Rocky Pitchers Are Perfect for Dodgers

These teams never have bothered to disguise their contempt for one another. They have spent hours bashing one another. There may not be two managers who dislike one another more than Tom Lasorda and Don Baylor.

Yet, when the teams got together Tuesday night before the Dodgers’ 7-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium, it looked like a genuine lovefest. Players warmly greeted one another, hugged, and showed genuine concern for one another.

It’s not as if their competitiveness has waned, but when one team can’t pitch and another can’t hit, it’s a bit silly to be popping off. Instead, it was as if the teams felt sorry for one another, wondering aloud how they can be at the bottom of the National League West standings.

The difference, of course, is that the Dodgers (14-14) consider their start merely an aberration, having won six of their last eight games. They believe their offensive drought was merely a phase, having scored 17 runs the last two games. The Rockies, however, have lost five of their last six and have become exasperated in trying to overcome the worst pitching staff outside Detroit.

This is why the Rockies are affectionately called the Oral Roberts of the National League. Everyone miraculously is cured of their woes when the Rocky pitching staff comes to town. First baseman Eric Karros returned to the lineup Tuesday for the first time in eight games. Center fielder Brett Butler announced that he’s going to undergo a tonsillectomy and go on the disabled list . . . but not until Friday, after the Rockies leave town.

Lasorda never had so many folks begging to be in the lineup, and so many refusing to come out. The paid crowd of 31,037 was wondering if this could be the same Dodger team that entered the week with the second-worst run production in major league baseball.

Karros, who last swung a bat in a game April 22, went two for four, with a towering home run into the left-fields seats. It was his 11th career homer against the Rockies.

“I’m not stupid enough to think I can be out a week,” Karros said, “and just start rolling again. I was lucky tonight. It just felt great to be out there again, probably more mentally than physically.”

Catcher Mike Piazza, who has a 14-game hitting streak, went two for four, with a homer and three RBIs. He is hitting .388, with 11 homers and 44 RBIs against the Rockies.

Shortstop Chad Fonville reached base four times with two singles and two walks, and has five hits in the last two games.

“The little guys have to make this happen,” said Fonville, who will inherit Butler’s leadoff spot. “When we get on, we’re going to score runs. We know they’ll drive us in.”

Second baseman Delino DeShields went two for three, with a triple and an RBI.

Even Dodger starter Hideo Nomo was walked for the first time in his career. Nomo, enjoying the newfound respect for his bat despite a career .085 batting average, coasted to his fourth victory of the season. With a career 12-2 record at Dodger Stadium, he yielded only five hits and two earned runs, and struck out six in eight innings.

The Rockies made it a little uncomfortable for the Dodgers in the ninth after Nomo departed. Reliever Antonio Osuna loaded the bases without retiring a batter, forcing Lasorda to call upon Todd Worrell. Vinny Castilla greeted him with a run-scoring single, making it 7-3 with no one out. But Worrell struck out pinch-hitter John Van der Wal on three pitches, induced a run-scoring groundout from Walt Weiss, and ended the game by striking out Jeff Reed on three pitches for his seventh save.

The Dodgers, bullying the Rocky pitching staff, reached base 11 times against starter Kevin Ritz (2-3, 7.92 ERA) before knocking him out of the game with two outs in the sixth. Baylor summoned reliever Steve Reed, who was promptly greeted by Piazza’s 388-foot home run into the right-field seats. Two pitches later, Karros hit a 408-foot homer into the left-field seats. It was the Dodgers’ first back-to-back home runs since the third game of the season, turning a 3-2 game in the sixth into a cozy 7-2 cushion.

The Dodgers even picked up a game on the division-leading San Diego Padres.

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Turning On the Power

Mike Piazza, who didn’t hit a home run in the Dodgers’ first 17 games, has hit five in the last 11 games. During that time, he has driven in 16 runs .

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Date Opp. Pitcher Result April 30 Rockies Reed Dodgers, 7-4 April 29 Cubs Foster Dodgers, 10-4 April 24 Astros Brocail Dodgers, 5-2 April 23 Braves Clontz Dodgers, 3-2 April 20 Marlins A. Leiter Marlins, 7-4

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