Valenzuela Only Adds to Dodger Woes

The Dodgers, acutely aware of the pounding footsteps of the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies, spent Sunday morning in closed-door meetings, trying to figure out their offensive problems.

One by one, players were called in and talked to in a positive way about their situation, which can be summed up in one word: slump. Fred Claire, executive vice president, and Manager Tom Lasorda were there for most of the meetings.

But there was something the Dodgers couldn’t factor in, a left-hander they had factored out on a lazy spring day four seasons ago in another closed-door meeting.

Sunday at Veterans Stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Dodgers, 9-7, behind Fernando Valenzuela, who had a four-hit shutout until the ninth inning, when Mitch Webster hit a cut fastball over the left field fence and began a seven-run rally. The late offensive outburst might have been enough to give at least a glimmer of hope, but it did nothing to calm Lasorda’s ire.

“What . . . good is it? We lost,” Lasorda said.

While the Dodgers lost for the third time in four games against the Phillies, the Giants won their eighth in a row to move to within 4 1/2 games of the Dodgers in the National League West. The Rockies have closed the gap to two games, giving the Dodgers a lot to worry about as they travel to New York for the start of a three-game series against the Mets.

“You can’t give up that many runs in two games and overcome,” Lasorda said with controlled anger. “They battled back, but it wasn’t good enough.”

The Phillies scored 25 runs and had 38 hits in the four games; the Dodgers also had 38 hits, but only 19 runs, indicating the problem--they don’t score.

“You don’t get any runs for eight innings and then turn around and score seven and have the winning run at the plate,” Lasorda said, pounding his fork into some chicken. “Funny game.”

It wasn’t very funny for the Dodgers four seasons ago on Aug. 21, 1990, when the Phillies, down 11-3 in the ninth inning of a game at Dodger Stadium, scored eight runs to tie the score and went on to win, 12-11. But as the seven-run rally progressed Sunday, that game was remembered clearly.

“We call it Black Tuesday,” said Roger McDowell, who didn’t call it that then, when he pitched for the Phillies and earned the victory.

Valenzuela, against whom only one Dodger reached second base and who retired 13 consecutive batters before the ninth inning, tired quickly in the ninth. He threw a mixture of cut fastballs, a pitch he learned after he left the Dodgers, along with his vintage screwballs and fastballs.

“A lot of hitters still think I am a screwball pitcher, so that’s why I’ve come up with a cutter and throw the straight fastball,” said Valenzuela, who is 1-2 with a 2.84 earned-run average.

It was Valenzuela’s first National League victory since Sept. 14, 1990, and it nearly escaped him. After Webster’s leadoff home run in the ninth, Valenzuela issued his first walk, to Raul Mondesi, before Carlos Hernandez drove a 1-and-2 pitch into the Dodger bullpen in left field, which had been pretty active during the game. Starter Pedro Astacio (6-7) gave up six runs in only 2 1/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.

With the Dodgers behind by eight runs after the top of the eighth, Lasorda inserted his reserves, including Webster and Hernandez, who replaced Piazza.

“Turned out to be a pretty good idea, right?” Piazza said.

After Hernandez homered, which made the score 9-3, Phillie Manager Jim Fregosi walked to the mound, and Valenzuela spent the walk to the dugout trying to figure out how to acknowledge a standing ovation from the crowd of 49,998. He raised his glove half way, then touched his cap a couple of times, eyes still downcast. Finally, he looked at the crowd and took off his cap before heading into the dugout.

With Valenzuela gone, the Dodgers loaded the bases on three consecutive singles against reliever Paul Quantrill before scoring two runs on a fielder’s choice by Jeff Treadway and a pinch-hit single by Henry Rodriguez against reliever Larry Andersen. By then, Webster was up again, and with two out, he worked Andersen to a 3-and-2 count before walking, again loading the bases. The score was 9-5, and the tying run, Mondesi, was at the plate. Closer Doug Jones was brought in.

Mondesi was down two strikes when he hit a two-run single into center field, making the score 9-7. Hernandez, the potential winning run, was at the plate, but his hard-hit grounder wasn’t enough.

“I don’t like to say that I’m showing something, I just like to say that I’m still pitching,” Valenzuela said. “I know what I have, and the Phillies believe in me.”