Ashley Vents Frustration on Reds

Don’t get Dodger outfielder Billy Ashley wrong, he was thrilled for Brett Butler when he decided to come back one final season. But still, there was understandable frustration.

Butler’s return meant that Ashley was back on the bench, giving him no chance to win a starting job.

While Ashley must wait yet another year, he decided he was going to make the best of the situation, and Monday night he unleashed his frustrations with one swing of the bat in the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in front of 26,955 at Dodger Stadium.

Ashley, starting for only the fifth time this season, slammed a two-run homer in the sixth inning off Hector Carrasco that broke a 1-1 tie and provided the Dodgers (17-12) with their sixth victory in the last seven games.

“When Brett decided he’d come back, I knew it was something this team needed,” Ashley said, “and I knew my role was coming off the bench. It’s a difficult role, but it’s something I learned to cope with last year.

“It can be frustrating, yeah, but when I get a chance to play I have to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Ashley’s home run, which provided Hideo Nomo (4-2) with the victory, earned him a spot in the starting lineup the next two days against the Reds. In fact, it could be longer if Butler goes on the disabled list because of his ailing left shoulder.

“I couldn’t be happier for him,” Dodger hitting coach Reggie Smith said. “It’s tough for him in that role. He has a tendency to strike out. But he’s also the type of guy that with one swing of the bat he can win a game for you.

“He knows what his role is and he has handled it well.”

Smith nearly provided the fireworks in the third inning when a bench-clearing brawl almost broke out.

Smith, who was in the first base coaches’ box, was accused by the Reds of flashing signs to first baseman Eric Karros when he was at the plate. Red starter Kent Mercker complained to first-base umpire Eric Gregg, and soon, Manager Ray Knight came onto the field to voice his displeasure.

Gregg ordered Smith to stay in the coaches’ box, and Karros wound up getting a single during the at-bat. The inning ended when Raul Mondesi grounded to third.

When the inning ended, Mercker walked toward the dugout and yelled toward Smith. Smith yelled back. Knight immediately ran out to defend his pitcher, yelling at Smith, and soon the Red and Dodger dugouts emptied onto the field.

There were no fights or ejections. Just a lot of yelling back and forth, including an exchange of words between Karros and Red first base coach Ken Griffey Sr.

“If you’re going to give signs, and a lot of teams do it,” Knight said, “you don’t have to be so blatant. Mercker said he threw five pitches in a row, and he had every one of them. Reggie was kind of egging him on.

“I said, ‘Reggie, ‘Why don’t you lay off?’ He said he started it.”

Said Smith: “Let them worry about it. It’s really quite funny.”

The Reds are the latest team to complain of Smith’s tactics. The San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies have accused Smith of flashing signs to hitters the last few years. Stealing signs is not illegal, but it violates a code of ethics in baseball.

The incident simply fueled the frustration of the Reds (9-21), whose 19 losses in April were the most in franchise history. They have the second-worst record in baseball, ahead of only the Chicago Cubs.

The Reds have scored just two earned runs in their last 33 innings and have sunk to 8 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the National League Central race.

Nomo, who yielded five hits in eight innings, retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced. The only time he ran into trouble was in the fifth, when Eddie Taubensee off led with a double and eventually scored on Willie Greene’s bloop single.