series of brushback pitching episodes, blatantly resurfaced. Only the Shea Stadium fans heaped abuse on Guerrero, who dodged a thrown inflatable bat in the first inning and a large ball of tin foil in the ninth.

So, with decorum partially restored in a game interrupted by a 34-minute rain delay, the meeting between the National League’s division leaders turned into another display of Met domination. The Mets won their fourth straight game from the Dodgers, this time a 3-2 victory as Ron Darling became the latest pitcher to baffle Dodger hitters.

The Dodgers, whose lead over the Houston Astros in the West dwindled to a half-game, managed only six hits off Darling, who came within one out of a complete game before John Shelby’s solo home run cut the lead to one run and necessitated a pitching change. Although the Dodgers may have quietly succumbed on the field Monday night, there were some indications of the sensitive nature of the series. Home plate umpire Doug Harvey warned both teams that if any batter was, in his opinion, intentionally hit by a pitch, both the pitcher and the manager would be ejected.

Such a situation almost arose in the third inning, shortly after the delay that apparently did nothing to dampen the competitive nature between the teams.

Dodger starter Tim Leary, who got the loss despite giving up three runs and six hits, made two inside pitches to Darryl Strawberry. After the second high and inside pitch, Harvey removed his mask, walked to the front of the plate and stared at Leary.

Catcher Mike Scioscia knew what the stare meant and argued that Leary did not intentionally try to hit Strawberry.

“I just felt the second brushback pitch went farther inside than the first one,” Harvey said. “When the catcher started arguing with me, I told him if it had hit him, I would have run both the pitcher and the manager.”

Strawberry then lofted Leary’s next pitch into the left-field corner, driving in Dave Magadan to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. The Mets scored their first run when Wally Backman doubled and, after the delay, Magadan singled him in.

Although Leary said neither the rain delay nor Harvey’s nonverbal warning shook his concentration, it certainly didn’t help. Scioscia said he was upset that Harvey would make such a judgment.

“It wasn’t that close,” Scioscia said. “Hey, we’re here to play baseball. Why would we want to hit (Strawberry)? That was a big out. It’s ridiculous.

“I know they don’t want to let it get out of hand like the last time, but we’ve forgotten about that. But if anyone should remember, it’s us. We got Alfredo (Griffin) out with a broken hand because (Dwight) Gooden hit him.”

Many in the Shea Stadium crowd of 42,096 did not forget Guerrero’s incident of throwing his bat at Met pitcher David Cone, which landed Guerrero a four-day suspension. As expected, Guerrero was subjected to verbal abuse, but little else.

The man who recreated the bat-throwing incident with a soft plastic bat was ejected. The fan who threw the wadded tin foil at Guerrero as he trotted to the dugout after grounding out in the ninth was never found. But Lasorda and a uniformed policeman came out of the dugout to try to find the perpetrator.

Guerrero, swarmed by reporters afterward, said he simply wanted to forget about the bat-throwing incident and block out the Shea Stadium fan reaction.

“(The Mets) pitched me inside tonight, because that’s what their scouting report says they should, so I have no problem,” Guerrero said. “But don’t hit me. I can tell the difference (in a pitch) when they are trying to hit me. But this is over with. I don’t want to talk about it every day.”

The events that did not directly pertain to the game somewhat obscured a Dodger loss that was due more to lack of hitting than any problems Leary encountered.

Leary (4-4) had thrown consecutive shutouts entering Monday’s game. He wasn’t quite as effective this time--allowing six hits, walking four and striking out six--but he needed to be because of the Dodgers’ offensive drought.

Darling, winner of three straight, had given up only a fourth-inning run on Shelby’s double going into the ninth, when Shelby struck again, with his second home run of the season. His first was Sunday in Montreal.

Other than Shelby’s production, the Dodgers received two hits from Steve Sax, plus singles by Guerrero and Leary.

Right fielder Mike Davis continues to struggle. He went hitless in four at-bats and is in a 2-for-33 slump. Lasorda said afterward that he might bench Davis (hitting .212) in hopes that time off for non-production will eventually break him out of his season-long struggle.

If Lasorda benched every struggling Dodger, he might have trouble filling spots. Although they had won five of their last six games coming into this series, the Dodgers mostly had done it with pitching and hot hitting from a select few.

Mike Marshall, who had been hot a few weeks earlier, has only 2 hits in his last 36 at-bats. Scioscia’s average, once in the high .300s, has dropped to .302. Marshall is hitting .245.

Dodger Notes

Met first baseman Keith Hernandez was given the night off Monday. “I’m a little tired,” Hernandez said. . . . Darryl Strawberry joined Hernandez on the bench after the 34-minute rain delay. Strawberry has been bothered by a sore right groin and the Mets feared that playing on the wet outfield grass would further aggravate the injury. . . .

The conclusion of the New York Mets and Dodger game was not seen on ABC-TV Monday night after a third-inning rain delay because of a network policy. At the time of the delay, ABC switched to the backup game between the New York Yankees and Athletics in Oakland. When the Dodger-Met game resumed after a 34-minute delay, however, ABC stayed with the Yankees-Athletics game. ABC producer Curt Gowdy Jr. said that as a general rule the network stays with the backup game if the delay is more than 30 minutes. “This time we were fortunate to have another attractive game, so we stayed with it,” he added.