No Dodger Lead Is Safe at Home in 11-Inning Loss

The road once again beckons the Dodgers, and just in time, too. If this dismal home stand had lasted much longer, the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West might not have lasted.

Wednesday night, before 41,535 at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers’ inexplicable troubles at home continued. They blew three leads throughout the long night before enduring a 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in 11 innings.

So, after completing a 2-4 home stand against West rivals, the Dodgers’ division lead is 3 1/2 games over the second-place Houston Astros. The Dodgers’ bags were already packed for the next trip, which begins Friday in Houston.

They did not leave home, however, on good terms. In an 11th inning that epitomized the Dodgers’ play during a poor homestand, reliever Alejandro Pena gave up 3 runs--1 earned--on 4 hits and didn’t help himself with a fielding error that began the Reds’ rally.

With one out, Paul O’Neill grounded to Pedro Guerrero at first base. Guerrero then flipped the ball to Pena running to cover first base, but umpire Gary Darling ruled that Pena missed the bag with his back heel.

Replays were inconclusive, but this much is certain: Pena’s chances of winning a Gold Glove are slim. Two nights earlier, Pena made a throwing error in the eighth inning that played a part in another loss.

This time, Pena’s error led to a Dodger collapse. On a hit-and-run, Ken Griffey followed with a broken-bat bloop signle to left, moving O’Neill to third. Jeff Reed then delivered a bloop single to left, scoring O’Neill for a 5-4 Red lead.

Ron Oester then singled to score Griffey to make it 6-4. Left fielder Kirk Gibson muffed the ball, but center fielder John Shelby retrieved it and threw out Reed at home plate. The Reds added another run when Herm Winningham singled in Oester, who took second on Gibson’s error.

Pena (4-4), who recently had a 23-inning scoreless streak broken, was charged with his second straight loss. The win went to John Franco, who pitched two innings. Rob Murphy retired Mike Scioscia with two out and a runner on in the 11th to earn his third save, his second of the series.

Extra innings would not have been necessary if the Dodgers’ usually reliable pitching had not blown three leads over eight innings.

A 2-0 first-inning lead, courtesy of Gibson’s two-run home run, his 20th, off starter Tom Browning, was wasted when starter Shawn Hillegas gave up two runs in the second.

A bases-empty home run by Guerrero, playing his fifth game since returning from a pinched nerve in his neck, in the third inning gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. But Eric Davis’ 19th home run of the season an inning later tied it again.

Then, after the Dodgers took a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning, reliever Jay Howell gave up a run in the eighth.

Considering the lackluster state of the Dodgers’ offense recently, wasting home runs by Gibson and Guerrero had to be particularly frustrating.

If Guerrero’s first home run since May 15--only his fourth in 49 games--was not proof enough that he has returned to his previous form, his sixth-inning single to set up a go-ahead run reinforced it.

After Gibson led off the sixth with a walk, Guerrero lined a single down the left-field line that moved Gibson to third. Mike Marshall, struggling through a 3-for-44 slump, brought home Gibson with a sacrifice fly for a 4-3 Dodger lead.

After successfully bailing out Hillegas in the fifth inning, middle reliever Brian Holton retired the side in the sixth and seventh innings before deferring to Howell. Howell, making his first appearance in the Reds’ series, lost the lead. With two outs, Eric Davis walked and stole second. O’Neill then doubled down the right-field line, allowing Davis to tie it, 4-4. Howell got Griffey to bounce to first to end the inning.

After Howell pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, Guerrero started a Dodger rally against Franco that fell only a few inches short of a run. Guerrero got it started with his third hit of the night, a single to center on Franco’s first pitch. Franco then retired Marshall and Shelby, but he walked Rick Dempsey and pinch-hitter Mickey Hatcher to load the bases.

Dave Anderson, batting for Howell, hit a two-hopper near the third base line, but Chris Sabo dove and stopped the ball. Sabo then crawled to third base for the force out, beating Dempsey by a few steps.

That just continued the Dodger frustration that began in the second inning when Davis singled to left. Marshall then robbed O’Neill of an extra-base hit on a drive to right-center. Hillegas got Griffey to force Davis for the second out, but then he walked Reed on four pitches.

Oester then lined an off-speed pitch down the right-field line for a double, scoring both runners to tie it, 2-2.

Guerrero’s long-awaited fourth home run of the season temporarily gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Guerrero lined a 2-0 fastball into the left-field seats. As Guerrero slowly completed his home run trot, Browning almost sprinted to home plate to animatedly discuss something with umpire Mark Hirschbeck. Reed had to restrain Browning, who apparently wasn’t happy with the two ball calls.

Again, the Dodgers’ lead did not last long. Hillegas gave up a leadoff home run to Davis, his 19th. The Reds threatened to take the lead in the fourth, before reliever Holton was summoned to bail Hillegas out of a difficult jam.

Hillegas’ demise came after he walked Browning and then gave up a single to Winningham. In came Holton to face Barry Larkin, who bunted the runners to second and third. But Holton then forced Sabo to pop out to third and, after a visit to the mound by pitching coach Ron Perranoski, got Eric Davis to foul to Dempsey behind the plate.

Dodger Notes

Don Sutton, who allowed 4 runs and 7 hits in 6 innings Tuesday night in his final rehabilitative start in Class A, said Wednesday that he is ready to be activated. Barring any soreness in his right elbow after his longest outing of the season--major or minor league--Sutton probably will be activated and pitch Tuesday night in Cincinnati. “It took a little while to get loose, but, after that, I felt pretty good,” Sutton said. “The last inning, I threw almost all fastballs. I wanted to see if I could break something (hurt his elbow), and I couldn’t.” Sutton will throw on the side Saturday in Houston in anticipation of starting on Tuesday night, though Manager Tom Lasorda has not made a decision. Sutton said he coped with his first term on the disabled list in his 22-season major league career well, considering he did not enjoy himself. “I’ve played most of my career with some discomfort,” he said. “There is a fine line between pain and discomfort, and you have to know the difference and play with it. But in my last four or five starts (before the elbow injury), there had been some discomfort. This time, it became an injury.” Sutton, 43, said that he related well with players on the Dodgers’ Class-A team in Bakersfield, despite the age difference. “The oldest guy was 19,” Sutton said. “There were a number of them saying things like, ‘I was born the first year you pitched.’ They were genuinely fun to play with.”

Mike Davis, despite breaking out of his hitting slump recently, still has not been able to crack the Dodger lineup, even though Mike Marshall was struggling through a 3-for-42 slump. “I’ve found you only lose your (starting) spot during a slump if you haven’t played for (Lasorda) before,” Davis said. “To be swinging the bat so well now and not being able to play and redeem yourself is tough. But I accept it. I’ll try to keep myself ready and prepared. If we continue to win with me on the bench, then that meets my goals. I won’t complain.” . . . The Dodgers have changed rehabilitating pitcher Mario Soto’s simulated game from Friday to Saturday in Houston. The Dodgers still have not set a timetable for activating Soto, but they are confident it will be this season.