A Nightmare in San Diego for Dodgers

In the second inning Friday night, Dodger Hubie Brooks swung at a pitch and accidentally threw his bat 140 feet into the San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium third base box seats.

Amazingly, it landed at the feet of Fred Claire, the Dodger vice president, who was not hurt and remained in his seat.

He might have been better off leaving. As it was, he was among the 34,641 who saw two of the Dodgers’ winter bullpen acquisitions get clubbed again. Don Aase and Jim Gott blew two L.A. comebacks and four Dodger home runs to turn a potential dream night into 12-6 loss to the San Diego Padres.

As the summer approaches, Claire’s work last winter looks worse.

After a four-run Dodger comeback, Aase turned a 5-5 tie into a 6-5 Padre lead by giving up a Mike Pagliarulo homer in the sixth. After the Dodgers came back again to tie it, at 6-6, in their half of the seventh, Gott gave up a three-run homer to Benito Santiago.

The Padres are among baseball’s hottest teams, with 11 victories in their last 14 games to move them 6 1/2 games behind the National League West-leading Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers, still 9 1/2 games behind the Reds, are slowly becoming baseball’s angriest team--angry that their offense is consistently being wasted by a bullpen problem that has gone unsolved.

“It’s a sad thing,” said Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda. “The guys are trying. They are giving it everything they can. They are battling and battling and never giving up. They are always coming back. . . .”

He lowered his voice. “But the fellows coming in the game are not containing the other guys,” he said. “I’m sure nobody feels worse about it than they do. But, unfortunately, they are not getting the job done and it is hurting us.”

And Lasorda was one of the lucky ones Friday. He was thrown out of the game in the first inning, his first ejection this season. He didn’t have to watch the Dodgers blow a game in the sixth inning or later for the fifth time this season.

Trailing 5-1 after five innings thanks to a poor start by Tim Belcher, the Dodgers tied the game in the sixth with a bang: a three-run homer by Kirk Gibson, his first since last July 14, and Kal Daniels’ 11th homer.

“A loss is a loss, and there’s no satisfaction in losing,” Gibson said, shaking his head. “You tell me, what satisfaction is there in losing?”

After Pagliarulo’s home run gave San Diego a 6-5 lead, it was comeback time in the Dodger seventh. For the first time, Tony Gwynn saw his brother, Chris, get a major league hit and it came on Chris’ first career homer, in 159 at-bats. It was also the Dodgers’ first pinch-hit homer this year.

“I didn’t matter that the homer was here. It could have been at St. Louis or Chicago or in Tokyo,” said Chris Gwynn, who was hitless in nine career at-bats against the Padres. “I was just glad to get it over with.”

The score was tied again, 6-6. Gott relieved Aase to start the bottom of the seventh.

Ten minutes later, the game was over. With one out Alfredo Griffin booted a grounder by Joe Carter for a two-base error, giving Griffin 14 errors, equaling last year’s total. Gott walked Phil Stephenson. Then Gott allowed the three-run homer to Santiago, his eighth. The Padres scored three more times in the inning off Gott and, later, John Wetteland.

In five appearances this year, Gott has allowed seven earned runs in 5 1/3 innings for an 11.81 earned run average.

“You’re talking about a guy who is not quite there yet,” Scioscia said of Gott.

Gott made himself unavailable for comment afterward. But at least one person had a compliment.

“He was throwing good, I was just guessing right,” Santiago said. “I was looking for a fastball. I got a fastball on the inside corner. It was a good pitch. I think he made the pitch where he wanted it.”

The winning pitcher for the Padres was reliever Craig Lefferts, who struck out Gibson with the go-ahead run on base in the seventh, and then gave up only one hit in the final two innings.

At least the Dodgers had been been given proper warning of Friday’s ending. The first inning was one of their wildest--and worst--of the season.

In 10 minutes in the first, the following happened:

--Gibson and Daniels nearly collided on a fly ball.

--Lenny Harris missed a tag at third base.

--Lasorda was ejected.

--A fly ball dropped between Juan Samuel and Hubie Brooks.

--The Padres scored two runs on three hits and still left two men on base.

The inning was at the expense of Belcher, who entered with a streak of four consecutive good outings. In five innings, Belcher gave up 10 hits and five runs with only two strikeouts.

Dodger Notes

Reliever Ray Searage allowed one run in one inning of work in his first rehabilitation start for Class-A Bakersfield against Salinas Friday night. . . . The Dodgers hadn’t had four homers in a game in more than a year, since May 14, 1989.

Even though Mike Maddux was hit hard in his three innings against Atlanta Wednesday, giving up six of 12 hitters to make good contact, he will likely get another chance to start Tuesday in Houston. The Dodgers don’t have anybody else they want to use as their fifth starter. The only other candidate, Tim Crews, entered this season with a career 6.75 ERA against the Astros. Maddux allowed the Braves two runs on three hits in three innings in the Dodgers’ eventual 7-5 victory Wednesday. It was his first start in nearly a year.

Maddux said he talks to his brother Greg, a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, about once a week. “We talk about hitters we have faced. We give each other tips,” Mike said. “The only thing we don’t discuss is players on our own teams. That would be betraying the trust of our teams.” When Greg’s name is mentioned to Mike, he sometimes looks strange, and not because he is jealous of his more acclaimed brother. “It’s because I don’t call him Greg, I call him ‘Nate,’ a nickname he’s always had,” Mike said. “Everybody who has known him for a long time calls him ‘Nate.’ Sometimes I have to remember that I know a Greg Maddux.”

Ramon Martinez’s most visible souvenir from his 18-strikeout performance is a blister on the middle finger of his right hand. Trainers worked on it Friday, and it should cause him no problems in scheduled start here Sunday. . . . Orel Hershiser is accompanying the team on this six-game trip because he wants to continue his daily work with therapist Pat Screnar. . . . Shortstop Jose Offerman continues to be the Dodgers hottest minor league prospect. He recently hit .517 in one week for triple-A Albuquerque to improve his average to .400 after 52 games. He has committed 14 errors. Scouts are also impressed with third baseman Dave Hansen, who is hitting .344 with four homers and 36 RBIs in 52 games.