Leary Beats Braves, 2-1, on 4-Hit Complete Game

Adversity visited the Dodgers again Tuesday night, the unwelcome guest this time bringing the burdensome news that ace reliever Jay Howell had been put on the disabled list because of a fractured rib.

But, just as they have done after the loss of Alfredo Griffin, their best defensive player, and Pedro Guerrero, their best offensive player, the Dodgers vowed to continue winning despite the growing body count of casualties.

They absorbed Howell’s loss, on Tuesday night at least, quite painlessly thanks to starter Tim Leary, who pitched a complete-game four-hitter in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves before a Dodger Stadium crowd of 18,485.

Unfazed, seemingly, by the injury siege, the Dodgers equaled their season-high with five straight wins, coming against the Braves and San Diego Padres, the National League West’s lower-echelon teams. Tuesday’s win also kept the Dodgers 2 1/2 games ahead of the Houston Astros in the West.

It isn’t known yet whether the Dodgers will be able to survive--and, occasionally, thrive--without Howell as they have done without Griffin (broken hand) and Guerrero (neck stiffness). This night, Leary made that question moot with a dominating effort.

Leary (6-5) pitched his fourth complete game, retiring 21 of the last 23 batters he faced. He struck out seven Braves and walked just one. It was Leary’s best outing, since his one-hit shutout in Philadelphia on May 25.

“I didn’t feel like I was throwing particularly hard,” Leary said. “I was concentrating on keeping the ball down. I was relying mostly on my split-finger (pitch) and fastball. All year, I’ve pitched without a lot of runs. My last couple of starts, I gave up the big inning and it hurt. I wanted to concentrate more tonight.”

Just as they were last last week in Atlanta, the Dodgers were stunted offensively by Braves’ left-hander Zane Smith. They had only eight hits off Smith, who beat the Dodgers last week.

Jeff Hamilton, Guerrero’s replacement at third base, went 3 for 4 Tuesday. Hamilton has 14 hits in his last 35 at-bats after a dismal start. Mike Scioscia, a left-handed hitter, beat baseball percentages by singling in a run off Smith in the Dodgers’ two-run second. Hamilton scored the second run on Dave Anderson’s groundout.

So, with little offense with which to work and Howell and his team-high eight saves unavailable, an outstanding outing by Leary was a necessity.

Just for precautionary measures, though, Manager Tom Lasorda had the bullpen busy as early as the seventh inning. Alejandro Pena and Tim Crews warmed up in the seventh, while Tim Belcher and Jesse Orosco threw in the eighth and ninth innings.

“We were all right down there (in the bullpen) tonight,” Lasorda said. “But it’s always good to get a complete game.”

Leary didn’t need the help, which is a good thing, because second baseman Steve Sax didn’t provide much in the ninth. Leadoff batter Dion James hit a slow grounder, but the ball rolled between Sax’s legs and into right field. But Leary got Dale Murphy and Ken Griffey to hit into force plays, and Andres Thomas lined to diving right fielder Mike Marshall to end it.

Before Sax’s boot, though, Leary was helped defensively by center fielder John Shelby with one out in the eighth inning and nobody on.

Leary, however, got most of the big outs himself. With Albert Hall on second and one out in the third, Leary struck out Dion James and then got Dale Murphy to fly to center.

“The Dion James strike out was a big one,” Leary said. “The rest didn’t matter.”

By the end of an uncharacteristically quick night, Leary was given a standing ovation by what remained of the crowd, which seemed more concerned about the Laker game early on.

But Lasorda was full of praise.

“He pitched a super, outstanding, incredible game,” Lasorda said. “Look at that command of pitches he had tonight. He kept the ball down all night.”

Leary’s only mistake was a second-inning home run to Ozzie Virgil to deep center field.

Like a badly dubbed foreign film, the reaction from many fans at Dodger Stadium on this night did not correspond to what was happening on the field. That was because some spent the early innings watching or listening to the Laker-Piston game in their seats.

This resulted in a few cheers at imprudent times.

For instance, the crowd roared at, presumably, a Laker basket just as Leary delivered his 2-and-0 pitch to Virgil in the second inning.

That was quickly replaced by silence, as Virgil deposited the ball over the 395-foot sign to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead. Leary gave up a subsequent single to Ron Gant, but escaped without further damage.

The Braves’ lead didn’t even make it through the second inning. The Dodger rally began with one out, when Shelby singled to left. Hamilton, hitting .335 in the last 10 days, singled to center to move Shelby into scoring position.

He didn’t stay long, though. Scioscia singled to right to score Shelby to make it 1-1, Hamilton taking third. Hamilton scored on Dave Anderson’s groundout for a 2-1 lead.

Dodger Notes

The bone scan on Dodger reliever Jay Howell’s chest showed a fracture of the fourth rib on the left side of the chest. Howell was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Sunday. Outfielder Jose Gonzalez was recalled from Albuquerque to replace Howell. The move resulted in several changes in the Dodgers’ pitching staff. Tim Belcher will be dropped from the starting rotation, at least for two weeks, and will move into Howell’s role as the club’s late-inning right-handed reliever. Shawn Hillegas, who gave up 3 runs in 8 innings against the Braves Monday night, will take Belcher’s spot in the rotation. Hillegas’ next start figures to be Tuesday night in Houston. Howell was hit in the chest with a line drive while shagging balls in the outfield last week in Atlanta. He made three appearances after suffering what he thought was a bruise. But the condition worsened, and a bone scan Tuesday morning showed a slight fracture. Trainer Bill Buhler said Howell will not be able to toss a ball for at least a week, but that Howell will continue lifting weights and strengthening his right side.