Ken Howell Roughed Up as Dodgers Lose, 9-2

Those frequent excursions to Bakersfield, followed by an extended stay in Albuquerque, N.M., and a brief side-trip to Vero Beach, Fla., all led Ken Howell to Atlanta Fulton County Stadium Thursday for his first major league start.

The comeback trail certainly has been fraught with with detours and obstacles, but Howell, who had off-season shoulder surgery, did not find any comfort once he reached his destination. Howell gave up 8 earned runs and 15 hits in 6 innings of the Dodgers’ 9-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves, a large pothole on his road to recovery.

“I was walking off the field after the sixth inning,” Howell said, “and all I could think of was that Braves’ slogan they’re always playing: ‘Goodness, Gracious . . . One Crazy Summer.’ It’s been one crazy summer for me, a lot of traveling to get back here . . .

“Then, it’s welcome back, Ken Howell.”

The Braves, who had lost five straight, greeted Howell by slashing hits all over the field. Granted, some of those hits may have just eluded gloves of Dodger fielders or barely fell inside the foul lines, but Howell was hit so hard and often that he may have lost perspective.

“I don’t know whether I pitched good, bad or what,” said Howell, recalled from triple-A Albuquerque Wednesday after rehabilitative stints in Bakersfield and Vero Beach. “I thought I threw the ball good. I can’t do anything about balls with eyes.

“This is nothing to feel bad about. I really wasn’t giving up any rockets, and I did the best I could. When I was warming up before the game, I felt that I had untouchable stuff.”

That is probably because Atlanta hitters hadn’t left the dugout yet. Seven of the first 12 batters Howell faced got hits. When he was replaced after the sixth inning, Howell had thrown 100 pitches.

Howell found some consolation in his statistics.

“My walks-to-strikeouts ratio was great,” said Howell, who struck out 7 and allowed only an intentional walk. “But I guess I need a little work on the hits-to-innings ratio. I wasn’t pleased with that.”

Nor, obviously, was Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda. But with the Dodgers heading into a stretch, starting tonight, in which they play five games in three days against the San Diego Padres, Lasorda was reluctant to yank Howell, so that he could save his bullpen for less hopeless causes.

“You gotta make a decision,” Lasorda said. “If I relieve him in the third or fourth inning, we’re going to have to go through three or four (relief) pitchers the day before playing five games in three days.”

Lasorda shrugged, then added: “You gotta bite the bullet. It’s tough to do it. You don’t want to do it. . . “

So, Howell kept trudging to the mound, inning after inning, only to have the Braves whack hits into nearly every conceivable sector of the stadium.

Perseverance may have been Howell’s best--no, only--attribute Thursday. Not even a home plate collision with Dale Murphy in the fourth inning could knock Howell out of the game. After grabbing his left knee and writhing in pain for about a minute, Howell popped up and finished the inning.

Two innings and two Brave runs later, Howell had concluded his six innings of hard time. “I battled the whole day,” Howell said. “I wasn’t going to come out of the ballgame. I know this club has a lot of doubleheaders coming up. Right then, when my knee got hit, I just got up and gave the best effort I could. I knew I had to give us six innings.”

Left-hander Zane Smith held the Dodgers to two runs in seven innings. The Dodgers took a short-lived 1-0 lead in the first inning when Steve Sax scored from third base on Mike Marshall’s ground-out. And in the sixth inning, Marshall hit a bases-empty home run to left. It was his eighth home run of the season and first against a left-hander.

Atlanta, meanwhile, staged a hitting festival. Smith went 2 for 2 and scored 2 runs. Third baseman Ken Oberkfell went 4 for 5 with 3 runs batted in. Left fielder Dion James went 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs, and Albert Hall, Ron Gant and Gerald Perry each added 2 hits. Atlanta ended the afternoon with a total of 18 hits.

“It seemed like they could do nothing wrong today,” Howell said. “They were getting check-swing hits and hit them just past our infielders.”

That sentiment was shared by catcher Mike Scioscia, who said he thought that Howell, a former reliever, is on the right track regardless of appearances.

“I know that 15 hits don’t look good,” Scioscia said. “I know it looks like we got smoked, 9-2. But it definitely wasn’t as bad as it looks for Kenny. I think this is a new Kenny Howell. He’s not a thrower anymore. He’s evolving as a pitcher. He’s in the early stages. I think the end product will be better than the old Kenny Howell.”

Lasorda would not say whether Howell will be given another start, even with the glut of games coming up.

But the Dodgers survived Howell’s start, although their lead over the Houston Astros in the National League West was sliced to one game, and Howell managed to retain his self-confidence. “I don’t know what the plan is for me,” Howell said. “I’d like to have another start. I’ve done a lot of work to get back here.”

Dodger Notes

The Dodgers ended the trip with a 2-4 record--losing all three games at San Diego before winning 2 of 3 in Atlanta. It was the first time this season the Dodgers have had a losing trip. They are 18-12 overall on the road. . . . Ken Howell, who had the tip of his right collarbone removed during the off-season, said his shoulder felt fine after pitching six innings Thursday. “I felt strong. I’m healthy.” If the Dodgers do not decide to give Howell a second start, they might recall Shawn Hillegas from Albuquerque. . . . Mike Davis’ pinch-hit single in the eighth inning was his first hit since June 4. Davis’ last start was June 5. . . . Trainer Bill Buhler said Pedro Guerrero, on the disabled list with an acutely sore neck, has not shown significant improvement after undergoing daily treatment. Guerrero will probably not be activated Monday, when he is eligible. “He (Dr. Robert Watkins) wasn’t pleased,” Buhler said. “(Guerrero) still has quite a bit of discomfort.” Buhler said surgery is not an alternative.