Marshall Gives Leary His Run, and It’s Enough

All Dodger pitcher Tim Leary asked for Monday night was a run. Just one would do, since Leary seemed intent on denying the St. Louis Cardinals even the slightest chance at a serious rally.

The wait lasted almost nine innings, but Leary was rewarded for perhaps his most dominant pitching effort yet when Mike Marshall homered off Cardinals’ reliever Todd Worrell to give the Dodgers a 1-0 win.

The victory gave the Dodgers’ an 8-game lead over the San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros in the National League West.

Leary, pitching on only three days’ rest because of the recent glut of games, showed no sign of fatigue in notching his league-high fourth shutout. Leary (9-6) seemed willing to last as long as it would take for his teammates to produce a modicum of offense.

“It’s a great win,” said Leary, who allowed only one walk and five hits. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet. It was so close, and I was concentrating so hard.”

It was the Dodgers’ sixth straight win since the All-Star break. And, while many players have contributed to the streak, the Dodgers this time turned to Marshall and Leary, two of their most frequent producers.

“It just seems like when we don’t score a lot of runs early, our pitching staff keeps us close,” Marshall said. “And when we get good hitting, it holds our pitching. Every phase of our game is holding up, especially our pitching.”

Leary, a disappointing 3-11 last season after coming to the Dodgers from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Greg Brock trade, has seen his career revitalized after developing a split-finger pitch and refining a cut fastball.

What was particularly impressive in Monday’s win, Leary’s third in his last four starts, was his economy of pitches and sheer durability.

The Cardinals advanced only one runner past first base. The speedy duo of Vince Coleman and Ozzie Smith went a combined 0 for 8. All but one Cardinal baserunner was erased on a subsequent ground-ball out, the Dodger infield turning two double plays to assist Leary. Leary registered 15 ground-ball outs.

Leary struck out only four, but he said that wasn’t his intention. Leary said he wanted the Cardinals to hit the ball so that he would not have to throw a lot of pitches.

“My thinking was to make them hit the ball,” Leary said. “You definitely know in a 0-0 game that you can’t make any mistakes. For me, it means being more aggressive.

“I have to take that attitude that I know our offense will do it for me. I’ve had a couple games this year when it was like this in the sixth and seventh inning and I blew it by giving up the runs. I was kicking myself. But tonight, I knew if I kept making good pitches, I could keep us in the game.”

Leary, who has 98 strikeouts and 28 walks in 126 innings, did not tire at all.

The only inning the Cardinals advanced a runner past first was the seventh, when Terry Pendleton reached base on a fielder’s choice after Leary’s only walk and went to second on Tony Pena’s infield hit with two out. That modest rally was squelched when Leary got Luis Alicea to ground to short, forcing Pena.

Leary gave up two deep fly-ball outs in the fifth inning but, other than that, the Cardinals did not threaten.

“As long as my arm feels good, I’d prefer to go on three days’ rest,” said Leary, who gave the overworked Dodger bullpen a needed rest. “It’s fine with me. I can stay sharper that way. I’ll do it whenever they want.”

After watching the Dodgers strand six runners in scoring position in the first eight innings, Leary almost missed the game’s only run. He was walking up the tunnel connecting the dugout to the clubhouse during Marshall’s at-bat when he heard the crack of the bat and a cacophony of voices in the dugout.

“I came running back down, and I saw maybe about the last 20% of the home run.”

Where the ball landed was all that really mattered. Marshall, overtaking Kirk Gibson for the team lead in runs batted in with 51, hit Worrell’s second pitch into the third row in the left-field bleachers.

It was the second time in two weeks the Dodgers have beaten Worrell on a late-inning home run. On July 6 at Dodger Stadium, Worrell gave up a grand slam to Franklin Stubbs to give the Dodgers a 7-3 win.

Marshall’s home run wasn’t quite as dramatic, but it was an accomplishment since Marshall has always had problems hitting Worrell. “I don’t even think I’ve got a hit off him since the playoffs (in 1985),” Marshall said. “I’ve had trouble with him. He throws hard. I hit it a little off the end of the bat. I had a good swing and got (arm) extension. But I wasn’t sure it was going out.”

But it did, and the Dodgers continued an impressive streak in which they have won games in many fashions. Monday night’s was the traditional 1-0 pitching masterpiece. It was similar to Leary’s last outing, when he pitched seven shutout innings in a 1-0 Dodger win over the Chicago Cubs last Thursday.

“That’s the mark of a good club, winning those 1-0 games,” Steve Sax said. “But we’re winning them no matter what.”

Dodger Notes

Pedro Guerrero (sore neck) completed his 44th day on the disabled list Monday and reported progress, according to Dodger trainers. But on Sunday, Guerrero reportedly felt additional soreness in his neck. Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, said Guerrero himself will determine when he is fit enough to return. But Claire, who spoke with Guerrero before Monday night’s game, said he might discuss the possibility of sending Guerrero--and Alfredo Griffin (broken hand)--on a 20-day rehabilitation assignment to the club’s triple-A team in Albuquerque. “Because he is not able to play under game conditions, a lot of it still comes from how Pete feels about himself,” Claire said. “At the point where Pete feels ready, we’ll have to decide whether he should go to Albuquerque to rehabilitate or put him back into the lineup. I’ve talked to Alfredo about the same thing (the rehabilitation assignment). It’s a possibility.” Assistant trainer Charlie Strasser on Guerrero: “Things are progressing. He’s getting closer.” . . . The Dodgers recalled right-hander William Brennan to pitch tonight, demoting outfielder Jose Gonzalez. Brennan was 12-5 with a 3.55 earned-run average at Albuquerque. He pitched five shutout innings, throwing 52 pitches, in his last start on Saturday, a 13-1 win over Edmonton. Brennan arrived five hours late Monday because of a canceled flight in Calgary.

Claire said he considered bringing up 20-year-old Ramon Martinez, the organization’s most prized prospect. But Claire said he wants to give Martinez a few more triple-A starts. “I think we’ll see Ramon Martinez sometime this year,” Claire said. “We’ll see him a lot next year. That’s our plan for him.” . . . Pitcher Don Sutton will not come off the disabled list Wednesday, when he is first eligible, according to trainers. Sutton threw off the mound Monday for 15 minutes and reported no stiffness or soreness in his right elbow. Sutton said he will throw again Wednesday and, if he comes out of that session without pain, throw a simulated game Friday in Pittsburgh.