Loss Pales in Impact to Dodgers

As players scurried around him in the clubhouse, fear in their voices, bats in some of their hands, Orel Hershiser shook his head.

“It was a bad game and a bad night for L.A.,” Hershiser said. “I have nothing else to say.”

Shortly after the Dodgers committed four errors and suffered their fourth consecutive loss Wednesday, a 7-3 defeat by the Philadelphia Phillies, players learned of the much greater losses caused by the violence in the city.

Some reacted angrily. “All of this could have been avoided and should have been avoided,” John Candelaria said.

The eyes of others grew wide. “It’s kind of freaky, isn’t it?” Dave Hansen said.

The only constant was that all of them rushed through their showers and out the doors to their families, pausing only to figure out safe routes home.

“I’ve still got a lot of friends in South-Central (Los Angeles). I’ve still got family there,” Eric Davis said. “I’ll be on the horn with them as soon as I get home.”

The Phillies’ bus, according to Manager Jim Fregosi, was scheduled to be escorted to their hotel by Dodger Stadium security.

“Before we came out here, everybody was worried about earthquakes,” Fregosi said. “Now everybody has something else to worry about.”

The Dodgers lost their fifth consecutive game at Dodger Stadium, before 36,639.

One of those five games included a bench-clearing incident in the final innings. An earthquake rumbled during another.

And then there was Wednesday’s game, which seemed less important as the night grew longer.

It featured one of the more trying moments of Brett Butler’s career, but at least he didn’t feel alone.

Shortly after he committed his first error in 208 games, breaking a streak that was 34 games short of the league record, his teammates sent him a message.

Don’t worry about making one error every two years.

During a span from the fourth to the sixth innings, three-fourths of the Dodgers’ infield made an error. One inning later, a wild pitch was added to the mix.

By the ninth inning, only a few fans remained to hear the somber public address system announcement with traffic instructions from the Los Angeles Police Department to avoid downtown violence.

“It was one of those games where we just stunk up the place,” Butler said. “You are going to have those during the year, and this is one of them.”

The Dodgers’ league-worst defense ruined a perfectly good pitching duel between two veterans of surgical wars.

Hershiser allowed four hits in five innings, yet fell to 2-2 because he allowed three earned runs and two unearned runs. Danny Cox, who had radical elbow surgery in 1989, allowed two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings to improve to 2-1.

“Orel deserved a better fate,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “One inning was the game.”

That inning was the fourth, when the Phillies took advantage of three errors to take a 5-0 lead.

The Dodgers have committed a league-high 27 errors in 22 games. At this pace, they will commit 199 errors, 38% more than last season’s 123.

Butler’s error happened because he tried too hard. With bases loaded and one run having scored in the fourth, Darren Daulton hit a line drive to shallow center field.

Dave Hollins scored easily from third base, and John Kruk--who had started on second base--ran home behind him. Butler’s throw sailed over Scioscia’s head, allowing Daulton to take second.

“If the ball is down, we got him,” Butler insisted. “I would have liked to have the record, but all I’m thinking is that I want to win. I’m not thinking cutoff man.”

The inning began when Mariano Duncan doubled down the left-field line. Lenny Harris dropped at grounder at second base. After Daulton’s hit, Mickey Morandini walked. Kim Batiste hit a grounder that bounced over third baseman Dave Hansen’s glove for the third error of the inning. Two more runs scored on that play.

Jose Offerman completed the four errors by muffing a grounder in the sixth inning, leading to another run.