Dodgers Get Into Swing Against Cub Pitching, 8-1

As the hits just kept on coming in the Dodgers’ long-playing fourth inning Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, finally concluding to the tune of six runs, there really wasn’t time to savor or explore the hidden meaning and importance of each hit.

Upon reflection, though, perhaps the most important and surprising blow in that inning, which helped give starter Tim Leary and the Dodgers a resounding 8-1 win over the Chicago Cubs before 44,166 fans, belonged to Franklin Stubbs.

Stubbs, the left-handed first-base fill-in during Pedro Guerrero’s absence, has long had a problem hitting left-handed pitching. So, with two out and the bases loaded in the fourth, the Cubs called for left-handed reliever Frank DiPino. Since right-handed Mickey Hatcher was unavailable with a groin injury, Stubbs was left to try to improve on his .071 average against lefties.

What resulted was a sharp single to right field that turned a 3-0 Dodger lead into a 5-0 bulge, giving Leary more than enough support to post his fifth complete game, improve his record to 7-5 and lower his earned-run average to 2.88.

As a result of a 10-hit attack and Leary’s consistent pitching, which included only 1 walk and 14 ground-ball outs, the Dodgers (45-32) are 5 1/2 games ahead of the Giants and the Astros in the National League West.

The Dodgers, who have won 11 of their last 14 games despite an injury siege, had to be heartened by visible signs of life from Stubbs, one of the few utility players who has not contributed greatly to the Dodgers’ recent success, mostly because his playing time has been sporadic.

He came into Saturday night’s game hitting just .194 in 93 at-bats with 11 runs batted in. And one reason for his platoon situation at first base is that he was only 1 for 14 against left-handers before facing DiPino.

“I really haven’t seen enough left-handers this year to know whether I can hit them,” said Stubbs, who admits he has had problems adjusting to a reserve role. “In that situation, I just got to dig in. I know if things were different, maybe I’m not (going to bat).

“I’m always looking over my shoulder and wondering what he (Manager Tom Lasorda) is going to do. I just try to do my job, babe. That’s what they pay me for. . . . It would’ve been a good hit if it had been against anybody (left or right).”

Lasorda didn’t have the option to bring in Hatcher to pinch-hit, which he has done in the past, but he obviously was pleased with Stubbs’ production.

“To me, that was a big hit,” Lasorda said. (DiPino) was one strike away from ending the inning. If we don’t get those runs, it’s a different game.”

Stubbs wasn’t the Dodgers’ only contributor, of course. In the fourth inning alone, the Dodgers received a run-scoring double by Jeff Hamilton, a two-run single by Kirk Gibson (one of his three hits) and Mike Marshall’s RBI double in the left-center field gap, the hardest hit of the inning.

All told, though, center fielder John Shelby probably had the best night of any Dodger. Shelby had a two-run single against Jeff Pico, the Cubs’ 22-year-old rookie starter, in the first inning. In the fourth, Shelby singled against Pico and, later in the inning against DiPino, beat out a grounder to second for a hit.

Leary did not need such an offensive windfall. But he obviously didn’t refuse it, either. If not for a minor setback in the fifth inning, in which the Cubs pushed across a run on three hits, Leary might have recorded his fourth shutout of the season.

Once again displaying excellent control of his split-fingered pitch and cut fastball, Leary struck out 6 batters and walked 1. In 106 innings this season, Leary has struck out 86 and walked 23. More than the ratio of strikeouts to walks, Leary says, the best barometer of his effectiveness is to tabulate the total of his ground-ball outs.

Leary allowed 10 hits Saturday--the same as the Cubs’ five pitchers--but except for the fifth and ninth innings, he did not give up more than one hit an inning.

“I had to work at it tonight,” Leary said. “I really didn’t feel like I had command. I threw a lot of fastballs early to establish keeping the ball low and getting the ground balls. In the second half, I mixed it up a little and used all my pitches.

“To me, every game is a new experience, so I’m happy that I got this win. I threw a lot more pitches than I’m used to, and I feel all right.”

Dodger Notes

Despite allowing 6 runs and 8 hits in 7 innings Friday night against the Cubs, Fernando Valenzuela said Saturday that he was encouraged. Considering that Valenzuela gave up three home runs in two-thirds of an inning in his previous start, it was an improvement. “I feel fine and I threw hard,” said Valenzuela, who left the ballpark before talking with reporters Friday night. “I think I have better speed on my fastballs now.” But Valenzuela still had control problems, as evidenced by his six walks. “I have to work on that between starts,” he said. “I missed on the screwball for all those walks. The screwball was flat sometimes. I would throw the screwball on a 3-and-2 (count) and they’d take it. But I saw a big difference. I had good stuff. We lost the game, but I’m happy. I’m getting better, and my arm feels stronger.” . . . Left-handed pitcher Bill Krueger, the replacement in the starting rotation for injured Don Sutton, arrived at Dodger Stadium before Saturday’s game and was informed that he will start Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. “We’ll see what kind of pitcher he is,” Lasorda said. “We brought him up because we were told he was doing the best of any pitcher in Albuquerque.” Krueger had a 10-2 record and a 2.85 earned-run average in 15 Pacific Coast League starts. Orel Hershiser, originally Monday’s starter, will pitch Tuesday on five days’ rest. . . . Medical Update: Alfredo Griffin was examined by a hand specialist Saturday and was given clearance to swing a bat. But it is likely that Griffin will not return before the All-Star break, July 11-13. “It’s going to be a gradual progression,” assistant trainer Charlie Strasser said. “He’ll start by just swinging the bat, then hit off a tee, then hit by soft-toss, then go to (batting practice). We’ll wait and see how long it will take. He’ll see the doctor again on July 11.” . . . Pedro Guerrero will undergo more tests Tuesday to determine the cause and severity of pain in his neck. But Strasser said Guerrero still has not received clearance to swing a bat.