Dodgers’ Power Retains Magic : Baseball: Murray gets his 2,500th hit and Strawberry homers as Hershiser stymies the Padres, 7-2.

Late Monday afternoon, while watching the Atlanta Braves win again on the clubhouse television, Darryl Strawberry leaned forward in his folding chair and spoke softly about the Dodgers’ true magic number.

It has nothing to do with the Braves or the National League West championship race. It has everything to do with the middle of a batting order for whom greatness is no longer merely expected, but required.

The magic number is three.

“Me, Eddie (Murray) and Kal (Daniels) . . . this race is now is dependent on us,” Strawberry said before the Dodgers’ 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. “If this team is going to get the job done, we’ve got to get it done. Every night.”

The only thing more impressive than the size of that burden is the manner in which those three hitters are carrying it.

Murray got the 2,500th hit of his career and Strawberry hit his 26th home run Monday night, supporting Orel Hershiser’s two-hit scoreless pitching for seven innings and keeping the first-place Dodgers one game in front of the Braves with five remaining.

The bad news for the 39,261 at Dodger Stadium was that an earlier victory by the Braves ensured that no matter what the Dodgers did, they cannot clinch the championship at home except if there is a one-game playoff with the Braves here next Monday.

The best they can hope for is to clinch a tie by winning their final two games against the Padres here while the Braves are losing in Cincinnati.

“The Braves are not giving up,” Brett Butler said, shaking his head. “The best we can hope for is to get some help from the Reds and get a little cushion going into San Francisco. Because we’re going to need it.”

Building that cushion might be a difficult task. In the next two nights, the Dodgers must face two pitchers who have stopped them throughout their young careers, Andy Benes (1.66 earned-run average against the Dodgers) and Greg Harris (2.22 ERA).

“Hopefully, it’s our turn,” Butler said. “Just like we hope that when Houston goes into Atlanta for the last three games of the season, they will figure out a way to turn it around.”

The Dodgers have won 22 of their past 30 games, including consecutive victories when a loss would have meant a fall into a first-place tie.

The championship race has certainly not bothered the middle of the Dodgers’ order, which has combined to hit .289 with 14 home runs and 64 runs batted in during 28 games this month. The only thing that stopped them Monday was flu, which caused Daniels to leave the game after two at-bats.

Although Strawberry’s third-inning home run against starter and loser Dennis Rasmussen was his second big hit in two days--he won Sunday night’s game against the San Francisco Giants with a ninth-inning single--the most memorable hit Monday was by Murray, who is batting .359 this month.

Murray followed Strawberry’s home run, his fourth in 35 games, with a first-pitch single to center. With that hit, he became the 68th player in history to reach the 2,500 mark and only the fifth active player, behind Robin Yount, George Brett, Dave Parker and Dave Winfield.

“When he came off the field, I asked him if he remembered who he got his first hit against,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said.

“Before he could answer, (coach) Bill Russell shouted, ‘Satchel Paige.’ ”

Murray said he wasn’t sure who yielded his first hit in 1977. “It was either Gaylord Perry or Bert Blyleven,” he said.

In fact, he said he didn’t even know he had 2,500 hits until he saw it flashed on the scoreboard.

“I knew I was close, but I think the last time I checked, I was nine away,” said Murray, who has 398 home runs.

“It’s nice to get it when you win a game . . . but it’s really just a hit. I’d like to see how long I can play, and see what number that last hit is.”

The crowd gave him a standing ovation, which he acknowledged with a wave. Then he responded with something they liked even more by moving to third on Juan Samuel’s double and scoring on a wild pitch by Rasmussen.

That made the score 4-0 after the Dodgers had scored twice in the second inning on RBI singles by Lenny Harris and Hershiser.

From there, the Dodgers’ fortunes were in the right hand of Hershiser, who has given up three runs in 26 innings in four starts since taking a 15-day rest to strengthen his surgically repaired shoulder.

In striking out six and walking two, Hershiser retired the first five he faced and nine of the last 10. He gave up only two singles before leaving the game after 88 pitches, the most he has thrown since Aug. 6.

“At times I feel like I’m the Orel of old,” Hershiser said.

As proof, in six days he will probably be given an assignment that would go to the Hershiser of old: starting in the Dodgers’ final game of the season at San Francisco.

“Now that,” Hershiser said recently, “would be fun.”

BRAVES WIN: John Smoltz struck out 10 in eight innings to help Atlanta beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-0. C4

CHARLTON’S BACK: NL President Bill White put Red reliever Norm Charlton’s suspension on hold. C4