Ashley Ties It, Karros Wins It for the Dodgers

There are days when Dodger outfielder Billy Ashley feels as if the only benefit of being a major league baseball player is preferential seating at games.

He shows up at the ballpark, takes batting practice, watches the ball game with the rest of the fans, and goes home.

He may have a great seat, with fantastic fringe benefits, but the frustration of seldom playing can be intense.

There have been few nights this season that Ashley has even felt like a part of the team, but Saturday night in the Dodgers’ 6-5, 11-inning victory over the Houston Astros, he felt like an honest-to-goodness hero.

The Dodgers, who had lost 44 of 45 games this season when they trailed entering the ninth inning, came back from a 5-2 deficit on Ashley’s pinch-hit, three-run homer with one out in the ninth. And they won the game on Eric Karros’ two-out, run-scoring single in the 11th.

“This is huge for him, with all of the things he has gone through this season,” Karros said. “People have been counting him out. People are down on him. He could have packed it in. A lot of guys would have.

“But he hasn’t let what happened to him get him down, and what happened tonight was just awesome.”

The Dodgers [55-50] appeared headed toward a two-game deficit in the National League West, their largest since June 12. The only time they had won a game all year when trailing after eight innings was May 26 against the Montreal Expos.

This one looked likely to produce another loss when Mike Busch flied out for the first out. Greg Gagne then singled to right, and when Dodger interim Manager Bill Russell called upon left-handed hitter Dave Hansen, Astro Manager Terry Collins pulled reliever Xavier Hernandez and summoned left-hander Billy Wagner.

Rick Parker, batting for Hansen, was hit by an 0-and-2 pitch. Now, with one out and two runners aboard, Russell went for broke. He called for Ashley.

Wagner threw a first-pitch fastball past Ashley for strike 1. Wagner threw him another that Ashley fouled off. Ashley, fearing that Wagner would throw him a change-up for strike 3, couldn’t believe a fastball was coming over the heart of the plate. Ashley swung with all of his might, watched it soar deep into center field, and land just beyond the flower bed and in the seats for a three-run homer. Tie game.

“It was a good at-bat, maybe a lucky at-bat,” Ashley said, “but I was going crazy. I mean, once I got to the dugout, I was so excited that instead of high-fiving everybody’s hand, I was missing and high-fiving their elbows.”

The Dodger bullpen, which yielded only an infield single the final 6 1/3 innings--including 1 1/3 scoreless innings by Darren Dreifort in his first major league appearance since June 22, 1994--fed off the euphoria. They won it in the 11th when Karros hit a two-out single off Terry Clark, scoring backup catcher Tom Prince from second base for the winning run. Antonio Osuna [6-4] was the winner and Todd Worrell got his 26th save.

“This was definitely a big lift,” said Ashley, who had not produced a hit since his two-run, pinch-hit homer June 29 against the Colorado Rockies. “I just want to get in there and play and do my thing.”

Ashley, with only 95 plate appearances all season, has made no secret of his unhappiness. He platoons with left-handed hitter Todd Hollandsworth, leaving him with only five starts since June 25. He has told the Dodgers that he would rather be traded to a place where he can play everyday rather than sit.

The Dodgers understand, and have informed teams all along that he is available. But when you’re batting .146, with five homers, 13 RBIs to go along with 33 strikeouts in 82 at-bats, there are few suitors. In fact, there has not been one team that has shown interest in Ashley.

“I like the Dodgers,” Ashley said, “but if I don’t fit in their plans, it’s only hurting both parties. And that’s what has happened.”

Who knows, perhaps Ashley could be thrown in as part of a package before Wednesday’s trading deadline, or even by Tuesday when Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda expects to return. Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, talked with Lasorda again on Saturday, and Lasorda has conveyed to family members that an announcement on his return could happen today.