Hershiser, Scioscia a Battery of the Past? : Baseball: Both perform well before bullpen fails for third game in a row, resulting in a 5-4 loss to the Astros.

Orel Hershiser and Mike Scioscia do not want it to end like this.

They do not want their last memory of working together at Dodger Stadium to be dominated by empty seats and emptier hopes.

They do not want it to end with Hershiser in the clubhouse, Scioscia behind the plate and members of the bullpen again torching the Dodgers’ chances of winning.

That is what happened Saturday in a 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros that probably represented Scioscia’s last start here.

“I don’t want to talk about Mike in past tense, because I don’t want him to leave,” Hershiser said. “I want to encourage everyone around here to help him stay.”

Scioscia, who could be a free agent soon, heard the endorsement and laughed.

“I think Orel is deluded,” he said.

As well as they joke together, they work together even better, as they proved again Saturday before 17,981.

Hershiser, who yielded two earned runs in seven innings despite giving up 10 hits, was going to be the winner until the bullpen allowed two runs in the eighth.

Scioscia threw out the only runner that attempted to steal and blocked the plate for another out. Like Hershiser, he was going to be one of the heroes. Then Eddie Taubensee drove in two runs with a broken-bat single to give the Astros the victory.

“Once again, Mike was right there with me all the way,” Hershiser said. “He saves me runs by blocking the plate and saves me runs by calling the right pitches.”

Said Scioscia: “The friendships you make in this game are always going to be there. Unfortunately, the chance to work with those guys on the field does not last forever.”

Hershiser and Scioscia worked out of a jam in typical fashion during the sixth inning after Hershiser gave up a game-tying home run to Luis Gonzalez, then loaded the bases by yielding two singles and a walk.

When Hershiser worked the count on Andujar Cedeno to 2-and-2, Scioscia called for a low inside curveball. It was the perfect choice.

Cedeno struck out, and the Dodgers soon took a 4-3 lead on Cedeno’s error at shortstop in the seventh.

“Mike does a lot more than just catch the ball,” Hershiser said. “Mike still has some years left in him. Just because he may be having a down year doesn’t mean it is his last year.”

Hershiser said that if Scioscia does not return--and Scioscia does not want to return if he cannot compete for a starting job--Dodger pitchers could be affected.

“If we’re going to give all these quotes about how great he is, well, then it’s obvious that if he’s gone it is going to hurt,” Hershiser said.

There is nothing Scioscia or anyone else can do about the bullpen, which has helped the Dodgers blow 14 games they were leading after seven innings.

It happened for the third consecutive game Saturday. During the eighth inning, Kip Gross gave up a single to Jeff Bagwell and a double to Ken Caminiti. Then Roger McDowell blew his eighth save in 22 opportunities by giving up Taubensee’s broken-bat hit.

Hershiser and Scioscia don’t want to think about that.

They would rather remember Hershiser’s first game at Dodger Stadium as a starting pitcher more than eight years ago.

Hershiser, a rookie, threw a complete game in a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs and Rick Sutcliffe.

“I remember that. It was Sutcliffe’s only loss that season, right?” Hershiser said. “And I bet Scioscia was catching, right?”

Right.