Dodgers Get the Message : They Beat Phillies, 10-4, After Lasorda Is Loud and Clear

With the Dodgers needing help to end a two-game losing streak against the National League’s worst pitching staff, a couple of old favorites came through against the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday night.

There was Mike Marshall who, if 400-foot home runs are any indication, no longer needs to see a chiropractor. The back is back.

Then there was Fernando Valenzuela. He loves it when the bases are loaded--that is, when he is batting instead of pitching. His bases-loaded single drove in two runs in the sixth inning to break open a close game and turn it into an eventual 10-4 victory before 25,779 fans at Veterans’ Stadium.

Two hitters, two theories.

Said Marshall: “I am more selective now. I am more disciplined than ever.”

Said Valenzuela: “I stick out the bat, the ball hits it.”

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda didn’t care what they did Thursday, as long as they left town without being swept by the second-worst team in the league. Lasorda, angered f by Wednesday night’s 6-2 loss here, held a loud team meeting before the game.

“If anybody was asleep before the meeting, they were awake afterward,” said one player.

Out of the clubhouse, down the runway, out to the field, they faced former teammate Ken Howell, a right-hander who had given up one run to the Dodgers in 15 innings this season.

No problem. With one out in the second inning, Franklin Stubbs lined a ball off Howell’s pitching hand. Howell eventually left the game after five innings because of a bad bruise, with his team trailing, 3-2. Three Phillie relievers then gave up six runs in four innings.

Howell, who had roomed with Stubbs for two seasons while with the Dodgers, was miffed.

“You’d think if you had a roommate for two years, he wouldn’t hit a ball at you like that,” said Howell (9-9), who gave up three runs on six hits.

Stubbs didn’t fare much better after his single off Howell. After shortstop Dickie Thon threw wildly to first base on Mike Huff’s grounder, Stubbs tried to take third. He made it but kept sliding, over the bag and into foul territory.

He not only was tagged out, he also suffered a twisted left knee. He left the clubhouse late Thursday wearing a thick brace and could be sidelined for several games. In his 22 starts, Stubbs is hitting .333 (21 for 63).

“That’s why I had to take my knee off the bag to where they could tag me,” Stubbs said. “My body was going so fast--I leave my leg on the base, I break it.”

This left the stage to Marshall and Valenzuela. One was hoping to continue his six-game hitting streak, the other trying to extend his three-game winning streak.

Valenzuela didn’t throw a two-hitter, as he did last Saturday in San Francisco, but he survived six innings, giving up three runs and nine hits. He has won three consecutive games and four of his last six while improving to 8-11 with a 3.50 earned-run average.

Catcher Mike Scioscia said: “Under the circumstances--it was humid, he had to run the bases a couple of times, he got into some trouble--he did great. He got out of it just fine.”

Said Valenzuela, comparing his current streak to his early-season problems: “That’s what’s different now. Before, I throw one good (pitch), one bad, one so-so. Now, all are consistent. Not all are two-hitters, nine innings. But they are consistent. I like that.”

He likes running the bases, too. After Marshall’s 10th home run of the season had made the score 2-2 in the fourth inning, Valenzuela’s fifth-inning single up the middle led to a run on Alfredo Griffin’s RBI single.

With the 3-2 lead, the Dodgers loaded the bases against reliever Larry McWilliams in the sixth on Jose Gonzalez’s bunt single--a pitch that hit Huff in the arm--and a walk to Scioscia.

The left-handed Valenzuela leaned over the plate against the left-handed McWilliams and grounded a ball into right field to score two runs and start the rout. In bases-loaded situations this season, Valenzuela is two for two with four RBIs.

“I’ve seen pitchers go up there afraid to bat, or just spread their legs and hack,” Dodger batting coach Ben Hines said. “But just watch Fernando and you can tell he’s a good hitter.” Valenzuela, who has four hits in his last six at-bats to improve his average to .160, shrugged. “Anybody with any kind of bat in their hand, that person can be dangerous,” he said. “Anybody.”

Some more than others, such as Marshall, who has hit in 14 of his last 15 games (19 for 61, .311).

“I’ve never felt better, never,” Marshall said. “It sounds crazy, but since coming back from the back problems, I’ve been forced to have more discipline, to worry about mechanics. When all that is working, the back is not bothering me.

“I’d like to finish playing every game for the rest of the year, and then start out playing every game next year. I feel right now like I can do that.”

Dodger Notes

Former Dodger third baseman Tracy Woodson, who left the triple-A Albuquerque team last week and has not returned, has been placed on the temporary inactive list. The Dodgers will not pay him, while hoping he decides to rejoin the organization. . . . Part of Thursday’s pregame meeting was devoted to published comments from anonymous players concerning their alleged anger over the absence of Kirk Gibson, who is in Michigan awaiting Aug. 25 knee surgery. Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda demanded that the anonymous sources speak up at the meeting. Nobody spoke.