Astros Roll After Sutton Departure

Baseball protocol prevented the Dodgers from publicly placing too much emphasis on their long-awaited first meeting with the Houston Astros, who have been shadowing them in the standings for almost two months.

But the Dodgers really wanted to beat the Astros Monday, if only as a night show of force, proof that trying to knock them out of first place in the National League West will not be easy. Instead, the Dodgers produced a clunker--on national television, no less.

Poor relief pitching and limited offense without injured Pedro Guerrero wasted a solid six-inning effort from starter Don Sutton and led to a 10-4 loss to the Astros before a surprisingly small Dodger Stadium crowd of 19,327.

If you check the standings this morning, the Dodgers (30-22) will have a 1 1/2-game lead over the Astros (29-24). But what took place on a cool night was an exercise in Astro domination.

The Astros stole a season-high six bases. They knocked around Alejandro Pena for two runs and Tim Crews for five runs in the late innings after Sutton had yielded only three hits and one controversial run in six innings. And, conversely, the Astros received adequate relief help from Larry Andersen, whose seventh save enabled starter Bob Knepper to improve his record to 7-1.

Afterward, Dodger players were blase about the loss.

“It’s too early to lose confidence after one game with a team,” catcher Rick Dempsey said. “I think we did a pretty good job against them for six innings.”

Indeed, the Dodgers’ demise correlated with Sutton’s departure. Through six innings, Sutton had limited the Astros to only a fourth-inning run that came on a potential double play that went awry when first base umpire Mark Hirshbeck ruled that Dodger first baseman Mike Marshall missed a tag on Kevin Bass, enabling Denny Walling to score from third.

The Dodgers, though, had a 2-1 lead by the fifth. In the top of the sixth, Sutton retired the Astros in order, running his pitch count to a season-high 101. Manager Tom Lasorda, who says he does not have a specific limit on the 43-year-old Sutton’s outings, said he thought Sutton was tiring and turned over the one-run lead to Pena.

“(Sutton) pitched a very good game,” Lasorda said. “I just felt it was time to get him out of there. With Sutton, the way he pitches, you figure if he keeps you there in six innings, he’s done the job.”

Lasorda said he discussed the matter with Sutton before removing him.

Did Sutton want to remain in the game?

“That’s something we discussed,” Lasorda said. “I just felt he pitched too long.”

Sutton apparently had left the clubhouse before the game’s conclusion and could not be reached for comment. But on May 2 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the last time Lasorda yanked Sutton with the Dodgers leading in the fifth inning, an upset Sutton said he resented being labeled a five- or six-inning pitcher and worried that Lasorda did not have confidence in him. Dempsey, Sutton’s catcher Monday night before the double switch in the seventh inning, said Sutton was still pitching strongly.

“To me, he was pitching well enough to go on until he got into trouble,” Dempsey said. “Our bullpen had done such a good job. They haven’t blown many games. But it happened against a good ballclub.”

Actually, the Astros were slumping before this series. They had lost 8 of their last 11 and Manager Hal Lanier made a few lineup changes as a result. It didn’t seem to do much good until Pena entered in the seventh.

It was a typical Astro rally, utilizing well-placed hits and speed on the basepaths. With one out, pinch-hitter Terry Puhl singled to left, then stole second. Gerald Young then singled to right, but catcher Mike Scioscia successfully blocked home plate and tagged out Puhl even after dropping the ball and taking time to pick it up.

But that merely delayed the rally. After Young stole second, Billy Hatcher followed with a double to right, scoring Young to tie it, 2-2. Glenn Davis later added a run-scoring single for a 3-2 Houston lead, prompting Pena’s departure.

Pena, virtually unhittable earlier in the season, has given up 3 runs in his last 3 innings and has been saddled with two losses.

Crews, who had yielded only two earned runs in eight appearances since his recall from the triple-A Albuquerque club, fared little better in the eighth inning after mercifully ending the seventh for Pena. After Bass’ single and stolen base, and Young’s walk, Hatcher’s broken-bat single made it 4-2. Crews’ wild pitch then scored Young from third, and Walling’s single scored Hatcher.

The eighth inning reached its low point for the Dodgers when Davis belted a two-run home run off Crews to give Houston an 8-2 lead. The home run, Davis’ 12th, came just after Dodger right fielder Mickey Hatcher lost sight of a catchable foul ball in the lights, the ball landing 3 feet from the foul line.

Although Dodger spirits were good after the loss--second in severity only to a 9-0 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals on May 1--they were concerned by Houston’s ability to seemingly run at will, to use each hit and get solid relief pitching.

Young, from Santa Ana, was a terror on the basepaths. He went 2 for 2, walked four times and stole second and third during the Astros’ seventh-inning rally. Hatcher, Bass and Puhl each had a stolen base, enabling Walling and Davis to combine for six RBIs.

“These guys can run you to death,” Mickey Hatcher said. “The first time you play a team, you get an idea of what they’ve got. Now, we know what we have to shut down. We just have to throw out this one and come back strong.”

Dodger Notes

Pedro Guerrero will undergo more tests today for what trainers described as a pinched nerve in his neck. Guerrero, who has missed the last two games with the chronic condition, was examined Monday by Dr. Robert Watkins, a back specialist. . . . Center fielder John Shelby extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a second-inning triple. . . . The Dodgers’ search for a left-handed relief pitcher has led Executive Vice President Fred Claire to inquire about Joe Sambito, who left the Houston Astros’ triple-A team two days ago. Sambito, reached at his home in Seminole, Fla., said his agent, Alan Hendricks, has called Claire but that he does not expect the Astros to trade him to a National League West team. “My agent talked to Fred and about five other general managers, but I didn’t see those two teams dealing,” Sambito said. “What if I come back to haunt him, or if the player the Dodgers traded for me haunts them.” However, the Dodgers might have a chance to get Sambito if the Astros release him, which is a possibility. . . . Tests on shortstop Mariano Duncan, now with the Dodgers’ triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque, showed a stress fracture of his first rib on his right side. Duncan suffered the injury more than a week ago and complained of chest and back pain. He is expected to be out three to four weeks.