Shelby Breaks Tie and Breaks Astros : His 3-run homer gives dodgers a 4-1 win and a 6 game lead

There were two outs in the eighth inning of a 1-1 tie and no predictable end in sight Wednesday night.

The National League’s Western Division race had worked its way back to Dodger Stadium with the type of game that was to be anticipated, considering two of the league’s most dominant pitchers--Tim Leary and Mike Scott--were facing two of the more dormant offenses.

Then John Shelby delivered the unpredictable, slugging a three-run homer off Scott that lifted the Dodgers and Leary to a 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros, who had deemed the first of the two games here critical to their fading aspirations in the West.

They have Nolan Ryan going tonight, but a split serves only to buy time for the Dodgers, who now lead the Astros by 6 games and the Cincinnati Reds by 7 1/2.

The Dodgers’ magic number for winning the West is 19.

Houston Manager Hal Lanier had been hoping for magic before the first pitch Wednesday night.

“You can probably say this game is more important than any we’ve had in some time,” he said.

“We’d like to get the first one under our belt and make them (the Dodgers) feel us a little bit, though I’m sure they know we’re there.”

Some four hours later, with the first one now under the Dodgers’ belt, Lanier said he thought the race was still up for grabs, and that the Astros could still win it, but he didn’t display the enthusiasm he had earlier.

“We’ll just have to come back tomorrow and get it back to where it was,” he said.

“I don’t consider us out of the race, and I’m sure the players don’t either.

“We know the Dodgers are obviously the team to beat and that it won’t be easy. The way their pitching has been, they can’t be expected to lose three or four in a row.”

How has the Dodgers’ pitching been?

Consider: In the 20 games since Pedro Guerrero was traded, the Dodgers have averaged only 3.2 runs a game but are 13-7 by virtue of a pitching staff whose earned-run average is 2.34 during that span.

Leary, 16-9 with a 2.58 ERA, is no stranger to the limited support. The Dodgers have scored only 39 runs in his last 12 starts, but he is 9-3 in that time. He has restricted the opposition to two runs or fewer in 19 of 29 starts.

“I feel we have the right man on the mound tonight, but the big thing we have to do is score more runs than we have been,” Lanier said before the game.

Leary prevented it.

Two walks and a single by Kevin Bass produced the only Houston run in the third. Leary walked four, struck out eight and allowed only three hits before Buddy Bell opened the ninth with a single.

Jay Howell was summoned and eventually struck out the side for his 18th save, fanning Gerald Young with the bases loaded for the final out.

Scott (13-6) had matched Leary’s effectiveness through seven innings, allowing three hits and a tainted run in the fourth on a double by Alfredo Griffin, a mental mistake by shortstop Rafael Ramirez and a sacrifice fly by Shelby that should have been the third out. Ramirez had Griffin trapped between second and third but allowed him to reach third.

The Dodgers had gone to work with Steve Sax in the midst of a 1-for-23 and 5-for-40 slump, with Kirk Gibson 5 for his last 30 and with Mike Marshall sidelined for the eighth straight game because of a pulled leg muscle.

“When we had Guerrero with Marshall and Gibson, you could afford to lose one of them out of the lineup,” Manager Tom Lasorda lamented before the game. “Now that we have just the two, you really feel the effect. Plus, Saxy isn’t getting on base and he’s the catalyst.”

Sax was 1 for 26 when he opened the decisive eighth with a line single to center. A sacrifice by Griffin, an intentional walk to Gibson (now 5 for 33) and a strikeout of Mickey Hatcher set the stage for Shelby’s homer on a one-ball pitch from Scott.

The generally unemotional Shelby pumped his fist rounding first base and said later, “That’s the first time I’ve ever done that. It was one of the biggest hits of my life, though I wasn’t thinking home run. I was just trying to relax and hit the ball.”

Shelby reached the plate and was lifted off the ground by Sax.

“I got a kick out of that, but I’m just glad he didn’t put me over his head and drop me,” Shelby said.

The Astros, meanwhile, dropped another game and another day off the calendar.

Dodger Notes

Mike Marshall, after aggravating the pulled muscle in his right leg as a pinch-hitter in Atlanta Tuesday night, received two injections from Dr. Frank Jobe Wednesday and sensed improvement. “I have some pain from the shots, but the area feels better,” he said. “Dr. Jobe thought the muscle damage was minimal and wants me to continue light workouts. He was very optimistic and thought it wouldn’t be much longer. I’ve missed a week already, and that’s a long time, but I don’t think it’s the type thing that’ll keep me out for the season.” . . . Astro Manager Hal Lanier cited the addition of Kirk Gibson and the performances of Tim Leary and Tim Belcher for the turnaround of the Dodgers this year. “You also have to give Tommy (Lasorda) credit for doing a great job,” Lanier said. “He’s had them playing well on the road all year and they’ve had a lot of injuries like a lot of other teams.” . . . A steal of second in the third inning was the 60th for Gerald Young and the 182nd for the Astros, who may break their club record of 194, set in 1980. . . . The Dodgers send John Tudor (8-7) against Nolan Ryan (10-11) tonight.