Depleted Dodgers Defeated Again : Hershiser’s Performance Wasted as Pirates Gain a 3-2 Win

The depletion of the Dodgers’ roster Thursday night was such that there were almost as many players lounging across the river at the team’s hotel as were available to play in an eventual 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Center fielder John Shelby, originally bound for the disabled list after being hit in the right eye with a foul ball Wednesday, had improved so much overnight that he received a last-minute reprieve. But Shelby was unable to play Thursday and remained in his room. And Jose Gonzalez spent a night in town, but away from Three Rivers Stadium, after learning that he would not replace Shelby, after all.

These were not the best conditions for trying to snap a two-game losing streak while playing the hot Pirates, who are only a half-game behind the New York Mets in the National League East. Even with Orel Hershiser pitching and most of the starting lineup intact, the Dodgers could not overcome a Pittsburgh team at full strength and fully exerting itself.

The loss, the Dodgers’ third straight after winning six straight road games, reduced their National League West lead to five games over Houston. San Francisco is in third place, six games behind.

Manager Tom Lasorda had only four reserves at his disposal, instead of the usual six. After the game, infielder Mickey Hatcher was activated from the disabled list, and William Brennan, an extra pitcher added during the long trip, was demoted to triple-A Albuquerque.

The lack of reserves didn’t have a direct impact on the loss. But Shelby’s absence was felt strongly.

Mike Davis, his replacement in center field, had what he termed “a tough night.” He struck out three times--with a runner on third base and two outs in the fourth inning, with a runner on second and two outs in the sixth, and after Mike Marshall’s solo home run had reduced the deficit to 3-2 in the ninth.

Davis wasn’t the only Dodger to struggle against Pirate right-hander Doug Drabek, but his failings were magnified because it happened with runners in scoring position and because he was replacing Shelby in the lineup.

“That’s the frustrating part,” said Davis, who had been emerging from a season-long slump before Thursday’s backslide. “I came up with guys in scoring position. I felt confident and relaxed. But I just wasn’t hitting those breaking balls, and that’s all they were throwing me.

“What I’ve got to do is show up early tomorrow (today) and have them throw me a lot of breaking balls in b.p. (batting practice).”

Davis figures to be in the lineup until Shelby returns, which probably will not be until the San Francisco series, beginning Monday night.

Although Shelby awoke Thursday morning with reduced swelling around the eye and clearer vision, he still will not be able to play because he is taking medication that has dilated his pupils. But he does not figure to be out as long as originally thought, so the Dodgers did not want to put him on the disabled list and lose him for 15 days.

Thursday morning, before Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, wired the National League office with the club’s plans, he had trainer Bill Buhler check on Shelby’s condition. Shelby reported that he felt much better, so Claire delayed putting him on the list until he was examined again.

A Pittsburgh eye specialist told Shelby to rest the eye for a few days before returning. The change in plans meant that Gonzalez, who had arrived in Pittsburgh Thursday afternoon from Calgary, where the Dodgers’ triple-A team was playing, will return to Albuquerque this morning. Gonzalez had been demoted to Albuquerque Tuesday when pitcher William Brennan was activated.

“We certainly didn’t want to lose John for 15 days,” Claire said. “I was trying to be as straight forward as I could (on Wednesday). I was reacting to the information I had when I said we were going to put him on the disabled list.

“I told John he’s not going to be rushed,” Claire said. “He’s got to feel comfortable with his vision before we want him to come back.”

The Dodgers certainly need all the offensive help they can get. Aside from Wednesday’s 8-7 loss to St. Louis, the Dodgers have averaged three runs in the eight other games since the All-Star break.

The reduced run production wasted a solid, if not overpowering, pitching performance by Hershiser. In his last three starts--two losses and a no-decision--Hershiser has received a total of six runs.

Hershiser allowed only three hits in six innings, but they resulted in three Pirate runs. All three runs were knocked in by former Dodger R.J. Reynolds, whose double scored Bobby Bonilla in the fourth and whose triple scored Jose Lind and Andy Van Slyke in the sixth.

Reynolds is hitting only .255 this season, but against Hershiser, he is averaging .419. When Pittsburgh beat Hershiser, 7-2, July 10 at Los Angeles, Reynolds had a triple and a single and three RBIs.

“I went out there and threw the ball properly,” Hershiser said. “It was no big story, other than they won.”

The Dodgers, who stranded four runners in scoring position, got a run-scoring single from Kirk Gibson in the fourth inning and Mike Marshall’s home run to lead off the ninth.

The Dodgers received a scare when Marshall was hit on the tip of the left thumb by Drabek, who consistently was pitching Marshall inside.

Marshall grabbed his left hand and ran to the dugout, where the hand was examined by trainers. He remained in the game and later homered off Drabek.

“I thought I broke it at first,” Marshall said. “But it was just a funny-bone type effect. It hurt for a while.”

So, with Marshall’s thumb merely sore, with Hatcher returning tonight and with Shelby due back in a few days, the Dodgers do not seemed concerned about the losing streak.

They have not lost more than three straight at any point this season.

“That means we’ll win tomorrow (tonight), then,” Gibson cracked.

Dodger Notes

In a trade announced after the game, the Pirates, who have been seeking a power-hitting outfielder, sent infielder-outfielder Darnell Coles, 26, to the Seattle Mariners for former All-Star outfielder Glenn Wilson, 29. . . . Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, said Jose Gonzalez reacted well to the news of his aborted activation. Gonzalez was demoted to Albuquerque Tuesday when pitcher William Brennan was activated. He spent one day with Albuquerque in Calgary before flying to Pittsburgh on Thursday. “That was tough,” Claire said. “I apologized to Jose. He took it well. The traveling was rugged.” . . . Mike Marshall, pitched inside by Doug Drabek all game, said he is used to such practices. Marshall was hit by a pitch on the left thumb in the sixth inning. “They can keep on pitching me inside,” he said. “It won’t intimidate me.” . . . Dodger trainers said that relief pitcher Brian Holton was given an anti-inflammatory injection to ease the discomfort of a cyst in a muscle of his back. Trainers said it is a chronic condition and will be able to pitch with it . . . Reliever Jay Howell, who had soreness in his right shoulder earlier in the week, said the shoulder felt fine after pitching an inning on Thursday in St. Louis. “I expected it, after being out for so long,” said Howell, who came off a stint on the disabled list about two weeks ago. “I don’t anticipate any more problems. It was rustiness.”