Dodgers Make Fast Work of Braves, 1-0 : Belcher Gets His Major League-Leading 7th Shutout With 3-Hitter

Who says these Dodgers have no speed?

Saturday night against Atlanta, Tim Belcher said his fastball “jumped out of my hand.” Lenny Harris set up the winning run by nearly jumping out of his shoes.

And Mike Sharperson’s eyes were quick enough to spot a pitch coming out reliever Mike Stanton’s hand, enabling him to make four consecutive wise choices in drawing a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to give the Dodgers a 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves before 23,192 at Dodger Stadium.

Speed has put the Dodgers back alone in fourth place for the first time since Aug. 17. Speed has put Harris in the thick of the Dodgers’ 1990 plans. And speed has put Belcher, one of the league’s hottest pitchers, on the verge of becoming just the fourth pitcher in Los Angeles Dodger history to win a strikeout title.

“All I’ve got to say is, it’s a good thing Nolan Ryan is in the other league,” said Belcher, whose nine strikeouts gave him 184, tying him with St. Louis’ Jose DeLeon for the league lead. “Also, you’ve got to think that this time of the year, the hitters are getting a little tired.”

With two remaining starts, the ever-humble Belcher could join a group that includes Don Drysdale (1959-60, 1962), Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965-66) and Fernando Valenzuela (1981).

He is already on a list of pitchers having late-season rushes. He has gone 5-0 in his last six starts. Saturday’s three-hitter, equaling his career low, was his third shutout in his last five games, giving him the major league lead with seven.

Appropriately, the winning rally consisted of just one hit. Harris, batting for Jose Gonzalez in the ninth against reliever Joe Boever, started things with a blooper to right. As Oddibe McDowell and Dale Murphy converged on the ball, Harris decided to run for second base. When the ball fell between the Atlanta outfielders, and then was bobbled by McDowell, Harris was given just enough time to make it safely, sliding around Andres Thomas’ tag.

“He told me I was lucky,” Harris said of Thomas. “The way I figure it, you’ve got to run hard on that play to make things happen. If you end up standing on first base, everybody will say you should have made second. On the other hand, if you get thrown out at second, everybody says it’s a bonehead play.”

After failing to lay down a bunt, Willie Randolph then hit a slow roller to third baseman Jeff Blauser. It was enough to move Harris to third, and set up consecutive intentional walks to Eddie Murray and Mike Marshall.

Stanton replaced Boever. In stepped Mike Sharperson, pinch-hitting for Billy Bean.

“I told myself, ‘I’ve never seen this guy before, so watch the first pitch unless it is a fastball,’ ” Sharperson said. “Then I saw the rotation of the ball as he threw it and I knew it was a breaking ball, so I didn’t swing.”

It was low and away for ball one. Next pitch, same thing for ball two. And again for ball three. And then he threw ball four, giving the Dodgers the victory.

“Things have kind of turned around for me, eh?” Belcher said. “I just wish I could put a finger on it.”

On Aug. 16 in Philadelphia, after allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings in a 6-2 loss, Belcher was 8-12 with a 3.43 earned-run average. Since then he has pitched 46 2/3 innings, allowing eight runs (1.54 ERA) with 38 strikeouts. Overall he has improved to 13-12 with a 3.01 ERA.

“I guess tonight it was that I felt so good, the ball was just jumping out of my hands,” he said. “Yeah, sometimes it was a rush.”

Dodger Notes

Alfredo Griffin, nursing a sore elbow due to an unusual throwing motion caused by a sore finger, was rested Saturday. He has 11 hits in his last 61 at-bats (.180), a slump that has dropped his average to .248. Griffin has missed just nine games for which he has been active this season. . . . Jose Gonzalez started Saturday night for just the fifth time in 16 games this month . . . Brave announcer Skip Carey spent a couple of hours in Queen of Angels Medical Center Friday afternoon with an uncomfortable feeling in his chest, and missed Friday night’s broadcast on WTBS, but was back to work Saturday. “I didn’t have shortness of breath, I didn’t have chest pains,” Carey said. “Obviously I’m in pretty good shape if they are going to let me work (Saturday night).”

The Braves’ determination to see their prospects this spring has led to a uniformed roster of 38, prompting one Dodger to note, “They look like a football team out there.” It has also resulted in lopsided pitching matchups, as evidenced by their three-game series against Houston beginning Tuesday in Atlanta. The Braves will throw three pitchers with less than two months of big league experience among them--Gary Eaves (first major league start), Rusty Richards (major league debut) and Tommy Greene (two starts). The Astros will counter with a combined 33 years of big league experience--Mike Scott (11 years), Rick Rhoden (16 years) and Jim Deshaies (six years).