Dreifort Closes the Pirates, 6-5--With His Bat : Dodgers: Relief pitcher pinch-hits in the 10th inning, drives in run with a single.

Darren Dreifort is only a rookie from Wichita State, but he is already a hero to the Dodgers.

With Mike Piazza and Delino DeShields unable to swing a bat, in the 10th inning, Manager Tom Lasorda called on the relief pitcher, who hit 22 home runs in college last year, to pinch-hit.

Dreifort hit a 1-and-2 pitch for a two-out single to drive in the winning run in a 6-5 Dodger victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

The Dodgers had blown a 4-0 lead in the ninth and seemed about to lose when Jay Bell homered in the top of the 10th. But the Dodgers pulled it out when Dreifort’s sharp single scored Carlos Hernandez from second.

This Pirate team had been in trouble most of the night.

There are only a few players remaining from the Pirate team of a few years ago that dominated the league. Two of them, Andy Van Slyke and Jay Bell, contributed to the early departure of Pirate rookie Jon Lieber, making his third major league start after beginning the season in the Southern League.

The only mistake the rookie made in the first three innings was on a second-inning pitch to Karros. The first baseman had been in a 13-at-bat slump, but he drilled a Lieber pitch into the left field bleachers for his sixth home run.

Van Slyke had a chance to get the youngster even in the fourth. But with runners on first and third and nobody out, he took a called third strike. The next two batters popped out.

Bell, a light-hitting, good fielding shortstop, made a poor play on Raul Mondesi’s grounder in the third inning and the two-base error set up the two-run fourth that gave Martinez a 3-0 lead.

Jose Offerman opened the rally with a single to right. Bell hesitated on Mondesi’s sharp grounder, then saw it bounce off of his glove into center field. The Dodgers had runners on second and third.

After fouling off several two-strike pitches, Tim Wallach went with the pitch and singled to right-center to make the score 3-0.

Meanwhile the Dodger rookie second baseman, Garey Ingram, starting his first game, was fielding flawlessly. In the first five innings, he handled seven chances and twice was the pivot on double plays.

It looked like an easy victory and possibly the 14th shutout for Martinez going into the ninth.

But with one out in the ninth, Van Slyke hit his fourth home run, the first ball hit hard by the Pirates all night.

Then, Dave Clark rapped a single to right. Brian Hunter lifted a harmless fly ball to left center, but Cory Snyder, who entered the game for defensive purposes, and Brett Butler both thought the other would catch it. Neither did.

When Al Martin walked to fill the bases, Worrell replaced Martinez. One run scored on Don Slaught’s long fly to right.

The weak-hitting Kevin Young, batting only .197, was next.

The Dodgers were so sure Worrell would get the last out, they let Martin steal second without a play.

But Young, fighting off a two-strike pitch, looped a single into right-center to make the score 4-4.

Young then was caught in a rundown.