Dodgers’ Loss to the Cubs Really One for the Book

It was Fireworks Night at Dodger Stadium, but it should have been Rulebook Night.

Give everyone in the sellout crowd of 46,811 at Dodger Stadium a rulebook and they might have been able to figure out what was going on in the Cubs’ 5-3 victory as a series of odd plays sent Wednesday’s official scorer, Wayne Monroe, on several forays through the rules.

The weirdness peaked in the top of the sixth, with the Cubs protecting a 4-2 lead against losing pitcher Fernando Valenzuela (6-7). With two outs, Marvell Wynne singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Joe Girardi singled to left, where Kal Daniels came up throwing and appeared to get Wynne at the plate with a strike.

But third base umpire Charlie Reliford ruled Lenny Harris had obstructed Wynne, and the run was allowed. Under rule 10.13, Section F, Harris received an error, Girardi got an RBI, Reliford got an argument from Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda and the run was unearned.

“I’ve been in the big leagues 20 years and I’ve never seen that play called,” Lasorda said. “(Harris) never touched him. (Reliford) said he broke his stride.”

Wynne admitted he “wouldn’t have protested that call,” but said, “He made me take a wider turn. Looking back, yes, he did interfere with me.”

Harris likened it to decoying a runner on a fly ball. “That’s baseball,” he said. “You can’t give the game away on a call like that. That doesn’t make sense.”

The Dodgers got their run for the rulebook in the same inning. Eddie Murray led off with a single, and Mike Scioscia hit a one-out double down the right-field line. As Murray came around third, Ryne Sandberg’s relay throw home appeared to have him beaten but bounced past catcher Girardi.

Sandberg was given a rare error, Scioscia no RBI. Under Rule 10.13, Section B, the official scorer can assume an out if the throw clearly beat the runner. The ruling drew a protesting phone call to the press box from Cub Manager Don Zimmer.

Before things settled down, the Dodgers loaded the bases against three relievers in the ninth, but they failed to score and lost, remaining 10 1/2 games behind the Reds.

Coming off his no-hitter against St. Louis, Valenzuela was off his form early Wednesday--bobbing and weaving, working in and out of trouble. “Fernando didn’t have total command early,” Scioscia said. “He settled down as the game went on. You know Fernando--the first couple innings are the innings you have to get to him.”

The Dodgers gave him a 2-0 pad in the first inning when Kirk Gibson, who had three hits, singled and Murray homered two batters later off Mike Harkey, who improved to 6-3.

Valenzuela extended his string of no-hit innings to 10 with a perfect first, but his bid for a second no-hitter ended in the second inning when Hector Villanueva singled. One out later, Wynne launched a home run over the center-field fence to tie the game.

The Cubs took a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning when Villanueva led off with a single and Wynne walked. Both scored on Girardi’s double. Girardi, who had three hits and three runs batted in, advanced to third on Harkey’s bloop single but Valenzuela avoided further trouble thanks to Girardi’s base-running gaffe.

Doug Dascenzo flied out to left, and when Girardi bluffed a start for home he strayed too far from third and was caught by the cutoff man for your basic 7-5-6 double play.

The Dodgers had runners on second in both the seventh and eighth innings and Harkey was lifted after 6 2/3 innings, but they couldn’t score against Steve Wilson, Bill Long or Paul Assenmacher.

When they mounted a final threat in the ninth, Les Lancaster came out of the bullpen with two out and two on and a 2-0 count on Murray, who walked. But Lancaster retired Hubie Brooks on a grounder to short for his fifth save.

Dodger Notes

Reviews of Terry Wells’ debut against the Cubs Tuesday were generally favorable. “He showed a good fastball. He threw it by a couple pretty good fastball hitters--(Ryne) Sandberg and (Andre) Dawson,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said. “He’ll have a better curve. He’ll definitely get a few more shots.” . . . Mike Hartley, who threw two innings in relief of Wells, ended up with his first major league victory, ending a long wait for the 28-year-old rookie. “I was close to one earlier in the year but we went into extra innings,” he said. “I was hoping it wouldn’t take too long.” Hartley said he didn’t do anything special to celebrate. “I got a couple phone calls from my cousins in Chicago. They were pretty pumped up because it was against the Cubs.” . . . Hartley and Jim Gott threw three scoreless innings in relief Tuesday, the first time in eight outings the bullpen was not scored on. . . . Ramon Martinez was named National League pitcher of the month for June. He was 4-0 with a 1.76 earned-run average and 56 strikeouts in 46 innings.