Dodgers Are Finally Making a Run for It : L.A. Has Won 9 of Last 10, Starting With That 13-11 Victory Over Cubs

CINCINNATI —  It began on a Sunday in Chicago almost two weeks ago, the day a wrung-out Tom Lasorda closed the door of the visitors’ clubhouse and stood in the midst of his celebrating team.

“That may have been the greatest game I’ve ever seen or been associated with,” the Dodger manager said after that day’s 13-11, comeback win over the Cubs.

Granted, Lasorda’s license for hyperbole allows him to become just as worked up about certain brands of frozen pizzas, lawn mowers and soft drinks. But its place in history aside, it’s undeniable that the game energized the Dodgers and touched off a chain reaction that is still being felt in the National League West.

“I’ve never seen a team get that excited over winning a game in July,” said Len Matuszek, whose three-run homer off Cub relief ace Lee Smith in the eighth inning brought the Dodgers to life.

“September, yeah, you see it, but when you play 162 games, day after day, and all that traveling, it becomes a little monotonous. But every now and then, you play a perfect game, that’s so unbelievable, so outstanding, everybody just gets charged up.

“We were still in fifth place, 7 1/2 games out, but the enthusiasm just carried over.”

So did the winning. That was the start of an 8-game winning streak and a run of 9 wins in the last 10 games that has enabled the Dodgers to jump from last to third, 1 1/2 games behind second-place San Francisco and 5 1/2 behind Houston, going into tonight’s doubleheader here with the Reds.

The Dodgers won without Mike Marshall, whose bad back kept him out of the lineup until last Monday, and they must continue to win without Pedro Guerrero, the Dodgers’ not-ready-for-prime-time slugger.

“I had said that for us to have a streak, we needed to get five hot pitchers at once, and that’s what happened,” Marshall said.

In the three-game series at Chicago, Lasorda went through 13 pitchers. The team returned home, and Orel Hershiser and Fernando Valenzuela threw consecutive complete-game wins; Bob Welch allowed just one run in six innings for only his second win in three months; Rick Honeycutt went seven innings and came away a winner, and Alejandro Pena pitched a one-hitter for seven innings, although the decision went to Ken Howell.

The pitching staff has a 3.40 earned-run average in the last 10 games, and in 6 of the last 9, they have held the opposition to two earned runs or fewer.

The Dodgers’ now-rested bullpen has two wins and four saves during the current run.

“That was one of the keys to the home stand,” said Tom Niedenfuer, who saved Wednesday’s 7-4 win after going 3 innings, his longest outing of the season.

“The starters got us to the seventh and eighth innings, and when you’re winning, that has to happen. We’re not the Boston Red Sox, a team that can come back and win, 10-8. If our starters are knocked out in the second or third inning, then we’re in trouble.”

And just as the pitching improved, the run production has picked up as well, even though the traditional power supply is depleted. The Dodgers are averaging 5.5 runs a game in their last 10, although they’ve hit just eight home runs, three in Wednesday’s win.

Steve Sax is among the league leaders in several offensive categories, Mike Scioscia has been hitting well over .300 since returning from the disabled list, and Bill Madlock is hitting .367 with runners in scoring position. Franklin Stubbs has slumped of late, but his 20 home runs have been exceeded by only three other National Leaguers, and he should be helped by Marshall’s presence.

“The bench is starting to come around,” Marshall said, pointing to the contributions of Matuszek, who hit two home runs in Wednesday’s win, and Enos Cabell, who drove in eight runs in four games. “Right now, we’re using 13 and 14 guys, and everybody’s contributing.”

Even the errors--13 in the last 10 games--haven’t been as damaging for the league’s worst fielding team.

But whether the Dodgers can make a sustained run at the Astros will hinge on whether they can win on the road, something they have not done this season. Going into this 11-game trip, they are 17-30 away from Dodger Stadium, the worst road record in the division, and 6-14 against teams in the West.

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out we’ve got to play better on the road,” Madlock said.

Marshall believes it can happen. “We’ve always been a good road team,” he said, and his point is underscored by the Dodgers’ 47-34 road record last season, the best in the league.

“Early in the season, we had our troubles, which I think were magnified on the road.

“But when you’re hot, you can win anywhere.”