Dodger Hitters Wake Up in Time to Batter Giants

For a change, the Dodgers didn’t have to worry about a twinge in Orel Hershiser’s elbow.

For a bigger change, they detected traces of a pulse in their batting order, scoring five runs in the first three innings en route to an 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants Friday night before 47,251 fans at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers, who came into the game averaging just over three runs a game, had 10 hits while giving Hershiser more runs to work with than any other Dodger pitcher has had this season.

First baseman Eddie Murray, who has a run batted in for every hit he’s gotten this season, raised his average above .200 for the first time with three hits--one single to each field--and drove in three runs. Murray, enjoying his first three-hit game as a Dodger, has 13 hits and 13 RBIs.

“We might be undefeated if I had just hit the ball with men on base,” said Murray, who helped the Dodgers reach .500 (8-8) with their fifth victory in the last six games on this homestand.

“I’ve left a lot of runners on base this year. I don’t want to say I can carry the club, but when I get hot . . . .”

Hershiser, who had felt a twinge in his elbow in each of his previous two starts, said he enjoyed a pain-free outing while winning his third game against one loss. He went seven innings and put a lid on the Giants’ only rally, in the fourth, when after a two-run single by Terry Kennedy, he struck out Jose Uribe and retired pinch-hitter Tracy Jones on a first-pitch ground-out.

“I hope my elbow hurts that much, so I can throw the ball that hard,” Kennedy said wryly. “He’s tough when they score runs.”

With three runs in the first inning and two more in the third, the Dodgers chased Giant starter Kelly Downs, who gave up five runs on six hits, a walk, a wild pitch and a balk in just 2 1/3 innings.

Willie Randolph triggered both rallies, with a walk to lead off the first and a single to open the third. Kirk Gibson, returning to the lineup after starting just one of the five previous games, singled on his first at-bat to send Randolph to third, from where he scored on Mike Marshall’s sacrifice fly.

Murray then singled home Gibson and scored himself on the first of Mike Scioscia’s two doubles. Scioscia had come into the game with just one hit in his previous 17 at-bats and only one RBI in April.

Marshall collected another RBI in the third with a bad-hop double off the glove of Giant third baseman Ernest Riles, and Jeff Hamilton--benched the last two games--hit a bases-loaded single off the end of his bat in the fifth to drive in two more runs.

“I told you before, we knew they were going to hit,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said.

Hershiser, who struck out seven while allowing six hits, had uncharacteristic control problems, walking four. But he was aided by two double plays turned by Randolph and shortstop Alfredo Griffin.

“I’ve seen him pitch better,” Giant Manager Roger Craig said. “But he pitched well enough to win tonight.”

Hershiser’s own critique?

“The inning I loaded the bases I was pitching brutal,” he said, referring to the fourth. “Bad mechanics, walking people, bad pitches. Fortunately, I was able to get out of it.”

Wasn’t he being a tad harsh?

“The only way I can improve,” he said, “is by staying hard on myself. There have been times before when I’ve thrown a two-hit shutout (that) I’ve said I was brutal, and other times where I got hit that I said I had good stuff.

“Even innings where I got them three up and three down, I made mistakes. I hung a changeup to Kennedy (in the sixth) that even though he popped it up, I walked off the mound disgusted.”

He was encouraged, however, by the absence of any pain in the elbow.

“Tonight my arm felt great,” he said. “The only time it’s going to happen (feeling pain) is when I overthrow the ball, and I didn’t do that tonight.”

Having some runs to work with, naturally, made the night even more painless.

“That was nice, to say the least,” he said. “That was even nicer. I’ll pitch in pain if I get runs, any time.”

Dodger Notes

Former Dodger Pedro Guerrero, who spent spring training ripping Manager Tom Lasorda in interviews, will be honored by the Dodgers when the St. Louis Cardinals play here on May 3. Dodger officials called the pregame ceremony “an organizational decision.” Guerrero, among other things, accused Lasorda of being too permissive, a laughable charge coming from Guerrero, who got more slack from Lasorda than did any other player. Lasorda was bitter about the criticism, saying he had treated Guerrero like a son.