Cook Recovers Against Giants : Dodgers: After struggling through two relief performances with his new club, he settles in well as a starter, beating some old friends.

Dennis Cook’s fastball was far better than his memory Saturday.

By moving his fastball in and out of the strike zone effectively, Cook baffled the Giants for 6 1/3 innings, his longest outing in months. “It’s been a while, that’s for sure,” said Cook, who was acquired from the Phillies on Sept. 13 in exchange for catcher Darrin Fletcher. “I had one start against Pittsburgh when I went 6 1/3. I guess it was maybe in July--no, June. I think.”

Cook made his first start as a Dodger a memorable one, giving up one run and striking out four in a 6-3 victory over the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

Cook (9-3) retired 13 consecutive batters after he gave up a one-out single to Greg Litton in the first inning, pitching with poise and polish in a game that was scoreless until the Dodgers got five runs in the sixth inning--a flurry that began with Cook’s opposite-field single to left.

“I just swing the bat and hope it hits the ball,” Cook said. “I’m no hitter.”

His pitching drew praise from Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, who considered the entire evening a fine present for his 63rd birthday.

“He did an outstanding job,” Lasorda said of the 27-year-old left-hander. “When we got him, I wanted to look at him a little bit in relief. But looking at him, I thought he’d be a better starter than relief pitcher, and that’s why he started.”

Cook started horrendously with the Dodgers on Sept. 16, giving up a sacrifice fly and a two-run home run to the first two batters he faced in a 9-5 loss at Cincinnati. He was charged with two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning and pitched only one-third of an inning in his next appearance the next day in Atlanta, leaving him an earned-run average of 18.00 as a Dodger.

“It’s taken me awhile to settle in, but I can settle real easy,” Cook said. “And it’s always a lot easier when you have runs scored for you.”

He had no runs to work with until the sixth, but if he felt the tension of a scoreless game and a pennant race, he showed no signs of it.

“Every game’s a pressure game when you’re in the big leagues, the way I see it,” said Cook, who began his career with the Giants and was traded to Philadelphia in June, 1989. “You don’t win, you don’t have a job--here or anywhere else.”

He did his job admirably Saturday, finally giving in to fatigue in the seventh inning. He was relieved by Tim Crews after he yielded a home run to Matt Williams and a single to Kevin Bass, and he left the field to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 45,755.

“He had good command of his fastball all night. He changed speeds well and threw strikes, which is encouraging,” catcher Mike Scioscia said. “He was ahead of most of the hitters, and I thought he did a terrific job shutting down a good lineup. . . .

“I had an idea of his pitches as far as pitch selection, but it was a learning process to see what he could do in certain situations. You have to learn as much as you can in the early innings and see what’s working and make adjustments. We were pretty much in sync. A couple of times he had a feel for a pitch and went with it. I thought it was just a tremendous effort for him.”

Cook downplayed his accomplishments and said he took no special glee in defeating his former teammates.

“This is no more satisfying that any other game,” he said. “I wanted to throw the ball well and get ahead in the count, and if I could do that, I felt I could keep the team in the game. . . . It was no different than beating the Cincinnati Reds. It doesn’t matter who I face and whether I start or relieve. As long as I have my name on my back, it doesn’t matter.”

How well he pitches in the final days of the season could matter this winter, when Fernando Valenzuela can leave for free agency, which could leave Cook as the lone left-hander in the starting rotation. That’s something he hasn’t considered and won’t think about for a while.

“That’s too far off. I’ve got to figure out what I’m doing two days from now,” he said. “I liked it in Philadelphia--there were a lot of good people over there and the organization was turning around. But this is a good organization, too, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy myself here in L.A., starting or relieving, whatever they want me to do.”