Fernando Gets Dodgers Going With 7--0 Win

Tom Lasorda will look for any available evidence to support his impassioned belief in his team, but the Dodger manager didn’t have to search too hard for a reason to believe Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.

Lasorda is optimistic about a second-half turnaround, and the Dodgers got off to a start in that direction withit around second-half turnaround and turned in a 7-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at the outset of a homestand that figures to either vault them into the National League West race or knock them out.

Fernando Valenzeula, coming off two poor outings in which he lasted only five innings, pitched his first shutout since May 24, 1986, due mainly to a shocking four double plays by his infield and his own tough pitching with runners in scoring position.

A revitalized Valenzuela is important in the Dodgers’ quest for redemption and National League West contention in the second half. But most important is a resumption of offensive production, dormant most of the season.

Valenzuela’s shutout, combined with Bob Welch’s performance on the last day before the All-Star break, gave the Dodgers two straight shutout victories for the first time since early May 1986. In the last two games, the Dodgers have outscored opponents, 19-0.

“We’ve got to get runs for these guys (the starting pitchers),” said Mickey Hatcher, whose two-run home run in the second gave the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead. “The way Bobby Welch (last Sunday) and Fernando pitched with a lead showed that. Too many times, we haven’t gotten a lot of hits and they are forced to pitch too fine and not relax.”

All the offense Valenzuela needed came in the early innings. After Hatcher’s two-run home run off Pirate starter Bob Kipper, That was later augmented by in the second came Mariano Duncan’s solo shot home run in the fifth. Both were off Pirate starter Bob Kipper.

That modest 3-0 lead became a 7-0 bulge with a four-run seventh inning against Pirate reliever Barry Jones, who let in three runs with a throwing error and a wild pitch.

Valenzuela, who now has pitched three straight complete games at home, was thankful for the run production and the four double plays turned in by his infield.

“A good lead is great to have,” Valenzuela said. “I had problems in five or six innings, when they had leadoff singles. But those double plays helped.

“I know this second half is important. We don’t have a third half.”

Even with the win Thursday night, the Dodgers remained in fifth place in the National League West, but they trail first-place Cincinnati by only seven games.

“This was the kind of game we needed to start with,” Lasorda said. “Now, we’ve got to keep it going. The big thing is that Fernando has to pitch the way we know he can. Tonight, he jerked up that gem for us. I said he would.”

Valenzuela (8-7) gave up seven hits and worked into jams four times, only to escape.

Three of the four double plays turned in by the Dodger defense killed Pirate rallies. The only infield mishap on this night was a second-inning error by Duncan at shortstop that put a runner on third base. But Duncan immediately redeemed himself by starting a double play on Junior Ortiz’s subsequent ground ball.

It was that type of night for the Dodgers. Their shortcomings, such as stranding runners on third base twice, were masked by the home runs by Hatcher and Duncan.

“I don’t think Fernando pitched good enough to shut us out tonight,” Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said. “But I don’t want to take anything away from him.”

Much of Lasorda’s optimism for a strong second half stems from his belief that Valenzuela will improve upon his mediocre first half, in which he had a 7-7 record with a 4.15 earned-run average.

Opponents have commented that Valenzuela’s fastball wasn’t so fast anymore and that his renowned screwball had gone flat. Although Valenzuela wasn’t totally sharp, it was an improvement.

Said Valenzuela: “I don’t know what the difference was tonight. I know I had some problems, but I feel good. My arm is fine.”

The only real downer on a night dominated by good news for the Dodgers was that second baseman Steve Sax suffered a right shoulder strain while completing a fifth-inning double play on a throw to the plate. Sax is listed on a day-to-day basis.

Hatcher, the Dodgers’ hottest hitter, not only homered for the second time in as many games , he also made a difficult stretch at first base to complete a rally--ending double play in the fourth inning. He took himself out of the game in the seventh because of a bout with bronchitis.

Duncan, hitting .214 coming into the game, had a third--inning double to go with his fifth home run of the season.

But Duncan’s spirits were up more because of the double plays executed by the infield than his offensive exploits.

“I think that’s what we needed,” Duncan said. “We have to make the routine plays. In the past, we weren’t making the right play at the right time and we’d let balls go through our legs. Tonight, I made an error that put us in a problem, but I got another play to make up for it (with a double play).”

Given the Dodgers’ sudden soundness in the field and Valenzuela’s capable pitching, a 3-0 lead seemed enough. But the Dodgers got four more runs in the eighth. The big blows were Mike Marshall’s RBI double, followed by a two-run error by Pirate reliever Jones on Mike Scioscia’s squeeze bunt and Jones’ wild pitch that scored the seventh run.

Dodger Notes

Dan Opperman, the Dodgers’ first-round selection in this year’s draft, will undergo surgery today at Centinela Hospital Medical Center to remove a loose bone fragment from his right elbow. Opperman, a highly touted right-handed pitcher whom the Dodgers signed for $160,000 in June, had experienced elbow problems before the draft, which scared off several interested teams. Dr. Frank Jobe is scheduled to operate on Opperman, who is expected to be out three to four months. . . . When Manager Tom Lasorda penciled in Dave Anderson as the Dodgers’ starting third baseman Thursday night, it was the seventh player the Dodgers have used at third base this season. The others: Bill Madlock, Tracy Woodson, Jeff Hamilton, Mickey Hatcher, Phil Garner and Steve Sax. Sax played third in the late innings last Sunday in Chicago, and Lasorda said he has considered putting him there. “I’d like to keep all three (Sax, Mariano Duncan and Anderson) in the lineup,” Lasorda said. “But against a left-hander, I’ve got to go with Hatcher, because he hits them so well.” . . . Add third basemen: Lasorda was asked if the Dodgers might be interested in former Dodger Ron Cey, recently released by the Oakland A’s. “I don’t see how we can add him,” he said. “We already got enough third basemen.” . . . Another move Lasorda has contemplated is using Brad Havens, the club leader with a 2.08 earned-run average, as a starter. “But if I did that, I wouldn’t have a left-hander for long relief,” Lasorda said. Havens said his preference is long relief. “But I’ll sweep the floor and clean shoes if that’s what they want me to do,” Havens said. . . . Len Matuszek is continuing treatment after June foot surgery. Matuszek isn’t expected back until late summer.