Dodgers Continue Down Road

What began as merely another bumpy ride has careened out of control.

Unable to find a person or a play to stop their slide, the Dodgers are headed into the darkest places of the club history books.

Orel Hershiser pitched one of his best games since surgery and the defense avoided creating a national incident, but it still didn’t matter Saturday because Eric Anthony’s ninth-inning single gave the Houston Astros a 1-0 victory before 19,206 at the Astrodome.

It was the Dodgers’ ninth consecutive loss, one of the four longest losing streaks in Los Angeles history.

With a loss today, they would tie the record for the longest losing streak, set in 1961.

They are on a pace to finish the season with a 67-95 record, worst in Los Angeles history.

“Nobody in their right mind could have envisioned this,” Eric Davis said. “Even the bat boy couldn’t have envisioned this.”

The offense is going into the record books without a peep. The Dodgers have scored one run in their last 28 innings and averaged two runs per game during the streak.

The starting pitchers, however, are fighting it all the way.

A couple of days after Tom Candiotti expressed frustration over the defense, Hershiser showed frustration on the pitching mound when pitching coach Ron Perranoski came to take him out in the ninth inning.

Hershiser had thrown 115 pitches, his highest total since April 24 and his second highest since surgery.

Perranoski’s visit came after a single to Luis Gonzalez--putting Gonzalez’s batting average above .200 for the first time this season--and a walk to Ken Caminiti.

But Hershiser, who hasn’t pitched a complete game in 1,037 days, had given up only six hits. And he had run the count to three balls on only four of 32 batters.

“I’m fine,” Hershiser told Perranoski when he reached the mound. Hershiser continued to argue until Roger McDowell arrived from the bullpen.

“You feel like you’ve still got pretty good stuff. You still feel like you can do it. You don’t want to leave,” Hershiser said, adding, “but a lot of times, the only person who thinks the starting pitcher should stay in the game is that starting pitcher.”

McDowell gave up the winning hit by pinch-hitter Anthony on a ground ball to right field. It was Anthony’s 31st run batted in in his last 40 games.

Hershiser said he would not second-guess Lasorda on the decision because the first two Astros in the ninth had reached base. He was not alone.

“I think Orel had pretty well run the gamut,” agreed Art Howe, Astro manager. “We had almost been getting to him earlier. Then he gets in trouble late.”

Hershiser, who was starting a day earlier than scheduled because Ramon Martinez had a strained left hip, also knows that things would have been different before his surgery.

“I think (back) then, they would have come out in the ninth, but I would have been able to talk them out of it,” said Hershiser, 6-5 with a 3.29 earned-run average. “But I understand that. It’s a matter of me needing to prove to everyone I can go farther.”

Hershiser was also angry at himself because, for a second consecutive time, he failed to bunt--during the third inning, after Jose Offerman beat out an infield grounder.

Hershiser popped into a double play, and the Dodgers managed only six hits in eight innings against Jimmy Jones. He is 5-1 with a 2.50 ERA against them and has not lost to the Dodgers since 1988.

Lasorda was so upset he left the clubhouse almost immediately after the game for a long walk. But on his way out of the Astrodome, he paused to shake his head.

“This is crazy. We just can’t score,” he said. “We can’t get even one run in.”

The Dodgers are batting .240 during the losing streak, and the starting pitchers have a 3.37 ERA.

The only time the Dodgers even came close to getting a runner to third base Saturday was when Mitch Webster hit a two-out single to right field with Eric Karros on first.

Karros attempted to take third and was thrown out by right fielder Pete Incaviglia to end the inning.

Davis, making his first start since May 22, was hitless in four at-bats, getting the ball out of the infield only once. He is hitless in six at-bats since his return.

“With each at-bat, it’s getting better and better,” Davis said. “Soon, somebody is going to pay.”

Something resembling a victory would probably be considered ample compensation.