Dodgers Left With a Wet Fuse : Baseball: The Expos’ Henry drops their record against left-handed starters to 8-15 with a 5-1 victory.

With the sound of bursting fireworks echoing through Dodger Stadium Monday night, Tom Lasorda, like his hitters, was quietly bemused.

The crackle and glare of fireworks dominated the postgame atmosphere, but, once again for Dodger hitters against a left-handed starter, it was all fizzles during the game.

This time it was converted reliever Butch Henry and the Montreal Expos who shut down the Dodgers, 5-1, before 54,859, bringing the Dodger record against left-handed starters to 8-15, the second-worst mark among National League teams.

Why, the Dodger manager was asked, is this happening to his predominantly right-handed hitting lineup?

“I don’t know why,” Lasorda said. “I wish I knew. With the right-handers we have in the lineup, we feel we should be very, very effective against left-handers.

“They should want to bat against left-handers. They should believe they can beat left-handers.”

So is it a confidence problem? “I didn’t say that,” Lasorda said. “Just right now, that’s the way it is. But these are the same guys we’ve had there all year.”

Henry (5-1) limited the Dodgers to five hits and no runs in his 6 2/3 innings and shackled right-handed power hitters Mike Piazza, Eric Karros, Raul Mondesi and Tim Wallach.

“When things like this happen, you just have to get back to basics and not try to burst out all at once with a 10-run inning or anything,” Piazza said. “You just have to try to chip away.”

Said Karros: “We’re not hitting left-handers right now. But we hit them earlier this year.”

Mel Rojas pitched the final 2 1/3 innings for the Expos--striking out pinch-hitter Henry Rodriguez, Brett Butler and Piazza in the ninth--and earned his 13th save.

“I’m just in one of those ruts,” Karros, who ended an 0-for-19 slump with a run-scoring single against Rojas in the eighth. “I guess when it rains, it pours.”

Said Lasorda: “When you have a few guys in a slump, that’s when the lack of runs come.”

And the Dodgers are scheduled to face left-hander Jeff Fassero today.

Meanwhile, the Expos scored once in the first--with Marquis Grissom scoring on a tag-up from third base on a short fly ball caught by shortstop Rafael Bournigal--and three times in the fourth against Dodger starter Ramon Martinez (9-5).

Martinez went seven innings and gave up four runs and eight hits. He was victimized by a series of softly hit balls that found open territory in the fourth.

Larry Walker opened the inning with a bunt single, went to third on a soft single by Darrin Fletcher, and scored on a bloop single by Wilfredo Cordero. Fletcher scored on a bloop single by Mike Lansing. Cordero scored on a fielder’s choice.

“I don’t like to lose that way,” Martinez said. “Three runs like that: flare, little ground balls. . . . I pitched very good.”

Henry, who hadn’t gone longer than 6 2/3 all season, held the Dodgers to three singles through the first six innings but got into trouble in the seventh after consecutive singles to Bournigal and pinch-hitter Mitch Webster with two out.

After loading the bases with a walk to Butler, Henry was replaced by Rojas to face former Expo Delino DeShields, who struck out.

DeShields, however, had more excitement coming his way. After Bournigal was pinch-hit for in the eighth, DeShields, who broke into professional ball as a shortstop, was moved over to short because Dodgers are not carrying a backup at that position.

“I’d been hoping that situation wouldn’t come up,” DeShields said. “I’ve got a lot of bad memories from that part of the field--my whole minor league career.”

The first ball of the ninth inning came right at DeShields--a sharp grounder off the bat of his old friend, Grissom. But DeShields handled it cleanly and threw Grissom out.

The Expos stretched the lead to 5-0 on Walker’s solo home run against Omar Daal in the top of the eighth.

The loss reduced the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West to five games over the second-place Colorado Rockies, who spent the holiday splitting a doubleheader with the Chicago Cubs.