Dodgers Provide the Extra Effort, 8-7, Not Extra Innings

July hadn’t been much of a month for Juan Samuel.

He had struggled at the plate, hitting only .238. He spent a few hours in a Pittsburgh jail after being involved in a bar fight.

And that was after spending some time on the bench last month when he briefly lost his starting job.

But with one swing Saturday night, Samuel made up for a lot of frustration.

His bases-loaded single in the ninth inning completed a comeback as the Dodgers rallied for four runs in that final inning to beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-7, before 38,022 at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers, who needed 12 innings to beat the Braves Friday night, are nine games behind the division-leading Cincinnati Reds, the closest the Dodgers have been since June 22.

Would a division title still require an impossible comeback?

No more so than the one the Dodgers fashioned Saturday.

Behind by three runs, down to their last out with only one base runner, the Dodgers got their first run of the rally on a single to right by Kirk Gibson against reliever Tony Castillo.

A single by Kal Daniels brought Mark Grant on in relief. He walked Eddie Murray, loading the bases.

A soft liner to center by Hubie Brooks over the head of shortstop Jeff Blauser produced two runs, tying the score.

“I was strong enough to fist it over the infield,” Brooks said. “I know I just needed a base hit, so I didn’t want to overswing. I think it was a high changeup.”

Then, after an intentional walk to Mike Scioscia, Samuel, down to his last strike, delivered another soft liner to center.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done,” Samuel said.

“It was a hard slider. He was trying to protect the plate on 0 and 2. It was a good pitch and I was lucky enough to get the bat on the ball.”

Mike Hartley (2-1) got the victory; Grant (1-2) took the loss.

“I tell you, there is going to still be a race,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said.

“If we can get it down to seven, we’ve still got August and September to go.”

The Braves got to starter Fernando Valenzuela early. They got two hits and two walks in the first inning, with a run scoring on Dale Murphy’s single.

The Dodgers answered in kind in the first, with two hits and two walks, their run scoring on a sacrifice fly by Brooks.

Something has seemed to happen to Valenzuela in the middle innings of games this season and Saturday was no exception.

He had retired eight in a row after Murphy’s run-scoring single.

But Murphy reignited the offense when he slammed a double to left field in the fourth. Blauser followed with a run-scoring single to left to push Atlanta back ahead.

Francisco Cabrera kept the rally alive with a single. With two out, Atlanta starter John Smoltz doubled into right field. The pitcher was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple, but both runners scored.

Valenzuela’s ERA this year in the first three innings of games is 2.40. In the final three innings, it is 1.06. But in the middle three, even before Saturday, it was 5.98.

The Dodgers kept Valenzuela in the game with two sixth-inning homers. Murray hit his 16th of the season into the right-field bullpen with Daniels on base. Scioscia added his ninth into the right-field pavilion to tie the score.

But not for long.

Valenzuela got right back into trouble in the seventh, giving up an infield single to Smoltz and a double to Lonnie Smith with one out.

Mark Lemke, playing for injured Jeff Treadway, followed with a sinking liner to left. Daniels made a desperate dive for it.

It was barely beyond his grasp, however, falling for a two-run double that proved the last gasp for Valenzuela.

Reliever Jim Gott gave up an RBI single to Ron Gant to close out the scoring for the Braves.

But the Dodgers were only getting started.

“This is the kind of game than can ruin a team,” Smoltz said. “This is the kind of thing that really hurts your confidence. I’m still waiting to wake up.”

It took the Dodgers awhile Saturday, but they woke up in the nick of time.

Dodger Notes

While rumors continue to circulate that Kirk Gibson will be traded to either the Oakland Athletics or Detroit Tigers before Tuesday’s trading deadline, Dodger Vice President Fred Claire insists nothing has been decided. “Kirk is playing as hard as he can,” Claire said, “and given everything he has. Things change. Kirk recognizes he has a contract. He hasn’t ruled anything in or out and we haven’t ruled anything in or out. But it is not a done deal.” . . . Maury Wills, the Dodgers’ all-time leading base stealer, has been hired as a minor league instructor, specializing in stealing and bunting. . . . Atlanta second baseman Jeff Treadway, suffering from a sore right hand, was a late scratch from the starting lineup. . . . The four-game series will end today with a 1 p.m. game pitting the Dodgers’ Ramon Martinez (12-4) against Atlanta’s Charlie Leibrandt (4-3).