Tudor Impresses All but Himself : New Dodger Throws 7 Shutout Innings to Defeat Phillies, 5-0

Even pessimistic John Tudor, often a difficult man to please, had trouble finding fault with any aspect of his performance here Sunday. But, yes, the Dodger pitcher did find one thing he would have changed, if he could have:

The pitching mound at Veterans Stadium.

After pitching seven shutout innings against the Philadelphia Phillies in the Dodgers’ 5-0 victory that came at the expense of losing Mike Marshall to a strained right quadriceps muscle, Tudor said he might have gone the distance and had better control of his pitches had the mound not been an obstacle.

“My back was sore and my shoulder was stiff because of the mound,” Tudor said. “It’s very flat and very short and, today, it was soft. It’s supposed to be clay, but you were stuck in it like soft mud or something. It’s the worst mound in the league. It makes it tough on the pitcher.”

Despite that, Tudor was dominating for seven innings, before Tim Crews finished off the three-game sweep of the Phillies, enabling the Dodgers to extend their National League West lead to 5 1/2 games over the second-place Houston Astros.

Tudor allowed four hits, two of them infield singles. He only allowed two Phillies to advance beyond first base and easily worked out of each of those difficulties. The victory improved Tudor’s record to 8-6. He is 2-1 as a Dodger, Sunday’s victory clearly his best effort since coming to the Dodgers from St. Louis for Pedro Guerrero on Aug. 16.

And yet, Tudor was not satisfied.

He chose to lament the inconsistency of his fastball rather than praise his effective changeup. He chose to talk about the flatness of the mound rather than how he flattened any chance of a Phillie rally before it developed.

What Tudor said he felt most after winning Sunday was relief, considering that he gave up six runs in a loss to the New York Mets in his most recent start. More than any other Dodger starter, Tudor says he feels the pressure of the pennant race.

“I think that, if I went out there and lost my last six starts, there would be more attention on me than someone like Orel Hershiser, simply because they traded Pedro Guerrero for me,” Tudor said. “I’m not saying that’s the right thinking, but that’s what the public thinks.”

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, noted optimist, shook his head and smiled when told of Tudor’s power-of-negative thinking remarks.

“I’m not going to say that’s the pessimistic view, but . . . that Tudor, boy, he’s never going to be satisfied,” Lasorda said. “I’ve never seen a pitcher get so upset with himself like he does. But I tell you, he pitched a hell of a game today.”

Tudor’s self-evaluation differed, however.

“Yeah, I have to be pleased because we won the game, and I threw OK,” Tudor said. “But I didn’t feel dominating. I did make a few good pitches, and my changeup worked. But I wasn’t throwing that well. I got behind too many hitters, and I had problems with my fastball.”

Tudor’s changeup, his best pitch, accounted for most of his five strikeouts Sunday.

“I’m not afraid to throw the change five or six times in a row,” Tudor said. “I want the hitters looking for it. I don’t want the hitters to expect to see it only occasionally. I want to keep the hitters guessing. Most pitchers are like that.”

Tudor, however, is not like most pitchers when it comes to self-evaluation. He admits, “I’m an intense guy,” but says that attitude works for him.

“I guess I really shouldn’t worry about how I win,” Tudor said. “I mean, a win’s a win. And you’ll take a win, especially during this time in the season.”

That also may be why the Dodgers felt no pangs of sympathy while winning 11 of 12 games in their season series against the Phillies, who have been convenient punching bags. After sweeping a three-game series from the Phillies last week in Los Angeles, the Dodgers outscored the Phillies, 16-4, to sweep this series.

Likewise, Tudor has mastered the Phillies in his five starts, three while he was with St. Louis. Tudor has four wins and a no-decision and has given up just 3 earned runs in 40 innings against the National League East’s worst team.

“I don’t understand why that club doesn’t score more runs,” Tudor said. “But I guess slumps are contagious. Maybe they are going through a phase now where they expect to lose. We had that problem when I was with St. Louis.”

If that’s the case, then it appears the Dodgers are expecting to win. In the past two weeks, the Dodgers are 13-3, the only losses coming to the Mets.

“We’re just playing well right now,” Franklin Stubbs said. “It doesn’t matter who against. We got the pitching, the timely hitting and played good defense in this series. I think we can keep doing it.”

With Guerrero gone, Stubbs is the Dodgers’ first baseman against right-handed pitchers. Against Kevin Gross Sunday, Stubbs gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead in the first inning with a bases-loaded double to right field, Marshall pulling up lame on the play. It was the Dodgers’ only hit of the inning. Steve Sax and Kirk Gibson walked and Marshall was hit by a pitch.

In the third inning, the Dodgers extended the lead to 4-0 with an unearned run. With two out, Gibson scored from second base when Phillie shortstop Steve Jeltz could not handle a liner hit by John Shelby.

Even though Tudor seemingly did not need any more runs, the Dodgers added a fifth one in the sixth inning when Sax’s single off Gross scored Shelby from second. The single came just after Tudor failed to advance Shelby to third on a bunt attempt, Tudor flinging his bat into the dugout.

Even that brief fit of anger, Tudor said, contributed to what he perceived as a mediocre outing.

“I guess that didn’t help my shoulder, either,” Tudor said, laughing.

Dodger Notes

Specifically, Dodger pitcher John Tudor said that pitching on a flat mound such as the one at Veterans Stadium aggravates his shoulder condition because he must throw “standing straight.” But Tudor, who had off-season shoulder surgery, said the pain is not serious. “I’ve lived with it for 10 years, so it’s no big deal,” he said. . . . Franklin Stubbs is 3 for 8 since changing his batting stance. Manager Tom Lasorda and hitting coach Ben Hines have instructed Stubbs to hold his bat horizontally instead of vertically. . . . Fernando Valenzuela, on the disabled list since July 31 with a left shoulder injury, will play catch for the third time today. Physical therapist Pat Screnar said Valenzuela will likely increase his velocity slightly and throw a longer distance.