Dodgers ‘Struggle’ to 6-1 Win : Hershiser’s Back Is Team’s Latest Cause for Concern

PITTSBURGH —  Even in prosperity, the Dodgers seemingly were unable to relax and fully savor a rare pleasant afternoon in the sun here Sunday at the expense of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

That would be too easy. That wouldn’t be the Dodger way, at least not in a 1987 season in which everything has been a struggle.

Through 5 1/2 innings, the Dodgers were breezing along with a six-run lead over the Pirates, and starter Orel Hershiser was pitching a masterful one-hitter. But then Hershiser left the game with lower back stiffness, the offense virtually shut down and the Dodgers had to weather bases-loaded situations in both the sixth and seventh innings.

In the end, the pall had partially lifted and the Dodgers could celebrate a 6-1 win in a rare coupling of productive offense, good pitching and flawless defense.

Still, there is concern about the condition of Hershiser, easily the Dodgers’ best pitcher to date. As early as the second inning Sunday, Hershiser was complaining about back pain that has periodically bothered him in previous seasons.

Hershiser had given up only a fourth-inning single to Andy Van Slyke, subsequently erased by a double play, and had faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings. Twice, however, physical therapist Pat Screnar had to realign Hershiser’s back with stretching exercises.

Since the Dodgers had experienced an unexpected offensive harvest against Pirate starter Brian Fisher--getting six runs on eight hits in six innings, including two run-scoring doubles by Danny Heep--Manager Tom Lasorda and pitching coach Ron Perranoski decided to give Hershiser the rest of the day off.

That was when the Dodgers had to start sweating out the win, which broke a three-game losing streak.

Alejandro Pena, Hershiser’s sixth-inning replacement, threw 22 pitches. Seventeen were balls. Pena walked the bases loaded, then walked Van Slyke to force in a run. Then, Pena walked to the bench, and Lasorda brought in Matt Young to face Johnny Ray in a bases-loaded, one-out situation.

Ray grounded Young’s first pitch up the middle for what looked to be a multiple-run single. But shortstop Dave Anderson made a diving stop behind second, flipped the ball to Steve Sax for a force, then Sax completed the double play to end the inning.

Young ran into problems of his own in the seventh, as Pittsburgh loaded the bases with two out, but pinch-hitter Terry Harper grounded to third to end that threat.

After those scares, the Dodgers (37-43) settled down. A three-game sweep at the hands of the last-place Pirates would have demoralized the Dodgers heading into a four-game series against first-place St. Louis starting tonight.

Hershiser, who improved his record to 10-7 and lowered his earned-run average to 2.30, is not scheduled to pitch again until Friday in Chicago, and he said he doesn’t feel the back injury will alter those plans.

“It’s in the same place that I’ve had it before,” said Hershiser, who now has gone 23 innings without giving up an earned run. “I’ve never missed a start in the big leagues and I’ve never had to come out early before.

“They didn’t ask me to come out; they told me when I walked into the dugout after the fifth. It was for my own best interest. We had a six-run lead and my back did feel out of line. Perhaps if it had been 2-1 or 2-0, they might have asked me if I could continue.”

Hershiser said he started feeling stiffness in the second inning. Screnar stretched the back, but the problem persisted.

Said Perranoski: “He was having those spasms and it looked like he started throwing with just his arm--changing his motion--in the fifth. I didn’t want him to hurt his arm. It’s not worth it.”

It was the first time in 15 games that a Dodger starter had left the game with the lead. Young pitched 3 mostly strong innings to pick up his seventh save.

“I was kidding with Young,” Hershiser said. “He said I’ve got to stop throwing complete games so he can get a save opportunity. I bet he didn’t think 3 1/2 innings was too nice.”

Said Young: “Whatever happened to those easy saves, where the starter goes 8 (innings) and then you bring me in with a left-hander up? This was a bit much today.”

Indeed, Young faced a crisis situation in the sixth, and he dutifully thanked Anderson for saving him a couple of runs with the defensive play.

“That was a great play, not just a real good play,” Young said. “Any time you dive and still make the double play, that’s a great play. But I guess Ozzie Smith would have taken (the double play) himself in that situation. I’m joking, you know.”

The Dodger offense, brunt of jokes recently because of inactivity, awakened early Sunday. Heep, who had been 0 for 12 since joining the Dodgers two weeks ago, doubled home Anderson in the first inning. Then Heep, filling in for injured Mike Marshall, repeated the process with another double to right in the fourth inning. Franklin Stubbs, who had been 0 for 20 recently, delivered a triple off the center-field wall and a bunt single and scored two runs. And Mickey Hatcher contributed a triple, single and scored two runs.

“I’m starting to feel more comfortable at the plate,” Heep said. “I need to keep playing, but I know it’s just going to be until Mike is ready to come back. I’ll take advantage of the time I’ve got.”

Dodger Notes

Mike Marshall, who missed his third straight game with a strained left thigh muscle, ran in the outfield before the game and said he might try to play tonight in St. Louis. Marshall said Sunday that Dr. Frank Jobe gave him a cortisone injection after Wednesday night’s game against San Diego in Los Angeles. . . . First baseman Franklin Stubbs arrived at Three Rivers Stadium just 45 minutes before the start of the game, missing batting practice. but Stubbs remained in the starting lineup. Said Stubbs: “I didn’t get my wake-up call and I’m no automatic alarm clock, so I overslept. I got a call (from the Dodgers) at 12:30 and I was here in 10 minutes. That’s all it was.” . . . Add Stubbs: He suffered a bruised heel in the ninth inning while stretching at first base, but he says it’s not serious. “The only way I won’t play is if it’s a broken leg, and it isn’t broken,” he said. . . . Trade rumors continue to follow the Dodgers. Lately, there has been talk of Marshall going to the New York Mets or either of the Chicago teams, and Rick Honeycutt possibly being traded to Toronto for Lloyd Moseby. Dodger Vice President Fred Claire, speaking in general terms, does not rule out another trade, but he indicated that he wants to see how his new players fit in before making major moves. “We’ve made a number of changes already and there has to be that period of time when we see how those changes take effect. That’s not to say we will fail to react to what’s happening to the club.”