Dodgers Walk to Win Over Mets : Valenzuela Works 6 as Los Angeles Takes 10 to Defeat New York, 4-3

Fernando Valenzuela may yet go an entire year without winning, a kind of stretch not normally tolerated by the Dodgers. But after his six-inning showing Wednesday night, coaches were inclined to extend a little more patience toward their faded phenomenon.

He had additional hop on his fastball, moved the ball away from the hitters and had excellent command of his pitches, despite 12 days between starts. Improvement was noted in all departments, even though that unlikely date (June 14, marking a year since the last victory for Valenzuela) continues to loom. It will take time.

For that matter, the Dodgers needed a lot of time themselves Wednesday night. It took 10 innings, actually, before they could get a bases-loaded walk and finally beat the Mets, 4-3, at Shea Stadium.

The game had several curious developments, including the first home run of the season by Dodger Mike Davis, a shot off Ron Darling that hit the foul pole in the sixth inning to tie the game. Davis has, in the last 12 months, hit more home runs than Valenzuela has pitched wins, but only by two.

Then there was the 10th inning, when reliever Rick Aguilera found himself with Dodgers on first and third--Mariano Duncan reached first on a force play and Mike Marshall singled Duncan to third--and Eddie Murray at the plate. Aguilera, facing the only genuine power left in the Dodger lineup, did the sensible thing and intentionally walked him.

“You don’t let Eddie Murray beat you,” Marshall said.

On the other hand, you don’t often let Rick Dempsey beat you. But he found himself with a 3-and-0 count against Aguilera and went on to draw the walk, pushing Duncan home. As Dempsey returned to the Dodger locker room, New Yorkers in several boroughs could hear him yell, “What a team!”

The Dodgers have won three in a row, the last two against the Mets, both of which were orchestrated by wild New York relief. This is not the threatening form the Dodgers were hoping to return to, but with Kirk Gibson still testing his hamstring, it is apparently all they can expect.

In the meantime, the pitching continues to see things through. Valenzuela, who is coming back after shoulder problems from last summer, is far from being the stopper on this staff. In fact, his recent failures on the mound have been such that the Dodgers dared skip his spot in the rotation when his start was rained out last week.

However, he showed some of the improvement the Dodgers have been looking for in his performance. In that it came after a game when he didn’t even last two innings, this may have amounted to something more than a stay of execution.

Before he was lifted for a pinch-hitter, he managed six fairly steady innings. He walked six, one intentionally, and gave up a two-run homer to Howard Johnson. But no one was especially mortified at that. Johnson hits home runs (nine) off lots of folks, and besides, this was not towering.

“When I saw that ball,” Valenzuela said, “I thought, routine flyball. But it keep going.”

Dodger pitching coach Ron Perranoski, who has been real interested in this comeback, didn’t think it was going to be a home run either. “Hit it off the end of the bat,” he said. The ball just cleared the fence.

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda was pleased. “I thought he pitched good,” he said. “He kept us in the game. The main thing for me, he kept the ball around the plate and he kept ahead of the hitters. He got guys out. If he pitches like that, and we score runs, then it looks good.”

Valenzuela’s earned-run average had been creeping up on 5.00, so Wednesday night’s performance was heartening.

Nobody had the gun on Valenzuela, but most thought that he had a little more speed this time out. His fastball, in his prime, was about 87 m.p.h. Since he developed a shoulder problem, it has been averaging 82. Perranoski has been saying he needs to get it up to 85 or so to be truly effective.

“It looked like he had good live stuff,” Perranoski said. “I saw improvement. He had pretty good pop. It’s going to be gradual, not all at once. But I was impressed with his command, even though he walked five guys. He was around the plate. Those curves he struck the last two guys out with in the sixth?” Perranoski seemed happy about those curves.

Valenzuela appeared to be his usual laconic self during and after the game. But he did say, “I was surprised I had pretty good command after 20 days not throwing,” referring to the time since his last sustained effort. “I felt pretty good.”

Even if Valenzuela, just 28, does manage to return to his old ways, it looks as if the Dodgers are going to have to continue to win with unexpected people in unexpected ways.

Marshall, who didn’t start because of recurring lower back pain, said: “Mike Davis, filling in for me, had a big night. That’s what we got last year. We’ve got to use the whole roster.”

Up to now, the Dodgers haven’t been able to count on most of the rest of the roster.

“It goes in cycles,” Lasorda said. “But we have a great deal of confidence in our bench.”

Davis, who has complained of his part-time duty with the Dodgers in the past, is apparently as unmollified as ever. But he was hopeful for the Dodgers as a team, now that things were falling into place. “That’s what it takes,” he said, “the right hit at the right time. This will be a fun race once we get rolling, be exciting down the stretch.”

Dodger Notes

Fernando Valenzuela has suffered several indignities this season, besides getting skipped in the rotation. How about the Mets’ scouting report on him: “Very poor performance. Had no velocity. . . . Just doesn’t have enough on fastball to get in on anyone and keep them honest.” . . . Kirk Gibson ran the bases for the first time since going on the disabled list April 30. It was before the game, at about half speed, but he appeared to run them effortlessly. “You’ll know when he tells us,” Manager Tom Lasorda said of Gibson’s private rehabilitation.

Chris Gwynn, who started in left field, left the game in the third inning. He has been suffering from a respiratory infection, and Lasorda, who was coaching at third base, said he’d seldom seen a sicker pup. “I saw him batting in the first inning and I thought he was dying.”

Jeff Hamilton, who scored the Dodgers’ first run after a single and later doubled, has switched to a lighter bat on this trip. “No work of genius,” he said, trying to downplay it. “Not that big a deal, I just switched a bat.” OK, OK. . . . The Dodgers are 3-0 since Lasorda started coaching third. He was asked if he’d be there tonight for the series finale against the Mets, the makeup of Tuesday’s rainout. He said, “I have to.” . . . Orel Hershiser appeared on the “Late Night With David Letterman” show Wednesday night and got to the game after his teammates in a limousine. Still, it had been reported the Letterman people would return him in a helicopter. “No, limo,” he said. “Driver made great time, too, took us through Harlem.” He seemed impressed.