How ‘Bout That Howell; He Gets 24th Save : Reliever Pitches Final Two Innings of 4-2 Win, and Ties Club Record

Jay Howell casually turned toward center field and watched the last out drift into the glove of Jose Gonzalez. The catch was made. The 24th save was in the record books.

And the expressionless reliever who usually celebrates by slapping his fist into his glove really celebrated this time.

He slapped his fist into his glove twice.

“If you pat yourself on the back too much,” Howell said with a shrug, “you’ll hurt your shoulder.”

And so it was in typical fashion that the Dodgers most untypical reliever equaled a record that has stood for 35 years.

In finishing the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres in front of 41,775 at Dodger Stadium, Howell threw two scoreless innings to tie a record set by Jim Hughes in 1954 and equaled by Jim Brewer in 1970.

The biggest thing that separated this save from Howell’s others, which include one in each of the Dodgers last four victories, was that somebody noticed. Howell does not growl. He does not glare. His fastball makes more noise than he does.

“Howell is not like the old-time relief pitchers,” said Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, who roomed with Hughes and knew the late Brewer. “It used to take Jim Hughes three or four pitches to warm up. He’d throw a couple in the bullpen and he would come out fogging the ball. Ice on his arm? He used a lot of ice, but he mixed it with Crown Royal.

“Brewer, if he had a bad day, you didn’t talk to him. You’d stay away. He was one tough guy.”

Lasorda paused. “Howell is different. Howell is the college professor type.”

Howell heard the descriptions and smiled.

“If I ever threw after three warm-up pitches, you’d see my arm halfway to home plate,” he said.

He said his coolness is the reason he has been so near perfect this year. He has blown only two save opportunities. The first batter to face him, always a reliever’s most important out, has had five hits in 41 at-bats for .122 average. He hasn’t walked a batter since July 16.

And about that 0.75 ERA of his, no, it’s not a misprint. He has given up only five runs in 60 1/3 innings to own the best ERA in the major leagues.

He has given up a run in only one of his last 23 appearances. He won’t win the ERA title because he hasn’t thrown enough innings, but he has certainly won respect.

“The only reason we have any chance at all this year, any hope at all, is because of Jay Howell,” said Mike Marshall, whose two-run double in the seventh inning off Padre reliever Mark Grant broke a 2-2 tie.

“It’s like every time you know he’s going to get the save,” said Franklin Stubbs, whose single helped the Dodgers score their first run and whose fine throw from left field helped save a run later. “He’s like, a sure thing. Money in the bank.”

Sunday’s save gave the Dodgers their fourth victory in five games and helped them move back to within 11 1/2 games of the National League West-leading San Francisco. And like Howell, it was quick and simple.

After entering in the eighth inning with the Dodgers up, 4-2, he retired three Padres on 11 pitches, eight strikes. In the ninth, he retired three more Padres on 10 pitches, seven strikes.

“But you can never think it’s easy like that,” Howell said. “Even when I go a long stretch without a walk, I’m always feeling like it’s a struggle. I’m always trying to stay out of bad grooves. I’m always reminding myself of what could happen.”

And thus what happened to him Sunday, Howell said, is not so much greatness as coincidence.

“I knew the save record was within my reach, but the only reason it wasn’t more was a tribute to this organization’s great starting pitching,” Howell said. “We’ve always had great starters so no reliever has ever had a chance. I consider myself in the right place at the right time. If it wasn’t me, it would be somebody else.”

This time his teammates were in the right place to give him a chance. Dodger starter and winner Fernando Valenzuela gave up nine hits in seven innings, but was able to work out of two jams thanks to good Dodger defense.

And the Dodger offense, with only seven hits, scored runs thanks to a double-play grounder, a bases-loaded walk, and an error.

In the seventh, Dave Anderson, pinch-hitting for Valenzuela, singled. Then Alfredo Griffin reached first when Padre third baseman Chris James booted his bunt.

Padre starter Dennis Rasmussen left for Grant, and Willie Randolph bunted the runners to second and third. Eddie Murray was walked to load the bases. That brought up Marshall with the game in his hands. Which didn’t surprise him a bit.

“As soon as they booted the bunt, Tommy (Lasorda) looked down at me and told me I would have to drive those runs in,” Marshall said. “You can see the scenario, I’ve seen it many times before, batting behind our big hitter like I always do. I was ready for it.”

Dodger Notes

Two good Dodger defensive plays helped lead to Sunday’s victory. In the fifth inning, after the Padres tied the score, 1-1, on an RBI fly by Roberto Alomar, they still had bases loaded with one out. Jack Clark lined a ball to left fielder Franklin Stubbs, deep enough to score Dennis Rasmussen from third base. Except the Padres’ Bip Roberts thought he could sneak from second to third. Stubbs threw him out, with the third-out tag being made by shortstop Alfredo Griffin seconds before Rasmussen scored. “Bip has speed, he’s a competitor, he wanted to challenge me,” Stubbs said. “I’m a competitor too. I said, ‘I’ll go for it, see what happens.’ ” Stubbs had two singles, with his second-inning hit leading to a run, and drew a bases-loaded walk from Rasmussen in the sixth to drive in a run. In 16 games as a starter, Stubbs is hitting .362.

The other good Dodger defensive play came in the sixth, with the score still tied. After Chris James had singled and Carmelo Martinez doubled him to third, Garry Templeton grounded a ball to third baseman Jeff Hamilton. With James trying to score, Hamilton threw a strike to catcher Rick Dempsey, who was knocked into a somersault by James. But he held the ball for the out. . . . Fernando Valenzuela won Sunday for only the second time since June 24, a span of eight starts. He improved to 6-11, still with the lowest winning percentage among Dodgers starters. And although he lowered his ERA to 3.69, it is still the highest among Dodger pitchers. Dodger Vice President Fred Claire would not reveal whether the club has begun contract negotiations with Valenzuela, who with catcher Mike Scioscia is one of the club’s top players eligible for free agency this winter.