Putting First Things First

The first-inning pitch from Philadelphia Phillie left-hander Matt Beech came whistling in at 90 mph and smacked Mike Piazza firmly and squarely on the left thigh in Sunday’s 5-1 Dodger victory at Veterans Stadium.

No surprise.

Piazza knew it was coming, knew he had been targeted for retaliation by the angry Phillies.

But now what?

Piazza stared out at Beech. Should he fling his bat? Should he charge the mound? Should he start a brawl that was sure to result in his ejection?

Beyond Beech on the scoreboard behind the left-field fence was a more important target. Looking up there, the Dodgers could clearly see that the San Francisco Giants were losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

It has been more than four months since the Dodgers were alone atop the National League West. But if they could keep their tempers--and their pitches--under control, they could again occupy that lofty perch by themselves.

So Piazza gritted his teeth, trotted to first and the Dodgers went on to win without further incident in front of a crowd of 23,363. Coupled with San Francisco’s eventual loss, the victory put the Dodgers alone in first place by a game with a 72-58 record and 32 games to play, including two against the Giants in San Francisco. It is the first time the Dodgers have been alone in first place since April 14.

“The fun time begins now when all the plays are magnified,” Manager Bill Russell said.

The Piazza-Beech confrontation grew out of an incident Saturday night that was magnified by the Phillies. Dodger right-hander Hideo Nomo hit third baseman Scott Rolen in the left arm, causing a contusion serious enough to force Rolen out of the game and out of action Sunday. It was the third time Nomo has hit Rolen, a point Rolen emphasized by waving three fingers at Nomo as he walked to first.

It appeared Philadelphia reliever Wayne Gomes was throwing at Piazza in the ninth inning Saturday in an act of revenge, presumably because Piazza is the Dodgers’ best hitter.

Gomes missed Piazza, but threats were still filtering out of the Philadelphia clubhouse before Sunday’s matinee.

Sure enough, Beech hit Piazza on the first pitch.

“I don’t like to get hit,” Piazza said. “but what can you do? Just remember and see what happens. For now, we’ve got a pennant race. You can’t get caught up in little things like that. . . . I file a lot of things away, but that’s all you can do. The whole thing was kind of childish. I’m not a yeller or a pointer. It’s history. That’s it. We’ve got games to play.”

Indeed after home plate umpire Randy Marsh warned both teams, the Dodgers got down to the business of moving ahead of the Giants.

Piazza certainly didn’t let the incident affect his defense. In the bottom of the first, Kevin Sefcik singled and, when Mickey Morandini put down a sacrifice bunt that was fielded by third baseman Todd Zeile, Sefcik not only took second, but tried to take third as well. An alert Piazza raced to third, took a high throw while airborne from first baseman Eric Karros, then made a sweeping tag on the sliding Sefcik as he came down.

“I have never seen a guy try to do that, ever,” said Piazza of Sefcik’s attempt to take two bases on a bunt.

The Dodgers were already ahead on Eric Young’s home run to left to lead off the game. The home run was Young’s first as a Dodger and seventh of the season.

After the Phillies tied the score in the fifth inning on Tony Barron’s fourth homer, the Dodgers responded with three in the sixth to give starter Ismael Valdes (9-10) some breathing room.

And Valdes played a key role in the inning.

Zeile’s two-out, two-run homer, his 24th, was followed by Otis Nixon ‘s double and an intentional walk to Juan Castro. Valdes, who went into the game batting .047 with two hits, got a solid single to right to drive in the third run of the inning.

Valdes then flashed yet another of his lesser-known talents, stealing his first base of the season and the second of his career.

But what Valdes did best Sunday was pitch, allowing the Phillies a run and four hits in eight innings. He struck out three and did not walk a batter in defeating Beech (2-8).

Scott Radinsky gave up two singles before striking out Billy McMillon to give the Dodgers a sweep of the five games they’ve played in Philadelphia and their 10th victory in their 11 games with the Phillies. The Dodgers also improved their road record to .500 (32-32) with their fifth victory in six games on a trip that continues in Pittsburgh.

Afterward, Karros agreed that the response of his team to the Phillies’ action against Piazza was the only proper one.

“They’ve got nothing to lose,” Karros said. “We’ve got everything to lose.”

Such as first place.

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Back on Top

LAST TIME IN 1ST--April 14

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Team W L Pct GB Dodgers 8 3 .727 - Rockies 7 3 .700 1/2 Giants 7 3 .700 1/2 Padres 7 4 .636 1

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BIGGEST DEFICIT--July 1

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Team W L Pct GB Giants 47 34 .580 - Rockies 43 39 .524 4 1/2 Dodgers 39 42 .481 8 Padres 36 45 .444 11

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SINCE JULY 1

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Team W L Pct GB Dodgers 33 16 .673 -- Padres 26 23 .531 7 Giants 24 25 .490 9 Rockies 19 29 .396 13 1/2

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STANDINGS TODAY

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Team W L Pct GB Dodgers 72 58 .554 - Giants 71 59 .546 1 Padres 62 68 .477 10 Rockies 62 68 .477 10

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