A Giant-Sized Inning (7 Runs) Sinks Dodgers : By the Time L.A. Gets a Batter Out, It’s Well on the Way to a 10-3 Loss

SAN FRANCISCO —  Fifteen games into the season, it would hardly be prudent to say the Dodgers have gone to the dogs.

But Tuesday night, during the Giants’ 10-3 win over the Dodgers in Candlestick Park, someone threw a bone at Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda.

Who said anything about crowds at Candlestick being prudent?

The crowds take special pleasure in taunting the Dodgers, chanting obscenities at them, pelting them with objects from the stands.

“Ice and peanuts,” bullpen coach Mark Cresse said. “They were throwing at every guy who warmed up.”

Seldom, however, do Giant fans get the chance to laugh at the Dodgers. Losers hold their tongues.

But Tuesday, the Dodgers gave 22,408 fans here a good belly laugh with a loss that was over before the Giants made it once through the order.

The Giants, in fact, went through the order once without making an out, scoring seven runs on seven hits, two Dodger errors and two walks against two Dodger pitchers.

For all Lasorda knows, that might have been a disenchanted Dodger fan who tossed the bone.

Dennis Powell lasted the first five batters, long enough to be charged with five runs that caused his earned-run average to more than double, from 2.19 to 5.84.

The Dodgers made as many errors (3) as they scored runs in running their record to 4-11 and falling 6 1/2 games behind the Giants.

The Giants, who ended up with 14 hits, including four by Chris Brown, ran their record to 10-4, best in the majors.

“I’ll say this,” said Giant pitcher Mike Krukow, who lined a bases-loaded single to make it 9 for 9 (including two walks) for the Giants in the first.

“At this time last year, we were 4-10, but nobody was feeling sorry for us.

“There’s not a guy on this club who doesn’t have a lot of admiration and respect for (Pedro) Guerrero. But the effect (of Guerrero’s loss to injury) is benefiting us.

“In baseball, like in all athletics, it’s dog eat dog.”

Seldom have the Dodgers been part of such a howler. Lasorda said he’d never seen such an inning, meaning one in which the first nine batters reached base. Neither had Dodger right fielder Mike Marshall.

“You really don’t want to see your pitchers knocked around like that,” Marshall said. “But that’s the way it’s going with this team.

“Hopefully, this was the climax to all our problems. Maybe we ended it with a real big bang.”

There was a big bang in the Giants’ big inning as Dan Gladden barreled into Dodger catcher Mike Scioscia on Rob Thompson’s base hit to right field. Gladden, who had opened the inning with a walk and taken second on Powell’s wild pickoff throw, scored on the hit.

Marshall’s throw pulled Scioscia to the right side of the plate, but Gladden hit him anyway.

“I wasn’t even near the plate,” said Scioscia, whose two-run homer in the third accounted for almost all the Dodger offense.

“I don’t know what Douggie was doing,” Scioscia said in reference to Gladden. I wouldn’t call it cheap. Doug’s an aggressive player, but maybe he got a little overaggressive.”

Said Gladden, when asked about the play: “It sounds to me like somebody’s trying to start (something). All I saw was Scioscia coming back to block the plate.”

In 1952, the Brooklyn Dodgers had a record 19 consecutive batters reach safely in the first, but that was after the leadoff batter, Billy Cox, had grounded out.

In the afternoon editions of the San Jose Mercury-News, the headline bannered across Page 1 of the sports section read: “Bay Area Sits Atop Baseball World.”

Above the headline, in small type, it read: “Clip and save.”

Maybe the rest of the world can be blase about a first-place team in April. But here--where the Giants haven’t been in first this far into a season since 1978--it was cause for celebration, made all the sweeter because it was the despised Dodgers who were getting hammered.

All the elements that have made the first three weeks of the 1986 season the worst start in L.A. Dodger history were present Tuesday, only magnified to ridiculous proportions in the Giants’ first at-bat.

After Gladden scored, Brown slipped another grounder past Steve Sax, sending Thompson to third, Jeffrey Leonard, swinging at a 3-and-0 pitch, hit a soft liner to center. Ken Landreaux hesitated, made a half-speed approach toward the ball, then kept going past it. Thompson scored, and the Giants had runners on second and third after Leonard’s single and Landreaux’s error, his fourth of the season. That’s a stunning total for an outfielder. So far, Landreaux has made one more error by himself than the St. Louis Cardinals have made as a team.

When Chili Davis lined a double into the left-field corner, Powell was through.

In came Carlos Diaz, making a rare first-inning appearance. Diaz, who never has started a game, promptly gave up an run-scoring double to Bob Brenly, and it was 5-0. Dan Driessen, playing for the injured Will Clark (bruised left index finger) walked, and Jose Uribe singled, loading the bases.

Up came Krukow, a good-hitting pitcher who was 0 for 7 this season. But he gave the Giants a 9-for-9 inning by stroking a run-scoring single to center.

Gladden forced Krukow at second, and the Dodgers finally had an out, but not before the seventh run of the inning had scored.

The Giant second inning started out almost as badly for the Dodgers, Greg Brock falling over the bullpen mound while chasing Chris Brown’s hit down the right-field line. Brown wound up with a triple and scored on an infield out.

The Giants scored two more runs in the fourth off Diaz and Ed Vande Berg, who got his first big league at-bat in the next inning. Vande Berg, who never had hit in the American League, struck out.

In the seventh, Lasorda brought in Jerry Reuss, even though he had said that Reuss would not pitch after going three innings the night before.

Dodger Notes

After missing the last six games, except for two at-bats as a pinch-hitter, second baseman Steve Sax returned to the starting lineup, something he probably wouldn’t have done if the Dodgers were 10-4 instead of 4-10. “He’s the one who said he’s all right,” trainer Bill Buhler said. Buhler said it was “possible” that Sax’s bruised right heel may always bother him and he’d have to learn how to tolerate the discomfort. “The main thing is he has to learn to stop jumping at the bag,” Buhler said. . . . Dodger catcher Mike Scioscia said this was the first time as a major leaguer he’d ever batted in the No. 2 spot in the order. “I did it in the minor leagues a couple of times,” Scioscia said. “I’m sure Tommy (Lasorda) is trying to shake things up. I haven’t hit there, so I don’t know what to expect.” Said Dodger coach Monty Basgall: “If he could run, he would be the perfect second-place hitter. . . . Lasorda said he isn’t ruling out Jerry Reuss’ return to the rotation after Reuss’ three-inning stint as a reliever Monday. “He threw pretty good, better than I’ve seen him,” Lasorda said. “We want him to be a long man for a while; we want him to get up and throw a lot. We’d like to see him a couple more times, show that he can throw. But indications are he’s pretty close to coming back.”

THE BIG INNING The Giants’ first nine batters reached base in the first inning against Dodger pitchers Dennis Powell and Carlos Diaz en route to seven runs.

Hitter Result Dan Gladden walk Rob Thompson single Chris Brown single Jeff Leonard single Chili Davis double Bob Brenly double Dan Driessen walk Jose Uribe single Mike Krukow single