Dodgers Stay Even With Maddux, Beat Cubs in 10th, 3-2

No, the Dodgers did not beat Greg Maddux Friday. Victory came an inning after the departure of the Chicago Cubs’ 22-year-old pitching star, but the Dodgers still thought they had accomplished something commendable. In a matchup of present and past phenoms, Maddux and Fernando Valenzuela, the Dodgers came back from a 2-1 deficit against Maddux in the eighth inning to send the game into extra innings. Then, against the Cubs’ bullpen in the 10th, Tracy Woodson singled home Dave Anderson to give the Dodgers a 3-2 victory before a Wrigley Field crowd of 32,179.

After the two big-name pitchers had left, Dodger relievers clearly outpitched the Cub bullpen. Alejandro Pena, who has not allowed an earned run in his last 10 appearances, pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win. And Jesse Orosco, the only reliever not used in Thursday’s doubleheader sweep, picked up his sixth save.

So, while Maddux’s winning streak remains at nine with the no-decision, the Dodgers increased their win streak after the All-Star break to three with a performance that uplifted the Dodger players, who were chanting as they rushed up the tunnel connecting the clubhouse and the field.

“This is one thing we’ve been able to do all season,” Anderson said. “(We) come back--from losses and from being behind early in the game. Against somebody like Maddux, to come back and win can really help your confidence.”

After Friday’s win, which enabled first-place Los Angeles to move five games ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the National League West, Dodger confidence was spilling over. Much of it was in recognition of another come-from-behind victory, but spirits also were boosted by the second straight effective outing from Valenzuela.

Valenzuela, who admitted afterward that he has had some problems with a “tight” shoulder before some starts, allowed 6 hits and 2 earned runs in 7 innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter with the Dodgers trailing by a run. Although he walked 5, Valenzuela worked out of several jams, yielding single runs in the second and third innings.

“I’m happy,” Valenzuela said. “I had better location. My fastball had better speed, and the breaking balls were breaking. I liked the heat (96 degrees), because I was able to get my shoulder loose.”

Fans in The Windy (and Humid) City were wondering whether Maddux would continue his dominance in the season’s second half after winning 15 of his first 19 starts. Though Maddux was again dominating, he was not unhittable. After the Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the third, Kirk Gibson opened the fourth inning with a double to right-center, went to third on Mike Marshall’s ground-out and scored on John Shelby’s ground-out.

The Cubs maintained their 2-1 lead until the eighth. With an 0-and-2 count on Jeff Hamilton, the inning’s first hitter, Maddux tried to slip a fastball over the outside corner. The only problem was that the pitch sailed to the middle of the plate, and Hamilton knocked it into right field for a triple.

“It was probably the worst pitch I’ve thrown all year,” Maddux said. “It was a heater right down the middle. I wanted to miss away, and I didn’t. It cost us the game.”

Said Hamilton: “(Maddux) threw a couple of good pitches, and I got mad at myself. He makes it tough on a hitter. I just wanted to make contact and hope to get on base.”

After Anderson beat out a high chopper for a single, Hamilton remaining at third, Maddux struck out pinch-hitter Mike Davis. But Steve Sax lifted a fly ball deep enough to center field to score Hamilton and tie the game, 2-2.

Maddux pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd after getting Hamilton to fly to left field for the third out. Meanwhile, Pena had been shutting down the Cubs in the eighth and ninth innings, allowing only an Andre Dawson single.

In the top of the 10th, the Dodgers struck against Cub relievers Al Nipper and Frank DiPino.

Anderson began this Dodger rally with a double down the left-field line off Nipper. Two outs later, with left-hand-hitting Franklin Stubbs due up, Cub Manager Don Zimmer brought in DiPino, a left-hander. Lasorda responded by bringing in Woodson to pinch-hit. Woodson, called up from triple-A Albuquerque because of Mickey Hatcher’s groin strain, singled to left, scoring Anderson to complete the comeback.

Well, not quite. Orosco, who had pitched only twice in the last two weeks and warmed up seven times Thursday without being summoned, retired the side in the 10th and, thereupon, the Dodgers began celebrating.

“It’s just like it’s been all year,” said Anderson, having to shout to be heard over the clubhouse commotion. “We have different guys contributing. Today, it was Woodson. And the bullpen. I can’t say enough about the bullpen.”

Dodger relievers have combined for 28 saves, most in the National League.

Pena has fit so comfortably into his role as a short reliever that he said he doesn’t even think about returning to the rotation, which he had wanted to do last season.

“I’ve put being a starter away,” said Pena, who had the save in Thursday’s first game. “Far away. Real far. No question, I feel stronger now in the bullpen. I just do my job whenever they give me the ball.”

Orosco would like to be handed the ball more often. But he has not complained, just patiently waited in the bullpen for the right situation to arise.

“It’s all up to them, how they use me,” Orosco said. “If they’ve needed me (in recent games), I’ve sure been ready.”

Valenzuela, with eight days between starts, certainly was ready. He was still concerned about his five walks but seemed generally pleased with his second strong outing following two shaky ones.

“I feel fine, and my arm feels well,” Valenzuela said. “And we won the game, so it’s OK.”

Dodger Notes

Fernando Valenzuela said his “tight” shoulder has not bothered him during games, only before games when he warms up. “It really isn’t bothering me now,” Valenzuela said. “In games, I don’t feel it. Just before. The heat today really helped me. The breaking balls were breaking. It was easier to get loose.” Said pitching coach Ron Perranoski: “I think (Valenzuela’s shoulder tightness) had to make it harder for him. He didn’t have the arm speed. He’s getting treatment now and getting back to normal.” . . . Friday was the 10th time Cub pitcher Greg Maddux had pitched at least 9 innings, and it was only his second no-decision of the season.

Despite shaky outings in his last two starts, Shawn Hillegas will remain in the Dodgers’ rotation--at least until Don Sutton returns from the disabled list--according to Perranoski. “Obviously, we’re going to have to make a decision somewhere down the line,” Perranoski said. “But I don’t want to put pressure on Shawn. I don’t even want to say that the two things (Sutton’s return and Hillegas’ poor pitching) are correlated. I still think (Hillegas) is throwing the ball well.” After winning his first two starts, Hillegas has two losses and a no-decision.

There is a chance that middle reliever Brian Holton, who has a 1.96 earned-run average, will start one of the doubleheader games at San Francisco later in the trip. “As far as I know, nothing’s been decided,” Holton said. “I’m happy where I’m at, but I wouldn’t mind getting a shot at starting. I feel very confident with my stuff now.”