Lasorda Fires Up Dodgers : Baseball: Manager leads the cheers before Gwynn knocks in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th, 3-2.

By BILL PLASCHKE

Aug. 20, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

After watching another dramatic ninth inning by an opponent threaten to foul up another game for his Dodgers, Manager Tom Lasorda tried something different Monday.

He tried public cheerleading.

Lasorda stepped on the field before the Dodgers batted against the San Diego Padres in the 10th inning and began pumping his fists and shouting to the fans behind the dugout. The fans stood, pumped their fists and shouted back.

Don’t laugh. Not only did it make Padre relief pitcher Larry Andersen angry, it worked. Mitch Webster hit a leadoff double against Andersen and eventually scored on pinch-hitter Chris Gwynn’s sacrifice fly that gave the Dodgers a 3-2 victory before 31,360 at Dodger Stadium.

“I glanced back and heard all this hollering and screaming . . . and there was my manager, firing up the crowd,” Webster said with a smile. “You see everything in this game.”

The Dodgers figure they have seen about everything during their past three victories, all involving comebacks and extra innings. They moved two games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Braves and 8 1/2 ahead of the upstart Padres, who fell back into fourth place after a one-day stay in third.

Though the winning blow was struck by Gwynn, one of the most valuable Dodgers this year with 13 runs batted in in 40 pinch at-bats, the winning pose was struck by Lasorda.

Lasorda did his Arsenio Hall imitation in the 13th inning of Friday’s victory over Houston, Darryl Strawberry hit a three-run homer minutes later, so Lasorda figured it would work again.

“What the heck, I just decided to get up and do it, just trying to get the crowd into it,” Lasorda said. “What’s wrong with that?”

Plenty, said Andersen, who had an 0.93 earned-run average in his past eight appearances before Monday.

“C’mon, get a life, do something that’s not for show,” Andersen said afterward, chiding Lasorda from the visiting clubhouse. “I just don’t think it’s the right thing for a manager to put on a cheerleader’s skirt, get pompons, wear a sweater with a big ‘D’ on it, and become a cheerleader. But Tommy is a good manager.”

When Lasorda was told of Andersen’s quotes, he said, “Oh, did it bother him? Now that I know it bothers him, I’ll do it again.”

Webster, who drew a walk and scored the tying run in a two-run eighth inning as a pinch-hitter, started the 10th against Andersen with a fly ball that fell inside the right-field line for a double. After Brett Butler was walked intentionally, pinch-hitter Lenny Harris laid down a sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for Gwynn.

“I was thinking, ‘This is a great situation,’ ” said Gwynn, who hit a fly ball to medium left field, deep enough to drive in Webster. “The infield was in, the outfield was in. . . . If you don’t like hitting in this situation, you’re crazy.”

The Dodgers thought they had it won about 30 minutes earlier, thanks to a two-run eighth inning that gave them a 2-1 lead. But Jack Howell hit his second home run of the game against relief pitcher Kevin Gross on Gross’ fourth pitch of the ninth inning, tying the score, 2-2.

Gross, who improved to 8-9 by retiring six of the seven batters he faced after the home run, was in the game because he had warmed up in the eighth when the Dodgers were still trailing. Lasorda didn’t want both Gross and Jay Howell warming up at the same time, so Howell was not prepared to enter the game in the top of the ninth.

The Dodgers came back with one of their best innings in weeks.

Webster, batting for pitcher Tim Belcher, started the eighth by drawing a walk against starter Dennis Rasmussen. Craig Lefferts, 9-1 with seven saves and a 2.07 ERA against the Dodgers, entered the game.

Butler greeted Lefferts by laying down a bunt to move Webster to second base. Mike Sharperson hit a full-count grounder to second base to move Webster to third.

Kal Daniels then reached out and knocked an 0-and-1 pitch to left field to drive in Webster with the tying run. Four pitches later, Strawberry got his third hit of the game with a single to center field.

When the ball took a high bounce in front of center fielder Darrin Jackson, Daniels hustled around to score what the Dodgers thought was the winning run.