Rookie Equals Billing, Stymies Dodgers, 4-2

Steve Avery took a big step toward fulfilling the Braves’ expectations Tuesday with one dramatic pitch.

It was the bottom of the seventh inning, two out and runners on first and second. Dodger Mickey Hatcher was at the plate representing the tying run.

Hatcher, with 12 years of major league experience, was guessing fastball. Avery, with three games of experience, was throwing a fastball.

Hatcher saw it, swung at it, and expected it to fly. But then the ball ducked.

“Next thing I know, the ball was in the catcher’s mitt,” Hatcher said. “I thought I was right on it . . . and I barely tipped it.”

The foul-tip strikeout eventually led to a 4-2 victory for the Braves before 12,257 at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. And in Avery, who recorded his first major league victory, a star was born. Well, maybe.

“He is a young phenom, huh?” asked Dodger Stan Javier, who had a hit and an RBI. “I don’t know about that. He was good. But that’s just one game.”

Added Mike Sharperson, who went hitless: “He has pretty decent stuff. I think he will be a good pitcher. One day.”

Excuse them for being grumpy, but the loss dropped the Dodgers to 11 1/2 games behind the National League West-leading Cincinnati Reds.

The Dodgers left 10 runners on base, including three at third base and two at second base. Dodger starter Mike Morgan, staked to a 1-0 lead before he even took the mound, then gave up singles to the first three hitters he faced.

He then walked Dave Justice, forcing in a run. Morgan previously had walked only 22 in 99 2/3 innings, fewest among Dodger starters.

A double-play grounder by Dale Murphy scored another first-inning run, and the Dodgers never caught up.

In their final chance, against relief pitcher Joe Hesketh in the ninth, pinch-hitter Kirk Gibson grounded to first base with a runner on first. Gibson was making his first appearance since suffering a groin injury June 18.

“I just want to get out of here,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said as he hurried from his office after meeting with the media. “I feel terrible.”

In the other clubhouse, a young pitcher with spiked hair and a shy smile was also trying to leave quickly, but for different reasons.

“I want to call home and then see my girlfriend,” Avery said.

“Hey,” yelled fellow starter John Smoltz, “it’s past the kid’s bedtime.”

Relieved Atlanta officials looked as if they’ve been waiting up all night for Avery. The left-handed pitcher was their first pick, and third overall selection, in the 1988 June draft. After two outstanding seasons in the minor leagues, he and Texas Ranger outfielder Rueben Sierra were picked last winter by a national baseball publication as the two players most likely to be stars in the 1990s.

After 13 starts at triple-A Richmond this summer, he was recalled June 13. In his Brave debut, he was shelled by the Cincinnati Reds for eight runs in 2 1/3 innings. He lost again to the Reds six days later.

His problem in both games was that he had only his fastball. But from the first inning Tuesday, against a team he said he has always respected, Avery showed he had everything. Especially his composure.

He walked Javier on four pitches to start the game, and two outs later Javier scored on a single by Eddie Murray. But Avery didn’t allow another hit for 5 2/3 innings, until pinch-hitter Jose Gonzalez started the Dodger rally in the seventh with a one-out single. Javier then singled, but Sharperson grounded out and Hatcher struck out for only the ninth time this season to end the threat.

Avery left the game after giving up four hits and one run in seven innings. He particularly frustrated Juan Samuel, who went hitless in four at-bats with runners on base. Samuel has four hits in his last 49 at-bats.

“He’s got an exploding fastball,” Brave Manager Bobby Cox said of Avery. “He is a power pitcher who can also mess up guys’ minds.”

Beating the Dodgers is special, Avery said.

“Everybody knows about the Dodgers--but I would have taken this first one against anybody,” he said.

Morgan’s advice for the youngster was to enjoy the victory.

“He can dig himself tonight, and maybe tomorrow morning a little bit, but then he has to start thinking about the next game,” said Morgan (7-6), who gave up three runs in six innings. “There’s always a next game.”

Dodger Notes

Jim Presley, third baseman for the Braves, was arrested Tuesday on a battery warrant sworn out by his mother, Lucinda Brazel. Presley allegedly yelled at Brazel and pushed her when she showed up unannounced at his apartment at 1 a.m. Tuesday after traveling from her home in Pensacola, Fla., authorities said. They said Brazel was bruised from the incident. Presley learned of the warrant at 3:30 p.m. when he reported to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium for Tuesday night’s game. Presley went to the Rockdale County jail, where he posted $1,000 bond and was released. He was held out of the lineup.

Outfielder Kal Daniels is scheduled to fly to Los Angeles early today to have his back examined by Dr. Robert Watkins. Daniels said he twisted his back after geting a fifth-inning single Friday in Cincinnati. “It’s stiff, sore, painful, everything,” Daniels said. “It just isn’t getting any better.” Kirk Gibson’s strained groin muscle improved enough that he pinch-hit Tuesday, his first action since suffering the injury June 18. . . . Eddie Murray was handed the fifth Dodger ejection of the season after arguing a third-strike call with home plate umpire Dana DeMuth in the eighth inning.