Dodgers Thrown for Loss by Davis

They were just six pitches. A few curveballs, a few fastballs.

But in the eighth inning Wednesday night, with San Diego Padre reliever Mark Davis pitching and the Dodgers attempting the hitting, they were six pitches that illustrated a season.

With the bases loaded and one out and the Dodgers trailing by a run, Dodger pinch-hitters Mickey Hatcher and Mariano Duncan stared at, and hacked at, and ultimately struck out on the six pitches as the Dodgers lost, 2-1, in front of 33,708 at Dodger Stadium.

With the Padres scoring in the eighth on a two-out, bases-loaded single by Tony Gwynn, once again the other team made the comeback.

“We get the bases loaded and one out and you see what happened,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said. “But they get the bases loaded with two out and what happens? They get the runs. I wonder how many late-inning comebacks we’ve made this year.”

If a late-inning comeback is one that happens in the eighth inning or later, the answer is three. Overall, the Dodgers have lost three in a row and blown two consecutive chances to gain ground on the National League West-leading San Francisco Giants. Instead of looking ahead, they must now look back, as the Padres have caught them in a tie for fourth place, 8 1/2 games behind the Giants.

Also hitting them with the approximate force of a Davis fastball Wednesday was the news that the team’s leading hitter, second baseman Willie Randolph, will miss at least a couple of games with a strained right hamstring. He irritated it on the turf in Cincinnati last weekend and then aggravated it by playing nine of 17 innings in Tuesday night’s 5-3 loss to the Padres.

Entering Wednesday night’s game, Randolph’s .298 average was fifth in the league, and he was just getting better, having hit in seven straight games.

“With a hamstring the scary part is, you just don’t know how bad it is, and you don’t know how much to test it,” said Randolph, who was replaced Wednesday by Dave Anderson. “I’d rather take a few days now and makes sure it’s right.”

The Dodgers can only hope he will hurry back. Then again, against a reliever such as Davis, maybe he wouldn’t have been much help anyway.

The Dodgers did many things right Wednesday night against the Padres, including getting good starting pitching from Mike Morgan (who still leads the league with a 1.69 earned-run average), three more hits from Alfredo Griffin and one of the best catches Jose Gonzalez will ever make. But it came down to the bottom of the eighth, after the Padres took a 2-1 lead in their half of the inning on a two-run single by Gwynn against reliever Ricky Horton.

With one out in the eighth against Padre reliever Greg Harris, Mike Scioscia reached first base on a grounder that went between the legs of first baseman Rob Nelson, a defensive replacement. Jeff Hamilton singled to left and Gonzalez also singled, loading the bases.

Out went Harris and in came Davis, who is second in the National League with 19 saves and who has 43 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings.

What happens when a poor hitting team meets Davis? “It’s a nightmare,” Padre pitching coach Pat Dobson said. “Even teams that are hitting good, when he’s on, he’s unhittable.”

With the Dodgers needing just a flyball to score a run, Hatcher, batting for Anderson, came to the plate. He took a called strike. He fouled off a pitch. And then he took a half swing at a dipping curveball for strike-three.

Time for Duncan, pinch-hitting for reliever Alejandro Pena. Duncan looked at strike-one. He swung at strike-two. Then he swung again for strike-three to end the inning.

“He has that big breaking curveball,” Duncan said. “I don’t know if he’s the best in the league, but he’s good.”

Said Lasorda: “He got his curveball over. And they missed it.”

That the game ended an inning later when Eddie Murray looked at a called third strike with Kirk Gibson standing on first base was anti-climatic.

And how about poor Morgan (5-7), for whom the team has scored just three runs in his last three starts. In the eighth, fueled by the Dodgers’ fifth-inning run on Griffin’s RBI single, Morgan was looking at his first complete game of the season.

But Benito Santiago started the inning with a single to right. Tim Flannery followed with another single to right, putting runners on first and second. Neither ball was hit particularly hard, so Morgan was allowed to stay in the game to face pinch-hitter Bip Roberts, whose bunt did nothing but force Santiago at third. Marvell Wynne flied out and it seemed as if Morgan would be fine.

But then he threw three straight balls to Roberto Alomar, who had not hit a ball into the air against Morgan all night. Two pitches later, Alomar walked to load the bases for Gwynn.

“That walk really hurt him,” said Lasorda, who promptly took Morgan out.

Enter Horton, who had allowed just two of 14 his previous inherited baserunners to score. After getting Gwynn to look at a strike, and then a ball, Horton then threw a good sinker. But Gwynn, hitting a league-leading .361 at the time, picked it off and grounded up the middle, under the glove of diving second baseman Anderson.

Dodger Notes

John Tudor spoke with both anger and determination Wednesday in evaluating his season debut on Tuesday night. In the Dodgers’ 5-3, 17-inning loss to the Padres, Tudor allowed two runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings. It was his first start since undergoing extensive surgery on his shoulder and elbow this winter. “I pitched bad, pure and simple,” Tudor said. “No, I wasn’t tired. I made bad pitches. I made pitches Little Leaguers could hit, and these guys weren’t Little Leaguers.” When asked if he was being a bit hard on himself, considering that his performance earned good reviews from both Fred Claire, Dodger vice president, and team doctor Frank Jobe, Tudor said: “That’s the way I am, that’s the way I’ll always be. I won’t settle for anything less than pitching well.” Dodger physical therapist Pat Screnar said Wednesday that Tudor’s arm recovered well from his start, noting he was able to do all of his usual pregame exercises and should be ready for his next start. Tudor agreed, but said that while his elbow felt fine, his shoulder was still a bit tender, a feeling that set in last week as soon as he said he was ready to return after two minor league rehabilitation assignments. “As soon as I said I was ready, my shoulder said, ‘Hey man, maybe you’re not ready.’ ” Tudor said. “I think it has to do with all the sitting around I’ve been doing on flights lately. Hopefully, the shoulder will come back next time.” Next time should be Sunday against Pittsburgh at Dodger Stadium.

Two days after being sent to triple-A Albuquerque despite a 2.73 earned-run average in 33 innings, Dodger pitcher Tim Crews has formally requested to be traded if he’s not back in the big leagues within 20 days. Crews met Wednesday with Claire and said he was pleased with the response. “He said he’s going to give it his full effort to take care of me, and I believe him,” said Crews, who will join Albuquerque Friday in Edmonton, a day later than the usual 72-hour deadline for reporting to a minor league team from the major leagues.

On Tuesday, Claire said, “If Tim Crews tells me he is unhappy, I’ll certainly hear that.”