Scott Is Great as Astros Beat Dodgers, 3-1, Cut Lead to 4 1/2

Late Friday afternoon, when Diamond Vision was running test patterns and Dodger Stadium was deserted except for several mini-cams and a few stragglers, Pedro Guerrero rehearsed for his long-awaited return to the Dodger lineup by methodically knocking balls deep into the left-field seats.

That, however, turned out to be the highlight of Guerrero’s return after 52 days on the disabled list, though no one in the Dodger Stadium crowd of 48,268, second largest of the season, saw it.

What they witnessed instead Friday night was another dominating performance by the Houston Astros’ Mike Scott, who pitched a masterful four-hitter in a 3-1 Astro victory that slashed the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West to 4 1/2 games.

The third-place San Francisco Giants also picked up a game on the Dodgers, moving within 6 games of first place.

Guerrero, who was sidelined with neck soreness, had one of the Los Angeles hits. He tried to jump-start a lifeless Dodger attack with a sharp single in the seventh inning. But Scott, using his fastball as much as his famous split-fingered pitch, worked out of that and other jams, despite whatever defensive mistakes the Astros committed.

Scott improved his record to 10-4 as the Astros won their third straight and ninth of their last 11.

“Any time you play the team in front of you, you can really catch up without having to rely on other teams,” said Astro Buddy Bell, who had two runs batted in as the injured Glenn Davis’ replacement as first base. “That was obvious. No one needed to say anything about this series.”

What is less obvious is the answer to the Dodgers’ baffling mediocre play at home. After recently completing a resounding 11-5 trip, the Dodgers lost the opener of a six-game homestand. They are 25-24 at Dodger Stadium, 34-18 on the road.

Not even Guerrero’s return, seemingly a boost for the offense and maybe for morale, could help muster offensive support for loser Shawn Hillegas (3-3). Of course, Scott’s dominance had a lot to do with it.

Scott stifled any hope of a late Dodger comeback, often silencing the large crowd. However, the fans did respond to Guerrero’s return. They cheered when he fielded a ground ball cleanly at first base in the first inning, cheered when he stepped to the plate in the first inning and cheered even after he popped up in that at-bat.

“I really appreciate the way they (the crowd) reacted my first time up,” Guerrero said. “Of course, I wanted to (return sooner). But I’m happy the team has done good when I was gone.”

Asked how his neck felt, Guerrero said: “It’s better.”

Scott recorded five strikeouts, not close to his season high, but he rarely looked better. The only run he allowed was in the fourth, when Steve Sax and Kirk Gibson singled. Sax eventually scored on a ground ball. “My control was better than my stuff,” Scott said. “My fastball is still my best pitch. I think the split-finger and the fastball complement each other. It’s the same arm speed (for both pitches). As long as the fastball’s there, the split-finger will be effective.”

The Dodgers’ best late scoring chance against Scott could not really be called a rally, since the Astros’ defense was the major cause.

Guerrero started off the seventh impressively enough, lining a single to center field for his first hit as a Dodger since June 3 (he had five during his rehabilitation stay as an Albuquerque Duke). Billy Hatcher fumbled the ball twice in center field, drawing an error as Guerrero strolled into second base.

When the cheers for Guerrero died, Mike Marshall hit a hard ground ball off Scott, allowing Guerrero to advance to third on the out.

Scott appeared to get the inning’s second out when John Shelby hit a chopper to the right of the mound. Scott fielded the ball and looked to third base to hold Guerrero. But when Scott began his motion to toss to first base, he noticed that neither Bell nor second baseman Bill Doran was covering the bag, though both were scrambling back in an attempt to beat Shelby.

Shelby won, giving the Dodgers runners on first and third with one out. Mike Scioscia, hitting just .226 with runners in scoring position, fouled off an attempted squeeze play and then grounded to second base. It appeared as though the ball was hit slow enough and close enough to second base that Guerrero could score. But Doran’s throw beat Guerrero by about five feet. Avoiding a home-plate collision, Guerrero reversed his field but was eventually tagged out in a rundown.

“I did exactly what I’m supposed to (in that situation),” Guerrero said.

The rally died from there, as Danny Heep (2 for 26 as a pinch-hitter) grounded to first base with Shelby stranded on second.

After yielding single runs in the first and sixth innings, Hillegas was knocked out in the eighth when he gave up consecutive singles to Terry Puhl and Kevin Bass. Reliever Tim Crews then allowed a run-scoring single to Ken Caminiti, giving Scott a 3-1 lead with which to work. For Hillegas, it was an outing perhaps good enough to keep him in the rotation. Don Sutton, rehabilitating a sore elbow, had a worse pitching line in a Class A outing Thursday night, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) and 6 hits in 4 innings.

Dodger Notes

As expected, when Pedro Guerrero (sore neck) was activated, Jeff Hamilton put on the 15-day disabled list. Hamilton was examined again Friday by Dr. Ralph Gambardella, who determined that Hamilton’s rib injury would keep him out of the lineup for at least two weeks. “If he comes back in 15 days, we’d have to consider ourselves lucky,” trainer Bill Buhler said. Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, said the club will request that Hamilton be put on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Wednesday. Hamilton suffered a cartilage separation on the 12th rib on the left side while chasing a foul ball Tuesday night at Candlestick Park. Hamilton, hitting .243 with 4 home runs and 25 runs batted in, was expected to retain the starting third-base job even after Guerrero’s return from the disabled list. Will that change once Hamilton returns from the disabled list? “I can’t say that,” Claire said. “There’s no reason for me to project that far ahead. But Jeff has played very well, and he has established himself as the Dodger third baseman. I think he’ll be there for many years to come.” Said Hamilton: “I didn’t want to go on (the disabled list). I have to. I can’t help the team like this. I asked the doctor, ‘Is it stupid if I play?’ He said yes. So, it’s better if I take two weeks and get this healed. There’s always the fear that I won’t have the spot. I haven’t been around here long enough to think it’s mine.” . . . Guerrero took early batting practice against rehabilitating pitcher Mario Soto, who threw for 15 minutes. Guerrero hit two pitches deep into the left-field seats. “He looked very good,” hitting coach Manny Mota said. “More flexible, more drive to his swing. I’d have to say there will be (an adjustment period). Those games down in Albuquerque helped him, but you never can tell how long it will take him.”