Martinez Sets His Cap to Beat the Reds, 3-0 : Baseball: Dodgers pull within 4 1/2 games of first place as he gives up only six hits and strikes out seven.

As Ramon Martinez admits, when he is pitching well, the only thing that moves more than his fastball is his cap.

On Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds, he is lucky he did not lose it.

On a strikeout of Paul O’Neill with two runners on base in the first inning, the bill of the cap swung to the left. On a line-drive out by Barry Larkin with two runners on base in the eighth inning, the cap skewered to the right.

Appropriately, on a strikeout of Jeff Reed to end the game, the cap jumped off his head as Martinez jumped off the mound with a 3-0 victory that moved the Dodgers to within 4 1/2 games of the first-place Reds.

“When I am throwing hard and putting everything into it, the cap slides, there is nothing I can do,” Martinez said with a smile after becoming only the sixth pitcher to shut out the Reds this season. “Tonight, I should have strapped it down.”

The victory before 45,751 at Riverfront Stadium sets up a showdown today in the final meeting of the season between these two National League West contenders.

The Dodgers’ Mike Morgan will face the Reds’ Norm Charlton at 11:15 a.m. PDT. The Dodgers will have 16 games remaining after today.

“If we win, they really haven’t picked up anything,” said Lou Piniella, the Reds’ manager. “We need to win, and we’re in darn good shape.”

In the other clubhouse, Juan Samuel was celebrating a two-run home run with a warning.

“We got two games out of the way . . . but now this is one of the most important games of the season,” he said of today’s meeting. “They are 4 1/2 up now, they still got some room, they really don’t have to worry about anything . . . but we get it to 3 1/2, we’re in good shape.”

A full-count grounder by Kal Daniels against loser Danny Jackson scored a run in the third inning, then Samuel left Martinez in good shape after Jackson walked Mike Scioscia in the seventh inning. Samuel hit a 2-and-1 pitch over the center-field fence for his 11th home run this season.

The ball hit a retaining wall beyond the 404-foot mark, bounced back into shallow center field and rolled near second base.

“Are you kidding me, the ball did that? Man, the wind must have been blowing,” said Samuel, who hit his third homer in six days after not hitting a homer since July 24. Since Monday, he has 11 hits in 18 at-bats amid a seven-game hitting streak that has raised his average from .213 to .230.

Three runs were more than enough for Martinez, who gave up six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.

“The man just turned it up another gear,” said Dodger pitching coach Ron Perranoski.

“Using all of his pitches, this may have been the best stuff he has had.”

Martinez leads the National League with 10 complete games and 207 strikeouts. After winning only once in five starts entering last week, he has beaten the Reds twice in seven days, with two complete games, to raise his record to 18-6, tying him for second place in victories.

In 15 starts against teams in the West, Martinez is 11-0 with a 2.01 earned-run average.

“To me, he is pitching a Cy Young year,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “He wins the games we have to win.”

Martinez won this game by retiring three consecutive batters with two runners on base.

Bill Hatcher led off the inning with a single to center, becoming only the fifth Red baserunner. Jay Howell and Dennis Cook began throwing in the Dodger bullpen.

Luis Quinones, batting for Jackson, then singled to center to bring out Perranoski. But it was merely for a chat, which left Martinez in a challenging mood.

“I decided to throw my best pitches up there and say, ‘Hit it,’ ” Martinez said.

Bill Doran grounded to first base. Larkin fell behind on two called strikes that Martinez said were among his best pitches of the year, and then lined out to center field.

Hal Morris then lined out to second baseman Samuel to end the inning, causing Martinez to sprint to the dugout with relief and resolve.

“I get out of that and I say, ‘Whew,’ ” Martinez said. “Then I say, ‘That’s it. We’re winning.’ ”

Said Doran: “We can’t let people give the impression that we’re down,” Doran said. “We’re still the club that’s up, no matter what happens. That’s an important point that shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle.”

Dodger Notes

Mike Morgan is 1-0 with a 1.50 earned-run average in three starts against the Reds, including a two-hit victory July 30. Norm Charlton, who is 6-3 with a 1.84 ERA since becoming a Red starter, has a 3.73 ERA against the Dodgers in four appearances. He lost to Morgan in his only start. . . . Dennis Cook warmed up for the second consecutive night, so Tim Crews will probably be the starting pitcher Monday in Atlanta, replacing injured Mike Hartley. Crews, who gave up one earned run in four innings against the New York Mets May 22 in his only start this season, would oppose left-hander Charlie Leibrandt--the fourth consecutive left-hander the Dodgers would face. The Dodgers’ Jim Neidlinger is tentatively scheduled to face the Braves’ Paul Marak Tuesday.

Marge Schott, owner of the Reds, sent Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda a strand of hair from her dog, Schottzie, before the game. “It’s very nice,” Lasorda said. “But what am I supposed to do with it?” . . . Fred Claire, Dodger vice president, said he was “not pleased” that Kirk Gibson arrived 15 minutes before Friday’s series opener here because of weather delays on his flight from Detroit. Although Gibson was in uniform by the start of the game, and he was not scheduled to start because of his slump, Claire said Gibson had cut it too close. “When we give players permission to go home on off-days, it becomes their responsibility to follow the rules and make it back on time,” Claire said. “I am not pleased by what happened.” Claire said this incident would probably not cause a change in Dodger policy to allow players to spend days off away from the team in some cases. Gibson is batting .085 in September.

Fernando Valenzuela, who has won four of his six starts since Aug. 18, said he has asked his agent, Tony DeMarco, to hold off discussing a new contract until the end of the season. But Valenzuela has not forgotten that it was the Dodgers, not him, who would only agree to a one-year deal last winter. “They looked at the situation like that, so now we have to look at it like that,” Valenzuela said.

Pat Perry has received indications from Claire that he will not be kept on the 40-man roster, meaning he would become a free agent. Perry might have to decide between between seeking a contract elsewhere or accepting an invitation to attend Dodger spring training on a make-good basis.