Dawson Is Awesome; Cubs Win : In 4-2 Victory Over Dodgers, Outfielder Has 2 Homers, 2 Singles

The Dodgers went to work Friday night with Mike Marshall, Kirk Gibson, Chris Gwynn and Alfredo Griffin unavailable because of injuries and Jeff Hamilton absent because of the imminent arrival of his and wife Shelly’s first child.

The problem caused by the depletion of the Dodger roster was compounded by the arrival of Andre Dawson, as healthy as the Dodgers were ailing and about to get even healthier.

Dawson hit two homers and a pair of singles as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Dodgers, 4-2, before a Dodger Stadium crowd of 46,767.

The Cub right fielder has eight hits in a row and 10 in his last 11 at-bats.

Citing a series of adjustments for the surge that began in San Diego this week, Dawson also credited the warmer weather on the West Coast. He had gone 0 for 11 against the Dodgers in frigid Chicago recently.

“I thought I might get revenge here,” he said with a smile, having done just that.

Dawson collected both homers and a single off starter and loser Tim Belcher (2-3), then singled again off Tim Crews.

He has three homers, three triples and four singles in his 10-of-11 spurt and is the first Cub to roll out eight straight hits since Bobby Murcer in 1978.

The Dodgers outhit Dawson, 10-4, and even outhit the Cubs, 10-8, but stranded eight runners.

Scott Sanderson (3-2) went five innings as the starter and winner, then watched Pat Perry and Mitch Williams shut out the Dodgers over the final four.

Williams worked the last inning for his ninth save. It was a characteristic effort by the heat-throwing but often wild left-hander.

Mike Scioscia walked to open the ninth, then John Shelby and Franklin Stubbs struck out.

Pinch-hitter Rick Dempsey drew another walk to put the tying runs on base, but Williams survived when center fielder Dwight Smith caught Mariano Duncan’s towering drive with his back to the fence.

The Dodgers, shut out by St. Louis rookie Ken Hill Thursday night, scored only in the second inning of this one.

Mickey Hatcher, replacing Hamilton at third base, doubled to open the inning. A single by Scioscia and a double by Stubbs accounted for the runs--and the first RBI by Stubbs this season.

With Marshall (lower back stiffness), Gwynn (strained right shoulder) and Gibson (still on the disabled list with hamstring tendinitis) all sidelined, Stubbs played left field, and Mike Davis was in right.

A lineup dictated by the medical reports produced only one other threat between the two runs of the second inning and the last gasp of the ninth.

It came in the fourth, which Hatcher opened with a single, only to be thrown out on a steal attempt. Ensuing singles by Scioscia and Stubbs were wasted.

Even Eddie Murray’s 13-game hitting streak ended as the Cubs won for the seventh time in their last nine games.

Said Belcher of Dawson: “The scouting report that came from San Diego said he was hitting anything and everything. I’ve had good success against him in the past but he’s a great hitter, and every dog has his day.

“The solo home runs (he also allowed one to Ryne Sandberg) don’t upset me that much. What really burns me is making bad pitches to the bottom of their lineup. I beat myself and that’s upsetting.”

Belcher alluded to a fourth-inning walk to Damon Berryhill that contributed to an unearned run in a three-run inning.

Dawson had slugged his first homer and fourth of the season in the second, a high drive halfway up the left-field pavilion between the 360 and 370 marks.

Sandberg homered to left with one out in the fourth, and Dawson followed with his second, more of a line drive over the 395 mark in left center.

“The Dodgers have a premier pitching staff and you have to keep making adjustments,” he said.

“I’ve cut down on my stride and am using my hands more to keep from getting out on my front foot. The idea is not to press, to go up there relaxed.”

Now batting .307, Dawson had been at .236 with only six hits in his previous 38 at-bats going into the series in San Diego.

On the bus to the stadium before the first game there, Dawson suddenly addressed himself and his slump. He startled teammates who seldom hear him talk on the bus by saying:

“Forget this crouching bull. I’m going to stand up tall. If I’m going to hit .230, I’m going to hit a hard .230.”

The mental adjustment came first, and Dawson hasn’t gone down softly since.

Dodger Notes

Fernando Valenzuela will start as scheduled for the Dodgers Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, pitching coach Ron Perranoski said. . . . Of the difference between Valenzuela’s seven shutout innings in St. Louis and his pounding by the Cardinals Thursday night, Perranoski said, “He got the ball up, his location was off. He threw the ball well between starts, but there’s a human element involved. Every time out is not going to be the same.” . . . Perranoski said Valenzuela can be successful with his current repertoire, but there is “more necessity” to keep the ball down because of his reduced velocity. “Fernando understands that, but it’s a learning process.” he added. “Bob Knepper and Tommy John are natural sinkerball pitchers. Fernando could make the ball move, but he was not a natural sinkerball pitcher.” . . . Will some of his velocity return? “I see it improving,” Perranoski said. “Will it improve 10 miles per hour? Probably not. Four? Yes, I can see that.”