Morgan Still in Full Bloom for Dodgers

The lopsided career of Mike Morgan is best symbolized by the outfield wall that shadowed him Friday during the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

It is early summer, so the deep-green ivy is in full growth.

But in three months, that ivy will have wilted.

“If that’s what people want to say about me , well, that’s fine,” said Morgan after holding the Cubs to two runs and six singles in seven innings.

“Who knows what is going to happen at the end of this (season)? It’s not August or September yet, so I can’t think about it.

“Besides, maybe we’ll have a 10- or 12-game lead then, and if I have problems again, they won’t be so magnified.”

The first-place Dodgers are playing well enough to provide Morgan that margin for error, as they won their third consecutive game Friday while improving to 31-22, a season-high nine games over .500.

But now that Morgan is off to another good start at 6-4 with an earned-run average of 2.33, the Dodgers can’t help wondering whether he can avoid another bad finish.

Including this season, during April, May and June he has a career earned-run average of 3.72.

During July, August and September, his ERA is 4.91, including 6.35 in the final month last season, which knocked him out of the starting rotation.

“Mike Morgan is 6-4 right now,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “Let’s dwell on what is happening right now.”

The present certainly is a pleasant subject for the Dodgers, who received outstanding starting pitching for the fifth consecutive game. They also got two hitless innings of relief from John Candelaria and Jay Howell and two run-scoring hits by Lenny Harris that gave them a 3-1 sixth-inning lead.

“This is the best team in the West,” said Harris, who has helped the team compile a 22-12 record when he is in the starting lineup. “If we win a championship, it is going to be this year.”

Harris scored the eventual winning run in the sixth inning after he hit a triple into the right-center-field gap to score Kal Daniels.

Lasorda called for a suicide squeeze bunt, but Cub pitcher Shawn Boskie swiveled on the mound and threw to third base to pick off Harris. Boskie’s throw was wild, and Harris walked home.

“I came into the dugout and I told Tommy, ‘I don’t care what kind of plays you call, I am not going to let you ruin my four days in Chicago’ ” third-base coach Joe Amalfitano said with a laugh.

It seems nothing can ruin the Dodgers’ current streak, even a lack of hitting. In the last five games, all without sore-shouldered Darryl Strawberry, the Dodgers have scored a total of 12 runs, or an average of 2.4 a game. They have hit one home run. Twice they have been held to six hits.

Yet the Dodgers have won four of those five games as the starters have given up three runs in 38 1/3 innings for a 0.70 ERA.

All of which directed Friday’s focus upon Morgan, who has been the most consistent starter this season with no outing of fewer than 6 1/3 innings and no more than four runs given up per outing.

If the Dodgers hope to stay in first place, they need to have him continue pitching as he did in the fourth and sixth innings, when he worked out of jams.

In the fourth, rookie outfielder Cedric Landrum got the first hit of the game by hitting a grounder underneath shortstop Alfredo Griffin’s glove. Landrum quickly stole second, took third on a single by Ryne Sandberg and scored on a single by Mark Grace.

There were still no outs, with George Bell coming to the plate.

“My rhythm was way off all day . . . this is the first time I have felt this bad all year,” Morgan said. “In the past, I would try to change things, and get all messed up. Today, I changed nothing. I am a ground-ball pitcher, I just kept trying to get ground balls.”

Bell grounded into a double play, and after an intentional walk to Dwight Smith, Chico Walker grounded out to second base to end the inning.

Morgan could have been shaken in the sixth inning, too, when Landrum singled, stole second and went to third as Juan Samuel missed Morgan’s pickoff throw. But Morgan got consecutive grounders from Sandberg and Grace, so only Landrum scored.

After Morgan left, Candelaria, who has not given up an earned run since April 14, struck out two of his three batters, making it seven of the last 10 he has faced. Then Howell struck out two of his three in the ninth for his 10th save.