Single-Minded Dodgers Do It Right : L.A. Gets 22 Hits, All Singles, in 13-5 Victory Over Reds

After losing 8 of their previous 15 games and hitting only .212 against left-handed starters entering this one, the Dodgers reaped an unexpected and unprecedented offensive harvest in the opening game of an important home stand against National League West rivals.

They pounded Cincinnati Reds starter Dennis Rasmussen and all other left-handers Red Manager Pete Rose sent out en route to a 13-5 victory Friday night before a Dodger Stadium crowd of 45,242.

“Unbelievable,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said. “What a night. It’s about time we broke out against them (left-handers). I’m happy to see it.”

And this from Rose: “No loss is more important than another one. This one was just uglier.”

All 22 Dodger hits were singles, coming within one of tying the National League record for most singles in a nine-inning game, set by the 1931 New York Giants. The Dodgers’ hit total also came just two short of their all-time hit record of 24, set in 1974.

The Dodgers scored 6 runs off Rasmussen in two innings, added 4 against left-handed reliever Tim Birtsas in less than two innings and one each off lefties Rob Murphy and John Franco.

Murphy faced only two batters in the sixth before leaving with tenderness in his left elbow and shoulder, and Franco had to be helped off the field after being hit below the right knee by Dave Anderson’s single in the seventh. Franco was taken to a hospital for X-rays.

Having exhausted his pitching staff--or, perhaps, merely trying to spare the health of the remaining pitchers--Rose had to bring in veteran infielder Dave Concepcion to pitch in the seventh.

Concepcion, making his pitching debut after 18 seasons in the major leagues, forced Rick Dempsey to ground out to end the seventh. Bolstered by that success, Concepcion pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing only two hits.

“I guess Concepcion will be my short man tomorrow,” Rose quipped.

The only other right-hander to face the Dodgers (29-20) on this night, Jose Rijo, escaped relatively unscathed. He only allowed an unearned run.

As he usually does against left-handers, Lasorda stacked his lineup with right-handed hitters. In the past, it hasn’t made much of a difference, but Friday night it produced runs in abundance.

Mickey Hatcher and Steve Sax led the hit list, both going 5 for 6. Interestingly, the only pitcher who cooled off Hatcher was Concepcion, who forced the Dodger right fielder to fly to center.

“I think he scuffed the ball,” Hatcher said, joking. “(Concepcion) probably used spitters, too.”

Two of Hatcher’s hits were bloopers, and two others were not exactly scalding liners.

“I know that,” Hatcher said. “But a week from now, they’ll look like line drives.”

Pedro Guerrero went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs before leaving the game in the fifth inning with renewed soreness in his neck and left upper back. Mike Marshall also had three hits, and Mike Scioscia, the only left-handed hitter other than Kirk Gibson in the lineup, added two hits and two RBIs.

So, after hitting just .212 against left-handers entering the game, the Dodgers went 13 for 22 against Rasmussen and Birtsas in the early innings alone.

The troubled night for left-handed pitchers extended beyond the Reds. Dodger starter Fernando Valenzuela continued his struggle. Valenzuela lasted 2 innings, allowing 4 runs and 5 hits.

It was the second shortest outing of Valenzuela’s career. His shortest outing came in his last home start, when he was yanked after 1 innings. Tim Crews replaced Valenzuela and pitched 2 scoreless innings to earn the win, his first.

Alejandro Pena and Tim Belcher followed Crews. Belcher gave up an unearned run in the ninth, the only post-Valenzuela run the Dodgers allowed.

Lasorda said Valenzuela did not complain of an injury. “It’s too bad about Fernando,” Lasorda said. “It was just one of those nights.”

Valenzuela, who allowed only two runs in nine innings in his most recent start last weekend in Montreal, Friday night gave up a home run to the third batter he faced, Kal Daniels.

Valenzuela, staked to a 4-1 lead, did not allow a run in the second, but the third inning was his undoing.

A single to Chris Sabo and Daniels’ double down the right-field line on a 3-and-2 pitch put runners on second and third. Eric Davis also ran the count before walking to load the bases for Nick Esasky, just off the disabled list.

When Valenzuela threw two straight balls to Esasky, Crews hurriedly warmed up in the bullpen. After a third straight ball, Esasky lined Valenzuela’s next pitch into center field, scoring two runs.

That prompted a visit to the mound from pitching coach Ron Perranoski, which apparently did little good. Valenzuela walked Bo Diaz on five pitches to load the bases, and Perranoski then quickly came with the hook.

Dodger Notes

Tom Lasorda has been ejected three times in 48 games this season, the latest episode being Wednesday night in New York when both Lasorda and pitcher Tim Belcher were thrown out for allegedly throwing at a batter intentionally. While in New York, Lasorda met with Ed Vargo, the National League’s supervisor of umpires, to state his contention that selected umpires are ejecting him without reason. “In my opinion, I didn’t deserve any of them,” Lasorda said. “On the two (ejections) before the other night, I didn’t use any profanity, nothing worthy of that. I don’t know what it is.” . . . Charlie Williams and Randy Marsh were the umpires who ejected Lasorda before he automatically was thrown out when Belcher hit the Mets’ Kevin Elster on Wednesday.

Lasorda said he is not certain whether Belcher, who pitched only two innings on Wednesday, will be used out of the bullpen to stay sharp before his next start on Tuesday night against Houston. “I’ll have to talk to (pitching coach) Ron (Perranoski) about that,” Lasorda said. . . . Friday night, the Dodgers and IBM Corporation, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Unifed School District, hosted 1,000 Southland high school students who have displayed positive attitudes. Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser is the honorary chairman of the event.

Red first baseman Nick Esasky was activated from the disabled list before Friday night’s game. Leo Garcia was optioned to the minors. . . . Former Dodger Ken Landreaux, still looking for a job, said he is close to signing with Aguas Caliente, a team in the Mexican League. Dodger scout Mike Brito made the suggestion to Landreaux, 32, who was not resigned by the Dodgers after last season. “I might be through with American baseball,” Landreaux said. “I can’t even go to Japan. My agent says they don’t want me, either.”

The Dodgers’ trio of short relievers--Jesse Orosco, Jay Howell and Alejandro Pena--has been used extensively in recent games, especially Orosco and Howell. But assistant trainer Charlie Strasser said all three are available for the series against the Reds. Orosco pitched two scoreless innings against the Mets Tuesday and two-plus innings for the first time this season Wednesday night. “When you pitch that much for the first time in a while,” Strasser said of Orosco, “you have a little more stiffness. But it’s nothing we’re concerned about.”

Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, said the team chose right-handed pitcher Bill Bene from Cal State Los Angeles fifth overall in the first round of Wednesday’s free agent draft, ahead of touted third-base prospect Robin Ventura of Oklahoma State, because he felt Bene was the best athlete available. It was speculated that the Dodgers would select Ventura, considered a top prospect.

Bene, on the other hand, is a risk. He had a 6-3 record with a 5.80 ERA for Cal State Los Angeles this season and had more walks (51) than strikeouts (45). But the Dodgers were wooed by Bene’s fastball, reportedly clocked in the 90 mile-per-hour range. “Our feeling was just to take the best player with the most potential,” Claire said. “(Bene) has maybe the best arm in the country.” . . . Hershiser (7-2) opposes the Reds’ Ron Robinson (2-4) today at 12:15.