Hillegas Makes a Pitch for Himself in Dodger Win

This was supposed to be just a one-time thing for Shawn Hillegas, the sixth pitcher in the Dodgers’ five-man rotation. So, if only for future consideration, Hillegas no doubt wanted his season debut and, most likely, his finale to be memorable.

“It’s just a three-day pass for me,” Hillegas said before the game, shrugging.

At least his short-term future may still be in Albuquerque, N.M., but Hillegas certainly made a bid to change his travel itinerary by pitching a shutout for seven innings and narrowly missing a complete game in the Dodgers’ 7-3 win over the Atlanta Braves Monday before 43,268 at Dodger Stadium.

The win, the Dodgers’ fourth straight, increased their lead over the Houston Astros to 2 1/2 games in the National League West. That was made possible not only by Hillegas but also an offense led by Dave Anderson’s 3 hits and 2 runs batted in and John Shelby’s 2 hits and 2 RBIs.

Granted, these were only the Braves, who may be close in talent to the competition Hillegas faced in triple-A in Albuquerque. But the outing by the Dodgers’ hard-throwing right-hander was impressive nonetheless.

Hillegas, who had a 5-4 record with a 3.61 earned-run average in 13 minor league starts, had a two-hit shutout through seven innings before tiring as his pitch count went past 115.

But the Braves scored once in the eighth and twice in the ninth, including Ron Gant’s solo home run, to tarnish what had been Hillegas’ strong effort. Hillegas, however, did earn his first major league win this season, thanks to Alejandro Pena. Pena got Dale Murphy to pop up to earn his fifth save.

Even though Hillegas faltered late and allowed 3 runs and 10 hits in 8 innings, the question facing Dodger decision-makers in the next day or so might be: Will this impressive spot start result in a permanent spot in the rotation for Hillegas?

It seems questionable, mostly because the Dodgers’ starters have been solid without Hillegas. But if Hillegas was to stay, it would most likely mean the demotion--to the minors or the bullpen--of Tim Belcher or even the release of veteran Don Sutton.

One pitcher the Dodgers definitely want to see, again and again, is Atlanta left-hander Tom Glavine. The Dodgers may be 9-12 against left-handed starters this season, but they are 4-0 against Glavine.

This time, they chased him in the fourth inning. By that time, the Dodgers had a 5-0 lead, soon to become 7-0 an inning later.

Playing a major role in the offense was Anderson, who continues to thrive as Alfredo Griffin’s replacement at shortstop. Anderson, having played solidly on defense, is hitting much better than Griffin, who probably is a week away from returning. Anderson had singles in the second and fourth innings against Glavine and a two-run single in the fifth against Juan Eichelberger.

Anderson wasn’t alone, though. Shelby, Mike Marshall, Kirk Gibson, Jeff Hamilton and Mickey Hatcher each had two hits.

A few hours before Hillegas took the mound, pitching coach Ron Perranoski said that, barring an injury siege to the Dodger bullpen, Hillegas would most likely return to Albuquerque.

Ideally, Lasorda would like to reduce his pitching staff to 10, which is normal. But they added another pitcher because of two sets of doubleheaders against San Diego last weekend. Lasorda had lamented that it was difficult for him to play short one pinch-hitter/utility player.

Through six innings, Hillegas pitched like somebody the Dodgers would definitely want to keep. He allowed only two hits and faced only one difficult situation, which wasn’t his own doing.

With one out in the fifth, Atlanta catcher Bruce Benedict lined a single in front of Gibson in left field. The ball bounced past Gibson, allowing Benedict to advance to second on the error. Seemingly unfazed, Hillegas forced Gant to fly to left for the second out. Then, after hitting Eichelberger in the head with an 0-and-2 pitch, Hillegas got Albert Hall to ground weakly to first base to end the threat.

In his three previous starts against the Dodgers this season, Glavine had yielded 10 earned runs in 17 innings. He was an 11-3 loser to the Dodgers on April 9 in Atlanta, a 3-2 loser on April 15 and a 7-5 loser on June 15.

This time, the Dodgers hit Glavine consistently, if not always hard. It resulted in Glavine’s shortest outing yet against the Dodgers.

He gave up 5 runs and 10 hits through 3 innings before being replaced by Eichelberger. The Dodgers had nine singles and a double down the third base line by Mickey Hatcher, and Glavine allowed a steady stream of line drives to all fields.

Hatcher’s double, which bounded over third baseman Ken Oberkfell’s head and bounced into shallow left field began Glavine’s demise. A walk to Gibson, followed by a Marshall single loaded the bases.

Shelby then lined a single under the glove of a diving Andre Thomas at shortstop, scoring Hatcher and Gibson for a 2-0 lead that would later swell to 5-0 before Brave Manager Russ Nixon finally replaced Glavine.

In the third inning, consecutive singles by Gibson and Marshall had the Braves’ bullpen working at an accelerated rate. Glavine received a temporary reprieve by striking out Shelby on a 3-and-2 pitch. Lasorda then called for a double steal with Jeff Hamilton up, and the move worked as planned. Hamilton sliced a single to right field, easily scoring Gibson for a 3-0 lead.

Glavine couldn’t make it out of the fourth, though. Steve Sax’s run-scoring single made it 4-0. And, after a Hatcher single and Sax’s steal of third base, Sax scored the Dodgers’ fifth run against Glavine on Gibson’s sacrifice fly to right.

Eichelberger lasted all of one-third of an inning before the Dodger offense got to him. He retired Marshall for the final out of the fourth, but gave up two runs in the fifth on Anderson’s two-run single. Shelby led off with a single and went to third on Hamilton’s double to left. With the infield in, Anderson hit a high chopping grounder that eluded the retreating Thomas, scoring both runners for a 7-0 Dodger lead.

Dodger Notes

Because of a day off Thursday, and the fact that the Dodgers temporarily went with to a six-pitcher rotation, the club has decided to skip Tim Belcher’s scheduled start in Cincinnati Friday and move him to the bullpen. According to pitching coach Ron Perranoski, Belcher’s next start would be in Houston next week. “He’d probably get some work out of the bullpen, so it’s no big deal,” Perranoski said. “We’re doing it because of the off day.” . . . Reliever Jay Howell, who stopped warming up in the bullpen Sunday afternoon and went to the hospital for X-rays after complaining of chest pains, will undergo a bone scan today to determine if he has a fractured rib or tissue damage. Howell said he suffered a bruise on the left side of his chest before a game in Atlanta last week when a fly ball hit him. “I didn’t think anything about it,” Howell said. “It hurt a little bit. It was a little bruise nothing. I pitched with it. But then, it hurt after throwing two innings (Saturday), and it hurt like something (Sunday) in the bullpen. It’s sore to pull across my body during the delivery. But I’m OK. I think I can pitch.” Assistant trainer Charlie Strasser, however, said Howell was doubtful, at least until the bone scan results have been analyzed.

Reliever Alejandro Pena, who had neck stiffness and was unable to pitch Sunday, took treatment before Monday’s game and pronounced himself much improved. Said Pena: “It’s a little better. I can pitch. I couldn’t turn to the left yesterday, but today I can do it with only a little pain.” . . . Pedro Guerrero update: Strasser said the pinched nerve in Guerrero’s neck has improved some with treatment, but there still is no estimated date for his return. “He didn’t give us any indication,” Strasser said. “To me, close is when he starts swinging a bat. He hasn’t done that yet.”