His Best Foot Isn’t Forward : Defensive Lapse by Daniels Sparks Cubs’ 4-0 Victory

About that trade . . .

Kal Daniels, expected to ignite the Dodgers’ offense, instead provided a defensive lapse Wednesday night in his debut.

The newest Dodger, acquired Tuesday along with Lenny Harris in a trade that sent pitcher Tim Leary and utility infielder Mariano Duncan to the Cincinnati Reds, misplayed a first-inning blooper into a double, sending the Chicago Cubs on their way to a 4-0 victory before 40,050 at Dodger Stadium.

As for offensive sparks, the Dodgers provided none. Daniels, who sliced a ground-rule double into the seats along the third base line in the second inning, was the only Dodger to reach second base.

Mike Bielecki, perhaps best known to trivia buffs as the Cubs’ starting pitcher last Aug. 9 in the first official night game at Wrigley Field, joined a much less select group by holding the Dodgers scoreless.

Bielecki, who gave up only three hits and allowed only four Dodgers to reach base, is the 12th pitcher to shut out the Dodgers this season.

He credited the Cubs with playing an outstanding game.

“I just played a small part in it,” he said.

A small part?

The 29-year-old right-hander walked one and struck out six while improving to 9-5 with his second career shutout.

Bielecki said it probably was his best outing of the season.

“I threw a shutout earlier in the year in San Diego,” he said of a 4-0 victory over the Padres on May 4, “but I had to get out of trouble.

“Tonight, I got the first out in every inning.”

The punchless Dodgers provided only token resistance.

The loss went to Mike Morgan, who had been 3-0 against the Cubs but was unable to prevent the Dodgers from falling a season-worst 14 games behind the division-leading San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

The Dodgers, who will start a 12-game trip with a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night, are only two games ahead of the last-place Atlanta Braves.

Nine Cubs batted in the first inning, including Jerome Walton, who led off with a single through the left side. After moving to second on a wild pitch, Walton scored on a single through the middle by the No. 2 batter, Ryne Sandberg.

Next came Daniels’ misadventure in left field.

Daniels broke the wrong way on a blooper by Mitch Webster, then was unable to make a diving catch after a long sprint. The ball kicked off Daniels’ glove and bounced away, resulting in a double for Webster.

Webster’s double put runners at second and third, and a groundout by Mark Grace then scored Sandberg and moved Webster to third.

Webster scored on a squeeze bunt by Damon Berryhill, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead after the game was only about 10 minutes old.

The Cubs then loaded the bases, getting a walk from Lloyd McClendon and a double into the right-field corner from Vance Law, who later added a triple and a single, before Shawon Dunston was intentionally walked.

Morgan (6-10) escaped further damage by retiring Bielecki on a grounder, but he ran into trouble again in the fourth.

Sandberg reached first on a one-out throwing error by shortstop Alfredo Griffin and, one out later, stole second. A single through the left side by Grace scored Sandberg, increasing the Cubs’ lead to 4-0.

Morgan, who lasted only three innings last Friday night in a 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, was lifted in the fifth for a pinch-hitter.

John Shelby, who batted for him, looked at a called third strike, faring no better than any of the other Dodger batters.

Shelby, in fact, fared worse.

After the game, the Dodgers’ opening-day starter in center field accepted a demotion to the Dodgers’ triple-A affiliate at Albuquerque, N.M.

Dodger Notes John Shelby’s place on the roster will be taken by Jeff Fisher, a right-handed pitcher who was recalled from Albuquerque. . . . Utility infielder Lenny Harris, acquired by the Dodgers Tuesday along with Kal Daniels in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, said that he was “kind of happy” about the deal, but said the Reds gave up on him too early, “like they did with Jeff Treadway,” who was sold to the Atlanta Braves last spring. . . . Daniels, asked about his potential as a base-stealer: “I’m not going to put a number on it. I just know I’m capable of stealing a lot of bases. I’m not going to say I’m going to steal 50 bases and have you guys say, ‘Hey, he said he was going to steal 50 bases and he stole 12.’ I’m not going to put myself in a hole.”

Daniels wore No. 28, formerly worn by Pedro Guerrero. . . . The Dodgers are the only team in the major leagues without a batter with 10 or more home runs. . . . The Dodgers open a 12-game trip with a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday night. It’s the start of a six-game series against the Pirates that will also include a doubleheader Sunday. . . . A fourth-inning single extended Mike Marshall’s hitting streak to 10 games. . . .

Manager Tom Lasorda, on the demotion of Shelby, who batted .156 with one home run and seven runs batted in: “This is what he needs. He needs to play. He’s got himself in a rut, and the only way he can get out of it is to play. He’s played a tremendous center field for us over the last two years, but he’s run into tough times.” . . . Said Mike Morgan: “I’ve struggled my last couple of starts. You expect to lose those. Unfortunately, I’ve lost my good starts, too. Maybe I’ll get lucky one of these days and give up four runs and win a game.”