Dodger Bats Rendered Mute Again

Vin Scully was walking into Dodger Stadium before Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants. Noting the unusual 5 p.m. start to accommodate ESPN, Scully said, “somebody might pitch a no-hitter today.”

Giant pitcher William VanLandingham, taking advantage of the late-afternoon shadows that blanketed the field, kept the Dodgers in the dark, pitching a no-hitter for the first seven innings in a 6-0 victory before a paid crowd of 42,862.

VanLandingham, who came within five outs of pitching a no-hitter against the Montreal Expos on July 17, 1994, came within six outs of no-hitting the Dodgers.

“It’s really no big deal,” said VanLandingham, who gave up two hits in 7 2/3 innings with two walks and three strikeouts. “What’s going to happen’s going to happen. I was just glad to go out and pitch well.”

Bidding to become the first Giant to pitch a no-hitter since John Montefusco

did against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 29, 1976, VanLandingham (5-9) retired 15 consecutive batters after giving up a two-out walk to Mike Blowers in the second inning.

Raul Mondesi drilled VanLandingham’s first pitch of the eighth inning, a hanging slider, into left field for a single to break up the no-hitter and Blowers followed with a single through the hole.

“I’ve seen a couple no-hitters and been in a couple no-hitters and I just felt like somebody was going to get a hit,” Blowers said.

VanLandingham induced Todd Hollandsworth to hit into a double play before he was replaced by Jim Poole after walking Greg Gagne to put runners at first and third with two outs.

After walking pinch-hitter Billy Ashley to load the bases, Poole struck out pinch-hitter Roger Cedeno to end the inning.

The Dodgers were shut out for the second consecutive game and have gone 21 innings without scoring.

“You’ve got to be concerned when you don’t score any runs “ Dodger interim Manager Bill Russell said. “It’s one thing to get beat, but when you’re not putting any runs on the board and you’re not hitting. . . . It’s not panic time, but we need to get back to where we were two games ago.”

Mike Piazza, who came into the game hitting a league-high .362, went hitless in three at-bats with a walk as his 12-game hitting streak ended and his average fell to .359.

“He pitched a good game,” Piazza said of VanLandingham. “It just seems like we’ve had setbacks all year, so we have to rebound from it. You can’t really complain about it. We have to go out there and try to work out of the little funk we’re in offensively. I think there’s too much talent on this team to be held down for an extended period of time.”

The Dodgers, who lost a chance to take a two-game lead over the San Diego Padres, who open a three-game series here tonight, were also flat defensively, making three errors.

Second baseman Delino DeShields was charged with a sixth-inning error when he bobbled a potential double-play ball by Barry Bonds to load the bases as the Giants scored four runs on three hits and a balk. Chad Fonville and Greg Gagne made eighth-inning errors as the Giants added a run.

Chan Ho Park made his eighth start of the season, in place of Tom Candiotti, who was scratched because of an elbow injury.

Candiotti, who bruised his right elbow when he was hit by a Mark Thompson pitch in a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on July 6, felt soreness in his elbow while warming up in the bullpen before the game. Unable to fully extend his arm, Candiotti is scheduled to be examined today by team physician Frank Jobe.

“I could have pitched tonight, but it might have caused me to take two steps back and I really didn’t want to risk that,” Candiotti said.

Park, whose longest stint this season was seven innings in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on April 28, gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks in five innings.