Orosco Walks Dodgers to 6-3 Win

An offensive reawakening by those slumbering Dodgers could have been predicted Tuesday night, mainly because the New York Mets have been reduced to scouring their bullpen and the minor leagues to find healthy starting pitchers.

The name on the Met marquee this time was Tom Edens, an all-but anonymous minor leaguer making his first major league start. But it was the far more familiar Jesse Orosco, a reliever, who eventually gave the Dodgers their 6-3 win before 31,738 fans at Dodger Stadium.

Orosco, asked to maintain a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning, could neither keep the Dodger bats quiet nor keep many of his pitches in the strike zone.

The seven-year veteran, who has made 333 more big league appearances than Edens, gave up singles to Jeff Hamilton and Alex Trevino, putting runners on first and third with one out. After a wild pitch moved Trevino to second, Orosco intentionally walked pinch-hitter Mickey Hatcher to load the bases.

Reggie Williams, pinch-hitting for Dodger starter Bob Welch, did not even have to swing to drive in the winning run. Orosco threw three straight balls, followed with a strike, then walked Williams to force home Hamilton.

That made it 4-3. Steve Sax lined sharply to third base for the second out, but John Shelby followed with a single to right, scoring Trevino and Hatcher for a 6-3 Dodger lead.

With the three-run lead, Dodger reliever Matt Young dismissed the Mets in order in the ninth. Young struck out Keith Hernandez, forced Kevin McReynolds to pop to first base and struck out Darryl Strawberry to earn his fifth save.

The victory was the third straight for Welch (7-2) and broke the Dodgers’ three-game losing streak.

More important, perhaps, the six runs doubled the Dodgers’ combined output from the three previous games.

Shelby was the most productive Dodger. The recently acquired center fielder had 3 hits and 3 RBIs, the first coming when Edens walked him in the second inning to force in the Dodgers’ first run.

Seeing something other than a line of zeros on the scoreboard obviously pleased Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda.

“Let’s hope that this will get us started,” he said. “Let’s hope it will be the start of more hits to come. We need to score runs, any way we can get them.”

The Dodgers used several means Tuesday, especially in the decisive eighth inning.

Hamilton, hitless in his first six at-bats since being called up from Albuquerque, was jammed by an Orosco fastball but looped it into left field to start the rally. Trevino’s single, his fourth in two nights since replacing injured catcher Mike Scioscia, moved Hamilton into scoring position.

Orosco and the Mets probably didn’t know what to expect from the Dodgers with the bases loaded, one out and Williams, batting just .148, at the plate. Both third baseman Howard Johnson and first baseman Hernandez crept in, perhaps anticipating a squeeze bunt--a Lasorda favorite.

But Williams didn’t square around to bunt. In fact, he hardly moved during any of Orosco’s five pitches.

“You can’t win many ball games walking a guy hitting .140,” Met Manager Davey Johnson said. “I don’t like to bring in Jesse in tie ball games. (But) I figured we’d have a chance to do something (offensively).”

Young squelched any Met comeback hopes. He easily handled arguably the Mets’ three best hitters--Hernandez, McReynolds and Strawberry.

“I just wanted to throw strikes and get ahead of the hitters,” Young said.

Welch probably would have had a shutout had he been able to do the same. Hernandez’s RBI double and McReynolds’ two-run home run, both coming in the fourth, were Welch’s only serious problems.

Other than that, Welch was impressive. He gave up only 5 hits and struck out 6 in 8 innings.

“(The Mets’) pitching staff may be decimated, but that lineup’s intact,” Lasorda said. “Hernandez, McReynolds, Strawberry, (Gary) Carter, those guys can kill you. It’s a compliment to Bobby (Welch) that he was able to (win) tonight.”

Under the circumstances, Johnson was happy with Edens’ debut. Edens gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings but kept the Mets in the game.

The Dodgers, no doubt, were expecting a little more offense against a pitcher who had a 2-4 record in Triple-A before being called up to replace injured starter Rick Aguilera.

But at least the three runs, highlighted by Franklin Stubbs’ ninth home run of the season in the third inning, enabled the Dodgers and Welch to go into the late innings with a chance to win.

Dodger Notes

Hitting coach Manny Mota is continuing his quest to convince benched shortstop Mariano Duncan to resume being a switch-hitter. Early Tuesday afternoon, Duncan spent 45 minutes batting left-handed as well as right-handed with Mota pitching. Duncan, who gave up switch-hitting the first week of the season, said he does not want to return to hitting left-handed against right-handed pitchers. “That was only practice today,” Duncan said. “I’m not going to change.” Mota, however, remains hopeful that Duncan, hitting .219, will change his mind. “There’s nothing definite, but it’s a strong possibility,” Mota said. “We had a long, friendly conversation (Monday night). I’m hoping he decides to switch-hit. It will be to the advantage of the ballclub. I feel he can get on base more as a switch-hitter. We need that.” Said Manager Tom Lasorda on Duncan: “It has to be Mariano’s decision.” . . . After Fernando Valenzuela was bombed for 5 runs and 10 hits Monday night, speculation abounded that Valenzuela’s left arm or shoulder was bothering him. Tuesday, Valenzuela said he just had a bad night. “There’s nothing wrong,” Valenzuela said. “Everybody has bad games. The fastball is all right. The speed is fine, but the only thing I had trouble with is control. I didn’t know what happened. But my arm is fine.” . . . On Lasorda’s orders, Steve Sax did not show up at Dodger Stadium until about 45 minutes before game time. “Saxy’s been working too hard,” Lasorda said. “I just don’t want him to pick up a bat until he goes to the plate in the ball game.”