Fourth and Fifth Starters Struggle

Chairman Bob Daly and General Manager Kevin Malone expected better results after increasing the payroll to about $98 million in acquiring players Manager Davey Johnson requested, but Daly and Malone did not provide reliable fourth and fifth starters.

The six pitchers who have occupied those roles have been awful, going 7-23 with a 6.61 earned-run average in 54 starts.

And that’s not Johnson’s fault, players said.

“With what we’ve got out of the fourth and fifth spots, it’s tough to even compete sometimes,” left fielder Gary Sheffield said. “The only way you can have a long winning streak is if those guys are giving you the quality innings, and that just hasn’t happened.”

Kevin Brown, Chan Ho Park and Darren Dreifort have provided a solid foundation for the Dodgers.

But three quality starters are not enough.

“Our fourth and fifth starters have been so up in the air, it puts a lot of pressure on those guys [Brown, Park and Dreifort] every time they go out there,” second baseman Mark Grudzielanek said. “It can’t be on them to win every game, but that’s kind of how it’s been.”

Daly and Malone hoped two strong candidates would emerge from a group of Eric Gagne, Orel Hershiser and Carlos Perez.

Hershiser, guaranteed $2.5 million, was 1-4 with a 12.57 ERA before retiring in July. He has remained with the organization, though his future role has not been determined.

Gagne was 1-6 with a 5.87 ERA before being optioned to triple-A Albuquerque. The Dodgers hope Gagne will establish himself next season.

Perez?

Well, he’s 5-8 with a 5.56 ERA. The left-hander is making $5 million this season and is owed $7.5 million next.

“We’ve actually had to play a lot better baseball than people realize to get to the point that we’re at right now,” Sheffield said. “That’s what you have to do when you’re not getting what you need out of those last two spots.”

Instead of pursuing Alex Rodriguez, Daly and Malone might help the club more by persuading Park and Dreifort to sign extensions, and then signing two free-agent pitchers, perhaps Mike Hampton and Kevin Appier.

“No question, we have to do something,” Grudzielanek said. “Whether it’s other guys in the system or guys from outside, we have to give someone else opportunities there.”

*

Clyde Sukeforth, a former Dodger player and scout who helped Jackie Robinson break baseball’s color barrier, died Sunday at his home in Waldoboro, Maine, the Dodgers announced. He was 98.

A catcher, Sukeforth played for the Dodgers from 1932-34 and ’45. He made his biggest impact as a scout for the club from 1936-51.

Sukeforth scouted Robinson at the request of General Manager Branch Rickey, recommending that the Dodgers make Robinson the majors’ first black player of the modern era.

He also recommended future Hall of Famers Roy Campanella and Roberto Clemente.

Sukeforth, who also scouted for the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates, was the Dodgers’ interim manager when Robinson made his major league debut on April 15, 1947.

“Clyde was the first person that introduced me to the Dodgers’ organization,” said Don Newcombe, the club’s director of community relations and one of many former players Sukeforth recruited. “He was one of the finest men I’ve ever met.”

Flags at Dodger Stadium were flown at half staff for Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sukeforth is survived by his daughter, Helen Zimmerman of Dallas, and four grandchildren. At his request, no services were planned.

*

Catcher Todd Hundley, whose mother died Monday night after a long battle with cancer, left the team after the game Tuesday night to be with his family in Chicago. Hundley, two for four in the Pirates’ 8-0 victory, is expected to rejoin the team Saturday in Colorado. Services for Betty Hundley, 58, are scheduled Friday. . . . Shortstop Kevin Elster was activated from the disabled list. He had been sidelined because of a strained left hamstring.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’ ISMAEL VALDES (2-6, 5.52 ERA) vs. PIRATES’ DAN SERAFINI (1-3, 6.14 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 7

TV--Fox Sports Net 2. Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330)

* Update--Valdes had the best outing of his second Dodger stint in Friday’s 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The right-hander gave up only one unearned run in seven strong innings in a no-decision. Serafini is 0-3 in his last five starts.