Dodgers Provide Warmth : But They Produce Little Else in 10-2 Loss at Candlestick

They usually hate the Dodgers here. The Candlestick Park fans like to heckle them, jeer them and fight with security guards in an attempt to pour inexpensive beverages on them.

Friday night, they loved them. And that should tell you all you need to know.

A bundled-up crowd of 33,307 howled with delight through a series of misplayed fly balls, pop-ups, grounders and pitches as the Giants pounded the Dodgers, 10-2.

It was a night as chilly and bleak as the thought of the Dodgers needing 46 games to finish this season. In clearly establishing the difference between a contender and a guy just looking for a place to get warm, the National League West-leading Giants stretched their lead over Houston to four games. The Dodgers, meanwhile, remained in fifth place, now 13 games behind.

The Dodgers needed to sweep this three-game series to have a chance at pennant contention. So much for that idea. If one game can symbolize the end of a world champion’s reign, this was it.

“I said before, the only chance we had to stay in the race was to sweep these guys,” Dodger pitcher Tim Belcher said. “It doesn’t look good.”

Through 20 hits and 33 players, the game boiled down to two confrontations between Belcher and Giant third baseman Matt Williams.

Williams finished with two homers and a single-game high for his career of six runs batted in. Belcher finished 8-11 with a 3.51 earned-run average.

“He won both of them,” Belcher said. “Simple as that.”

In the first inning, with the bases loaded, Williams hit a 2-and-2 fastball over the left-field fence for his second grand slam of the season. It was also the second grand slam that Belcher has surrendered this season.

“There is no worse feeling in baseball than to give up a grand slam in the first inning in Candlestick Park . . . in a Dodger uniform,” Belcher said. “I’ve never heard it so loud here. They were going nuts. I just wanted to get the ball and pitch to the next hitter as soon as I could to shut them up.”

Not so fast. Two innings later, with a runner on first base due to a Jeff Hamilton error, Williams hit an 0-and-1 Belcher fastball even deeper to left field for a two-run homer. It gave the Giants a 6-1 lead, and after that, many fans never stopped hooting.

“It’s a big rivalry here, but the interesting thing is, it’s not between us and the Dodgers,” Williams said. “It’s between our fans and the Dodgers. I don’t know how many fights I see in the stands, just people all riled up. I know for a pitcher it must be tough.”

Williams, 23, has three home runs against the Dodgers this year, and three homers in his last four at-bats, with eight homers overall. That’s not bad considering that he has batted only 122 times this year after spending most of the season at triple-A Phoenix because he couldn’t hit the curveball.

Belcher thinks that this kid who may have finally entrenched himself as the Giants’ third baseman still might not be able to hit a curveball. But Friday that was irrelevant.

“Both times, the situation called for a fastball, and he’s a dead fastball hitter,” Belcher said. “As good as he looks in one night like tonight, he can look bad for an entire week, because he hasn’t quite learned to hit the breaking ball.”

So why throw him a fastball, ever? “Because I’m a dead fastball pitcher,” Belcher said. “I got to think I can throw it harder than he can hit it. Tonight, I got it in bad locations both times. And he can hit the ball harder than Kevin Mitchell (who also homered for the Giants), Darryl Strawberry, any of those guys.”

Said Williams: “It’s a compliment when he says I can hit it that hard. Because that’s all I try to do. Hit it hard.”

Belcher departed four batters after Williams’ second homer, but not before he had loaded the bases. He had allowed a single on a pop-up that dropped between shortstop Alfredo Griffin and second baseman Lenny Harris. After a ground-ball single off his foot, Belcher walked Giant starter and winner Mike LaCoss.

Reliever Tim Crews came in but wasn’t much help. The first batter he faced, Brett Butler, hit a two-run single. His fourth batter, Mitchell, hit a two-run homer in the next inning, giving him 37 homers and 102 RBIs. Will Clark had preceded Mitchell with a fly ball that center fielder Jose Gonzalez lost in the wind, the ball falling at the base of the fence for a double.

Belcher, who gave up eight runs (five earned) in 2 2/3 innings, has had longer outings as a relief pitcher. It was his shortest start since he lasted 2 1/3 innings on opening day in Cincinnati. He has given up four homers in his last six innings of work, and 15 homers overall this year. That figure is nearly twice the number yielded by Orel Hershiser (eight).

The Dodgers scored their runs on Griffin’s RBI single in the third inning and Gonzalez’s RBI single in the fourth. But the story of their offense was what could have happened but didn’t.

In the fifth inning, after pinch-hitter Billy Bean led off with a single, Harris moved him to second with a single. Griffin then singled to load the bases with none out.

Franklin Stubbs, who entered the game with a .351 average in his 19 starts this season, stepped up while Dodgers on the bench moved to the edge of their seats. But he hit the first pitch directly to LaCoss. The pitcher threw home for one out, and catcher Terry Kennedy threw to first base to complete the double play. Mike Marshall struck out looking to end the inning.

Dodger Notes

Arthroscopic surgery Friday revealed cartilage fragments in the right knee of Kal Daniels. The fragments are similar to those found in Mike Davis’ knee last month. The fragments were removed by Dr. Frank Jobe, and Daniels will join the team in Philadelphia to begin rehabilitation. He probably is out for the season. . . . Davis, out since July 6 after surgery on both knees, could be swinging at live pitching this weekend for the first time since the operation. He is accompanying the team on its’ current 12-game trip and could be ready for action by September. . . . Kirk Gibson’s knee surgery has been postponed from Tuesday to Aug. 29, so Gibson’s Detroit physician, Dr. Robert Tiehgie, can assist Jobe. Gibson did not accompany the team. . . . Catcher Rick Dempsey is trying something different to end his batting slump--glasses. “I don’t really need them, but they make things just a little clearer at night,” said Dempsey, 39, who several years ago tested but discarded contact lenses. “Who knows, maybe they’ll help me get a hit.” Dempsey entered Friday in an 0-for-17 slump that had dropped his average to .146. . . . Injured Giant pitcher Rick Reuschel, on the disabled list because of a strained right groin muscle, threw on the side Friday and experienced no pain. Look for him to return to the Giant rotation by the middle of next week. If Kelly Downs has a successful start Sunday in his return from a shoulder injury, the depleted Giant staff could suddenly have seven starters: Dave Dravecky, Scott Garrelts, Mike LaCoss, Bob Knepper, Don Robinson, Reuschel and Downs. . . . A day after Dravecky defeated Cincinnati, 4-3, in his successful return from cancer surgery on his left arm, he said the arm felt fine. “There is just the normal stiffness, nothing more,” said Dravecky, who said he spent Thursday night in a quiet celebration at the apartment of teammate Atlee Hammaker. “I had to get away from the 25 messages on my answering machine,” Dravecky said.