Tudor Hardly Skips a Beat in Dodger Debut : Left-Hander Starts Slowly, Gets 7-2 Win

What a distracting few days this must have been for John Tudor, who seemingly prefers a quiet and orderly existence.

He went from preparing for a start for the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday to starting for the Dodgers Wednesday night amid much expectation in the wake of the trade that sent Pedro Guerrero to the Cardinals.

This did not figure to be conducive to optimal performance, particularly in the mind of a noted pessimist such as Tudor. But, after a rough start, Tudor made it a memorable Dodger debut, pitching a complete game in the Dodgers’ 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in front of 42,701 in Dodger Stadium.

Maybe the week’s events had thrown Tudor, who had a 1.40 earned-run average in his previous four starts, slightly out of kilter Wednesday night. But, despite allowing two second-inning runs (one earned) and giving up 11 singles, Tudor’s start had to rate a success. He was a hit with the fans, who chanted his name as he finished off the Phillies in the ninth inning. The victory improved Tudor’s record to 7-5 and gave him his fifth complete game. It also enabled the Dodgers to remain 3 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Houston Astros in the National League West.

Although this was not Tudor at his best, it was superior to Pedro Guerrero’s debut with the Cardinals. Guerrero went 0 for 3 in St. Louis’ 1-0 loss to Houston.

Had he still been pitching for the Cardinals, ranked ninth in the league in offense, perhaps Tudor would not have been able to pull through on a an off night. But, Wednesday, he received nothing but support in several areas.

The Dodgers gave him five runs with which to work. John Shelby, who hit a career-high 21 home runs last season but had just 5 coming into Wednesday’s game, hit a two-run home run off loser Mike Maddux in the third inning. Franklin Stubbs, Guerrero’s replacement at first base against right-handed starters, had a two-run double in the first. And, in the ninth inning, Steve Sax added a two-run single to give the Dodgers 14 hits for the game. .

Defensive support also was plentiful. Although the Dodgers had two errors, one of which leading to a run, Tudor was bailed out of jams and potential jams when the Dodger infield turned three double plays.

Additional support was provided by the sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium. Polite applause was offered when Tudor took the mound in the first inning, drawing a thin smile from the stoic pitcher. Even when Tudor gave up five hits in the first two innings, not a boo was heard. And, in the ninth, Tudor received a standing ovation.

Imagine how the fans would react had they seen Tudor at his most dominating. In three previous starts against the Phillies, Tudor had a 2-0 record and an 0.37 ERA. Wednesday, he was hit consistently, if not always hard. Several well-hit line drives landed in Dodger gloves and a few tricky ground balls were deftly handled.

But, to Manager Tom Lasorda, this had to be what the Dodgers were hoping to get--a pitcher who would pitch a complete game even on an off night.

Escorted by Steve Boros, a Dodger scout, Tudor arrived in Los Angeles from St. Louis at about 2 p.m. and came directly to Dodger Stadium. He met briefly with Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, and Manager Tom Lasorda.

Because he was pitching Wednesday night, Tudor turned down the numerous requests for pregame interviews. But Tuesday night, in an interview with St. Louis media, Tudor expressed mild disappointment with the trade.

“My heart is in St. Louis, but my arm will be in Los Angeles,” Tudor said Tuesday. “I really didn’t foresee it happening, although I guess this is the logical time for contending teams to do something like that.

“I don’t relish the idea of going over there as the guy who’s going to try to pick it up for them. I’m not going to be the one to do that. It’s going to be a team effort . . . This is hard. In my mind, I’m still a Cardinal. The whole thing hasn’t had a chance to set in yet.”

Steve Freyer, Tudor’s agent, said that Tudor is not unhappy with the trade. He said it is just that Tudor, traded four times in his nine-season career, does not welcome a change this late in his career.

“He isn’t hesitant to come to L.A.,” Freyer said. “He’s just happy with the status quo. He feels that uprooting himself in the middle of the season is a pain in the butt, so maybe that’s why does doesn’t seem happy. He’s an East Coast guy and he’s not sure what to expect out there. I spoke with him, and he said he has no problem with Tommy or L.A.”

Because of a clause in Tudor’s contract, he could demand a trade at the season’s end. And, if he is not traded by March 15, he could become a free agent if he chooses. Tudor, who has had shoulder and knee injuries in recent seasons, also has said he will retire at the end of next season, when his contract expires.

Tudor’s most recent injury resulted in arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder last December. Dr. Arthur Pappas, Tudor’s personal physician, removed cartilage and scar tissue from a tendon. He also was said to have a hole in his rotator cuff, which was termed not unusual for a veteran pitcher.

“It’s not written in stone, but it’s pretty much set right now,” Tudor said. “I’ve been pretty much pain free in my last seven or eight starts. It has taken a while to get to this point.”

Tudor was coming off a 3-hit, 8-inning shutout of Philadelphia last week. But through two innings Wednesday, he had allowed 2 runs and 5 hits.

In the first, Tudor allowed consecutive singles to Juan Samuel and Lance Parrish with two outs, but he forced Chris James to ground into a force play to end the threat.

The Phillies did more than threatened in the second inning. They cut the Dodger lead to 3-2 with a rally off Tudor that included three singles and a controversial error on shortstop Alfredo Griffin.

With one out, Steve Jeltz and Jackie Gutierrez had singled to center, putting runners on first and third with Maddux coming up. Maddux hit a slow grounder to second baseman Steve Sax, who looked home where Jeltz was scoring, then at Gutierrez crossing his path. Sax threw to first to retire Maddux, and then Gutierrez was caught in a rundown between first and second.

After several throws, Griffin had the ball and was running Gutierrez back to first. Gutierrez then ducked under Griffin and onto the edge of the infield grass. Griffin past by the runner and headed to the dugout, apparently thinking Gutierrez had gone out of the base line and had been called out. But second base umpire Jim Quick did not make a call, and Gutierrez scurried to second. Arguments staged by Griffin and Manager Lasorda could not convince Quick to change his call.

Tudor, idle during the protestations, walked Phil Bradley on four pitches and then gave up a run-scoring single to Bob Dernier to cut the lead to 3-2. Tudor escaped further problems by striking out Samuel for the third out.

Because of earlier run production from his new teammates, Tudor could afford to have a rocky start.

The Dodgers got to Maddux in the first inning with a rally that might have reminded Tudor of his days with the speedy, non-powerful Cardinals. Sax opened with a single, stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on Kirk Gibson’s high chopper in front of the plate that he beat out for a hit. One out later, Franklin Stubbs made it 3-0, Dodgers, with a two-run double to the right-center field gap.

In the third, the Dodgers used a little more muscle. With Gibson on first and two outs, Shelby hit a Maddux fastball that easily cleared the right-field fence for a 5-2 Dodger lead. Of the six home runs the switch-hitting Shelby has hit this season, five have come hitting left-handed.

After being hit early, Tudor pitched four scoreless innings and headed into the seventh maintaining the 5-2 lead. The Phillies did not even threaten Tudor again until the sixth, when James reached on a bloop single and Ricky Jordan moved him to second on a single up the middle. But Tudor forced Jeltz to pop up a 1-and-2 changeup for the first out and got Gutierrez to ground into an inning ending double play.

Dodger Notes

An unattributed report in a Detroit newspaper Wednesday said that the Detroit Tigers turned down a Pedro Guerrero-for-Frank Tanana trade before the Dodgers traded Guerrero to the St. Louis Cardinals for John Tudor. Tony Attanasio, agent for Guerrero, had said Tuesday that he had heard that Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, had talked about trading Guerrero for a left-handed pitcher with Detroit and Toronto . . . The Dodgers demoted relief pitcher Ken Howell, who had been activated on Monday, but had not pitched and will promote a position player today. . . . The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, in a page one story Wednesday, said that the majority of fans who flooded the newspaper’s switchboard with calls in the wake of the Tudor trade felt that the Dodgers got the better of the deal. Complained one caller of Guerrero: “All they (the Cardinals) are going to do is acquire another lame-bird player with a history of injuries.” . . . Jeff Hamilton, on the disabled list with a separated cartilage in one of his ribs, took live batting practice for the first time since his injury in late July. Trainer Bill Buhler said that Hamilton felt no pain while swinging a bat, but that it is unrealistic to immediately activate him. “When you’re off that long, I don’t think you can come back in against live pitching. You need some time to see pitching.” Hamilton still feels discomfort fielding ground balls. . . . Pitcher Mario Soto, rehabilitating from shoulder surgery in 1986, is expected to pitch another simulated game on Friday. It will be Soto’s fourth simulated game. . . . Mike Marshall returned to the lineup after missing a game with flu symptoms. Marshall on Guerrero’s departure: “You’d love to have Pete in the lineup, but we played a long time without Pete. Hopefully, we’ll have enough offense to win. I think another established starter will help our chances.”