Dodgers Run Out of Luck; Cardinals Win

It won’t be in the box score this morning, but Friday night the Dodgers became the first team in 10 months to throw out St. Louis’ Vince Coleman attempting to steal.

It won’t be there because, like most good things the Dodgers thought would happen this season, it didn’t happen. At least it didn’t count.

With runners on first and second in the third inning, Mike Scioscia’s throw to catch Coleman attempting to steal third base was nullified when batter Ozzie Smith drew a walk on the pitch.

Coleman’s major league record of 45 consecutive steals continues. And in a turn of events as typical as they were brutal, the Dodgers crumbled.

With the bases loaded and two out, Dodger starter Mike Morgan gave up, in order, a single, a double and a home run. By the time Tom Brunansky crossed home plate with the two-run homer, the Cardinals had scored six runs in the inning. They ended up with a 7-2 victory before 41,599 fans at Dodger Stadium.

It’s the story of a pitcher who got his wish, only to have it cost him everything else.

“I thought a lot about getting Vince Coleman, I thought too much . . . “ Morgan said of the major leagues’ stolen base leader. “So we got him, but it didn’t matter. And then it all blew up.”

So much for Dodger hopes of a winning streak that looked so good after Thursday’s 3-2 victory and Friday’s first-inning home run by Kirk Gibson.

The homer seemed like just the inspiration the Dodgers needed.

After all, starter Morgan led the National League with a 1.79 earned-run average.

Then came the third inning. So much for that ERA.

“I’ve seen it in the papers every day, I know what’s going on with the ERA,” Morgan said. “But at the same time, I haven’t gotten too involved with it because I know it can turn right around. Like tonight.”

In his shortest outing in 17 starts, Morgan was gone before he had a chance to bat. In three innings, he allowed six runs on six hits, and the ERA shot up 42 points--an incredible amount this late in the season--to 2.21. Not surprisingly, his ERA is no longer leading the National League. And all because of one inning that, for an instant, seemed to contain one of the Dodgers’ slickest plays this season. With one out in the third, Cardinal starter Scott Terry, who improved his record to 7-7 and his ERA to 3.48, started things with a single.

Coleman followed with one of several frustrating Dodger plays in the inning, a grounder that second baseman Willie Randolph picked up next to second base. Randolph stepped on second and threw to first for what appeared to be an inning-ending double play. But the throw to Eddie Murray was high, and Coleman was safe.

“That ball went up on Willie; it would have taken a great play to get Coleman--you can’t fault him for that,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said.

Morgan took the blame for what happened next.

First, Milt Thompson hit another grounder up the middle that Randolph caught behind second base, but a play was impossible.

“I was thinking about Coleman and had a mental lapse,” Morgan said.

Then, with runners on first and second and a 3-and-1 count on Smith, Coleman took off for third. Scioscia, who has thrown out 21 of 56 potential base-stealers this year, made a perfect low throw. Third baseman Jeff Hamilton made a good catch and tag, and umpire Jerry Layne called Coleman out.

But no. The pitch to Smith was outside. Smith walked, loading the bases.

“I should have realized, let the guy steal all he wants, all I need to do is get the batter, and the guy won’t score,” Morgan said. “But I look around, and the bases are loaded. And I can’t make another pitch.”

Pedro Guerrero hit a grounder into the hole between shortstop and third base that Alfredo Griffin grabbed but could do nothing with. That scored one run.

Then came the worst of it, probably the only two hard-hit balls off Morgan, but the two that mattered most. On an 0-and-2 pitch, Terry Pendleton drove a ball so far into the right-field gap, it might as well have gone out. It scored all three baserunners, and Pendleton wound up on second with a double.

Four pitches later, on a 1-and-2 fastball, Pendleton also scored, on a home run to right field by Brunansky, his 10th.

When told of Morgan’s admitted concentration lapse, Lasorda said, “That’s not what he’s supposed to do. That’s all I can say. Six runs on two outs.”

Dodger Notes

Kirk Gibson said he would continue to play, although his sore left hamstring has bothered him so much that he underwent a special examination Friday. The Magnetic Resonancy Imaging scan showed no new damage. “Hey, the test says I’m healthy,” said Gibson, who appeared to reinjure the left hamstring in his third at-bat Friday, an eventual walk. He nonetheless stayed in the game and beat out a muffed grounder by Pedro Guerrero in the eighth to give the Dodgers a run. “I’m not coming out, it’s not the time for it,” Gibson said. “I signed a contract to play. Unless I’m told otherwise, I’m playing.”

The Dodgers need to make room on their roster for Mariano Duncan, who is due back from the disabled list Sunday, and pitcher Ramon Martinez, who is due in from triple-A to face Chicago Monday. Judging by statistics, the leading candidates to be supplanted are relief pitcher Ricky Horton, who has allowed six runs in his last 3 1/3 innings, and little-used first baseman Franklin Stubbs, who is four for 22 as a pinch-hitter. But those roster decisions could be a precursor to a major move. Management reportedly hinted to Tim Leary, who was moved to the bullpen despite a 3.18 earned-run average in 17 starts, that a deal could return him to the rotation within a couple of weeks. The newest candidate on the Dodgers’ wish list is Kansas City outfielder Danny Tartabull, who has been made available by the Royals. The Dodgers are also closely watching St. Louis outfielder Willie McGee, who has a wrist injury but is due back in the lineup next week, and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Glenn Braggs.

Outfielder Mike Davis has already begun working with light weights as rehabilitation after having arthroscopic surgery on both knees last Friday. “It feels good to know the damage is out of there,” said Davis, who hopes to return to the lineup by mid-August.

“It was frustrating not playing like I wanted to, frustrating not knowing what was wrong with me. I’m just glad it’s over with.”