Worrell Saves the Day After Scary Flashback

Todd Worrell stood alone on the mound Friday night, struggling to close out the victory and fighting to stave off those haunting memories.

This was where he was yanked out of the season opener by Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda. He faced only two batters and was gone. The season wasn’t a day old, and Worrell felt that he already lost his closer’s job.

“I sensed they already lost confidence in me,” Worrell said. “They didn’t say anything to me, but I knew I wasn’t the guy anymore.”

Funny what three months can do. This night, Lasorda never bothered to have anyone warm up once Worrell entered the game, let alone take him out.

When it was over, Worrell preserved the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Florida Marlins at JoeRobbie Stadium, saving his third consecutive game and pondering his future.

“It’s all about confidence now,” said Worrell, who earned his 15th save despite giving up two run-scoring hits. “I’ve got tremendous confidence in myself, and now, I think I’ve finally gained their confidence in me.”

Only a few months ago, there’s little doubt that Lasorda would have pulled Worrell in the same situation. He had given up two consecutive hits in relief of Rudy Seanez, and with runners on second and third and two out, Worrell suddenly was in trouble.

Worrell, not bothering to look over his shoulder, snuffed any thoughts the paid crowd of 22,652 entertained of a Marlin comeback when he got Jerry Browne to ground weakly to first baseman Eric Karros. It preserved the victory for starter Ismael Valdes (6-6) and the heroics of left fielder Roberto Kelly (two for four, two RBIs).

Valdes, who gave up only four hits and one unearned run in eight innings, won for the first time since June 23. Meanwhile, Kelly ended his 0-for-21 drought with a two-run single in the fourth.

The Dodgers (39-39) won their third consecutive game for the first time since winning six in a row June 21-26 and took delight in the San Francisco Giants’ trade with the Cincinnati Reds. The way the Dodgers figure it, the Giants now are out of the race, leaving a three-way battle with the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres.

“There’s no excuses for the way we’ve been playing,” said Kelly, who had been batting .194 with only five RBIs in his last 24 games. “For me, I don’t think I’ve been this bad for quite a while.

“Maybe I’ve been trying too hard, I don’t know. I just want to do so good, so bad.”

Valdes was good Friday.

“I knew I’d be all right once I saw the blister on my hand in the sixth inning,” said Valdes, 0-4 with a 7.04 earned-run average in his last four starts. “It’s like that’s my good-luck charm. When I wasn’t winning, I didn’t have a blister.”

The Dodgers, who had six of their nine hits and four of their five RBIs from the bottom three of their batting order, didn’t get a hit after the sixth. No matter, Valdes retired 16 of the last 18 batters he faced to protect the 5-1 lead.

The Dodgers removed Valdes after the eighth because he had thrown 124 pitches. They summoned Seanez, who gave up a one-out double to Tommy Gregg and walked Kurt Abbott. Along came Worrell to the rescue.

“I don’t know what we’d do without him this year,” Lasorda said. “I know this much, we’d be in a lot of trouble.”

Worrell, whose 15 saves are only one fewer than his combined total of the last two years, soon must decide just how much longer he’ll be a Dodger.

Worrell, the highest-paid Dodger at $4.25 million, is eligible for arbitration at season’s end. The Dodgers want him back but might risk losing him to free agency rather than taking their chance in an arbitration hearing.

“I’m kind of neutral whether I want to play here or somewhere else,” Worrell said. “I’ve considered playing somewhere else, but I really don’t know what I’m going to do.

“The hardest adjustment has been the way I’ve been used since I got here. In St. Louis, I was the man, win or lose. That’s been the case lately, and I hope it stays that way . . . right to the last game of the World Series.”