Dodgers Continue Downfall : McWilliams Stops Feeble Hitters as Phillies Win, 2-0

The Dodgers continued to hit new lows and not much else.

Larry McWilliams proved that again Saturday night.

A journeyman left-hander who had thrown only one shutout and two complete games in the previous four years, McWilliams shut out the Dodgers on five hits, pitching the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-0 victory.

The Dodgers have not scored for 24 consecutive innings and are threatening Orel Hershiser’s streak of 59 straight shutout innings.

Said Hershiser, who pitches today: “I prefer pitching on the day after we’ve been shut out because I figure we’re going to score. I guess the odds are really in my favor now.”

Tim Belcher, the latest victim of the Dodgers’ feeble offense, refused to comment after drawing his fourth loss in six decisions despite allowing only three hits and one run in six innings Saturday night.

As for the new lows, the Dodgers’ team batting average, the major leagues’ worst, is .224, the lowest of the year.

And if it continues, the Dodgers may establish their lowest team average since the move from Brooklyn. The 1968 Dodgers hit .230, the current Los Angeles low.

“I’m concerned, you’ve got to be concerned,” said Fred Claire, executive vice president. “But I still feel that a large part of the answer remains within the club.

“I still feel that when Kirk Gibson is back in the lineup with Mike (Marshall) and Eddie (Murray), we’re as strong as anyone in the league. Without him, the focus has been on the parts of the lineup that are not there to supply the bulk of the offense.”

Supporting that theme, Mickey Hatcher said:

“We don’t have the Dodger lineup out there. The team is built around the chemistry that Gibby produces when he’s in there. But we need him 100%. It would be wrong to rush him.

“We’re all amazed that we’re not farther back, but we’ve got to keep it close so when Gibby comes back we can take off like we know we will.”

The Dodgers, at 15-18, are only 3 1/2 games behind first-place Cincinnati in the National League West.

But there is no accurate gauge as to when Gibson will be back. He said Saturday night it could still be two weeks.

“It’s a frustration watching the club struggle,” he said. “It’s a fight knowing what to do. One second I’m saying, ‘Maybe I’ll rush back.’ The next I’m saying, ‘Don’t be an idiot.’ I want to help, but I don’t want to blow the progress I’ve made. I don’t want another setback now.”

The Dodgers have scored 28 runs in 14 games since Gibson went out. They have lost nine of their last 13 games, five via shutouts. They are 5-11 on the road, four of their last six losses being shutouts.

Personnel changes?

“Right now we’d have to get rid of half the team,” coach Bill Russell said. “I don’t ever remember anything like this.”

Manager Tom Lasorda concurred.

“We’ve got good hitters,” he said heatedly. “We’ve got guys capable of putting up better numbers than they are now. They’re going to hit, it’s just a question of when. We had two guys on base in three different innings tonight and couldn’t get the two-out hit. It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

If hitting is contagious, lack of it is, too. Now even Murray has only one hit in his last 18 at-bats, and Marshall has driven in only two runs in his last 14 games.

Leadoff man Willie Randolph is at .230 with one stolen base and no RBIs since April 11. Third baseman Jeff Hamilton is batting .198 with two hits in his last 19 at-bats and no home runs since 1988. Center fielder John Shelby is batting .179, and Dave Anderson, replacing injured shortstop Alfredo Griffin, has a season average of .154.

“Unbelievable,” said the catalytic Hatcher, currently restricted to pinch-hitting because of a pulled groin.

Added Claire: “The frustrating part is that we’re not taking advantage of the good pitching we’ve continued to get. I mean, we’re losing tough games, not getting blown out. It’s not a lack of total offense, but rather one hit at the right time.”

They were prevented from getting it Saturday night by a 35-year-old veteran of eight major league seasons spent with four organizations.

McWilliams, recently shifted from the bullpen because of injuries that have cut into the Philadelphia rotation, has a 76-78 career record but is 6-3 against the Dodgers. He walked four, struck out six and only once allowed two hits in an inning.

Belcher, with seven days off between starts, walked five. Two walks and Chris James’ single cost him a run and the game in the sixth.

Said Lasorda, shaking his head:

“We’ve got the best earned-run average in baseball, but I bet the ERA against us is even better.”

Dodger Notes

Manager Tom Lasorda made a long walk from behind the batting cage before Saturday’s game and held an animated discussion with Mike Davis in center field. . . . Neither would comment on it, but there was speculation that Lasorda reprimanded Davis for throwing balls into the center-field seats and that Davis expressed unhappiness again--first by his bleacher pegs and then orally during the talk with Lasorda--over being removed from the lineup in favor of Chris Gwynn. . . . With a roster move necessary when Kirk Gibson comes off the disabled list, there is speculation that the Dodgers may keep Gwynn and release Davis, swallowing the remainder of his $987,500 salary. Davis, his recent base running mistakes only part of the club’s dissatisfaction with his performance, apparently is not going to return to the lineup soon. “We’re going to find out what Gwynn can do,” coach Bill Russell said. “We know he can hit right-handers. We want to find out if he can hit left-handers, too.” . . . Has Davis’ desire to be traded affected his play? Can the situation be compared to Bill Madlock’s in 1987? “This is a different case,” said Fred Claire, executive vice president. “Madlock said flatly that he wouldn’t play for the Dodgers. I haven’t seen Mike’s attitude hurting the club. He’s frustrated that he hasn’t played more and that he hasn’t played better when he has.