For Dodgers, It’s Icing on a Cake : Baseball: On anniversary of shoulder surgery, Hershiser gets three-hit victory.

NEW YORK — Three years ago Tuesday Orel Hershiser had shoulder surgery, and the Dodgers sure enjoyed his anniversary celebration.

With the team facing the prospect of a winless trip East, the Dodgers looked to their once and present ace as a stopper. Hershiser responded nobly, holding the New York Mets to three hits and beating them and Dwight Gooden, 4-1, before an afternoon crowd of 19,344 at Shea Stadium.

“I like to watch Orel pitch, but not that well,” Gooden (2-3) said.

Hershiser, who has gone 79 starts without a shutout, almost had one. But in the ninth inning, he jammed Jeff Kent with a breaking ball that Kent lined to right-center field. Darryl Strawberry missed it for an error, and Kent scored on a sacrifice fly by Bobby Bonilla.

“That’s part of the game,” Strawberry said. “You make mistakes, you do well. I have to accept it, and I accept it.”

But Hershiser said he wasn’t concerned about losing the shutout. The victory stopped the Dodgers’ 0-6 skid on the trip and put him another long stride away from rehabilitation. He hadn’t won at Shea Stadium since May 24, 1987.

“I had a good outing,” said Hershiser (3-2). “I felt good in the bullpen, and pitching like this is what I had hoped and prayed for since coming back from surgery. This is how I pitched as pre-surgery Orel, and I’m doing it post-surgery. It’s a big thing. I’m into the fact that I’m a normal player now. The pain seems a long time away.”

It was the first time since the Dodgers had won at home against Pittsburgh earlier this month that the team had reason to form a congratulatory line. It was also the first time on this trip that the Dodgers didn’t look flat.

“Every time you win, it looks like you are playing with emotion,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “Orel pitched a hell of a ballgame. Now what was the name of that kid that hit the home run?”

Mike Piazza hit a 2-and-1 changeup against Gooden in the second inning that landed about 406 feet away in the left-field seats, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. After that, Gooden, who gave up only two hits in eight innings, retired the next 13 Dodgers before walking Strawberry in the seventh.

“When you get in a situation like we were in, you start pressing, and when you start pressing you can’t play the game,” Piazza said. “Before the game, we were joking around and saying, ‘OK, this is opening day, right? Introductions are at 1:30.’ ”

Piazza was returned from the third to the seventh spot in the batting order three games ago, and his average has climbed to .286. Before Lasorda moved him to third, Piazza was batting .314, but he slumped to .259. Lasorda said he made the most recent change because he wanted to take the pressure off Piazza and let him concentrate on catching.

“I think that third spot is overrated anyway,” Piazza said. “I’ll get some runs to drive in down the line.”

Piazza’s walk started things in an eighth inning that included a rare emotional outburst from Gooden and a tirade by Eric Davis.

After Piazza’s walk, Jose Offerman reached first on an error and Hershiser followed with a single over the right side of the infield that scored Piazza.

Brett Butler sacrificed the runners over before Gooden walked Jody Reed, loading the bases. But the ball-four call by umpire Bill Hohn didn’t sit well with Gooden, who started toward the plate. Met Manager Jeff Torborg ran out to intercept him.

“That’s the first time I have ever seen him get heated up,” Strawberry said of Gooden. “But then he turned it on. With the bases loaded and the infield in, he’s tough. You can forget about his breaking ball or his changeup, because he’s coming in with gas.”

With a 1-and-1 count on Davis, Hohn called a strike. Davis figured it was a make-up call and told Hohn so. Hohn ripped off his mask and they went at it.

“I don’t know what he was saying,” Davis said. “I was saying my own stuff.”

And when play resumed, Davis struck out swinging.

Then Strawberry, who was 0 for 2, hit a liner to short right field that Bonilla missed for an error, and Offerman and Hershiser scored.

“I ain’t saying nothing,” Bonilla said afterward.

He didn’t have to.