Dodgers Cut Losses at 3 Games : Phillies Fall, 7-2, as L.A. Puts End to Latest Slump

The Dodgers have been so consistent this season, their losing streaks, such as they are, last about as long as slugger Kirk Gibson’s growth of beard.

Three days, and then it’s time to make a clean start.

Nine times this season, the Dodgers have lost three straight games. All nine times, they have avoided a fourth loss. Once again Friday night, a streak was stopped at three, as the Dodgers used effective pitching by starter Tim Belcher and a revived offense to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2, before a crowd of 27,533 at Veterans Stadium.

“We’ve just averted disaster all season, that’s all,” said Gibson, about due for another shave. “It seems like we’ve been on the brink of something serious a few times. I’ve felt it. But when that happens, we just dig deep and try a little harder and see what happens. It’s not like we’re wasting nervous energy over it.”

Gritty resolve? Dogged determination? Digging deep inside?

Nah, those ripened cliches should not be credited for the Dodgers’ resiliency and the avoidance of a prolonged losing streak. Simply, it can be directly related to good pitching.

“Yeah,” Gibson said, “with the pitching we got, it’s hard to lose four or five in a row.”

Streak-breaking chores on this night went to Belcher, by now a specialist in that field. The hard-throwing right-hander allowed two solo home runs--to Phil Bradley and Ron Jones--and just three other hits in eight innings to improve his record to 10-4.

It was the third time this season that Belcher, seemingly at ease in adversity, had broken a three-game losing streak. He beat the San Diego Padres on June 18 and the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 22. In his three streak-breaking wins, Belcher has allowed only 3 runs in 20 innings for a 1.34 earned-run average.

“A couple times now, I’ve been fortunate enough to be in that fourth game and to stop the streak,” Belcher said. “A lot of guys would maybe try to avoid talking about being in that situation. I react to pressure situations more positively than when the team is going good and I’m pitching.

“Mentally, I’m a lot tougher. Physically, it’s the same. It may sound like I’m bragging, but I like these situations, and I think I’ve done well in them.”

With Belcher helping them recover from a three-game sweep by the New York Mets earlier in the week, the Dodgers retained a 4 1/2-game lead over the second-place Houston Astros and moved 5 1/2 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

On a personal level, Belcher became only the third Dodger rookie in the 1980s to win 10 games, Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser being the others. Another solid pitching performance also may have helped improve his slim chances of being voted rookie of the year.

“Right now, I’d vote for (Cincinnati’s Chris) Sabo,” Belcher said. “But if I get maybe three or four more wins and we make the playoffs, well . . . I’d be thrilled if I was a candidate, but I’d trade being rookie of the year for postseason play any time.”

Postseason play is a definite possibility for the Dodgers, if they continue to play as they have. Even with an offense that virtually disappears for days at a time, their pitching has enabled them to remain alone in first place since May 26.

After totaling just three runs in the three home losses to the Mets, the Dodgers pounded Phillie pitching for 7 runs and 10 hits, even with Mike Marshall sitting this one out and Gibson still hampered by bursitis in his left shoulder.

Determined to snap out of their offensive drought Friday against rookie pitcher Marvin Freeman, the Dodgers seized upon a chancy scoring opportunity in the first inning and did not let up until four Phillie pitchers had been used and discarded.

A two-out walk and a bloop single was all it took to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. With Mike Davis running from first base on the pitch, Gibson lofted a single to shallow left field. Davis easily made it to third, and even though left fielder Bradley had already fielded the ball, Davis was waved home by third base coach Joe Amalfitano. It was a daring maneuver, but it caught Bradley unaware. Assuming Davis would stop at third, Bradley lobbed the ball to second, trying to keep Gibson from taking the extra base.

“I was going into third hard and looking at Joey,” Davis said. “As soon as he gave me the go sign, I didn’t stop. It’s a daring call to make on Joey’s part, but it worked. It’s a good, aggressive play. We needed it.”

The Dodgers lost the lead in the bottom of the first when Belcher gave up a leadoff home run to Bradley. But Belcher did not falter again until the fourth inning, when Jones made his first major league hit a solo home run to right field. But by that time, the Dodgers had a 6-2 lead.

The offensive explosion that Manager Tom Lasorda had been waiting for came in the fourth, when the Dodgers scored five runs off Freeman, who did not make it out of the inning.

John Shelby delivered a two-run single, after Gibson had walked and Franklin Stubbs had singled. Tracy Woodson’s double to center scored Shelby for a 4-1 lead. After Alfredo Griffin’s single moved Woodson to third, Freeman was replaced by Mike Maddux, who promptly served up a two-run single to Steve Sax.

In the fifth, the Dodgers extended the lead to 7-2, Woodson’s single scoring Stubbs from second. Stubbs and Woodson, reserves most of the season, each contributed two hits. All told, every starter except for Belcher hit safely.

“This was the way I thought we’d play at the start of the season,” catcher Mike Scioscia said. “I think we’re playing better offensively now. Maybe we can keep it going. But we’ve had pitching the whole season. As long as we have that, we shouldn’t have long (losing) streaks.”

Dodger Notes

Friday night’s Dodger victory was number 999 for Manager Tom Lasorda. The only other active manager with 1,000 wins is the Detroit Tigers’ Sparky Anderson. . . . Fernando Valenzuela, on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury, threw Friday night for the first time since July 30. Valenzuela, still working on strengthening the muscles around the shoulder, “played catch” for 15 minutes and reported no pain, according to physical therapist Pat Screnar. “He didn’t throw it hard, and he didn’t toss it, either,” Screnar said. “He just played catch. That’s a start. It’s something he can build on.” Screnar said that Valenzuela might throw again today.

Mike Marshall’s absence from the lineup Friday night had nothing to do with his chronic back condition. Marshall apparently was tired after arriving in Philadelphia Friday after the birth of his son Thursday in Los Angeles. . . . Mario Soto was given permission to stay in Los Angeles to work on strengthening exercises for his right shoulder, trainers said. . . . Phillie third baseman Mike Schmidt was diagnosed Friday as having a partial tear in the rotator cuff of his right shoulder. He is expected to undergo tests next week to determine the severity of the injury and possible treatment. A complete tear could mean surgery--and possible retirement--for Schmidt. “It is possible he won’t play the rest of this season,” Dr. Phillip Marone, the Phillies’ physician said. “A complete tear could result in surgery. That would be up to Mike.”