[PilotMan]

9/16 2-1 L to the Padres
We needed to win so this is a tough loss. It tightens up the division. They've had our number all year long. Rick Rhoden (18-10) went 7 strong, but he was bested by Bob Ojeda (13-11) who went 1 better. Mike Marshall homered in the 7^th to tie the game up, his 23^rd of the year. He also had 2 of the team's 5 hits. We're a game up on the Padres right now.


Bad news Dodger fans. Slugger Ron Kittle is down with a shoulder injury. He's most likely done for the year. He finishes with 4 HR and a slash line of .257/.324/.375 in 152 AB. Not really what we were hoping for in the production department. But losing him takes away that depth that we had been resting on. Prospect Ralph Bryant was called up to take his place on the roster. Bryant has steadily moved up the system and has hit 24 HR in '82 in Class A ball and 26 in '83 in AA. But since then has only hit 29 between AA and AAA the last 2 years. He played sparingly this year in only 39 games, where he batted .408, hit 8 HR and 24 RBI in 98 AB. He can play all three outfield positions, but his star as a high prospect has faded considerably. Meanwhile we wait for Dwayne Murphy who is hitting .143 in Albuquerque, but does have 3 HR in 8 games.


9/17 4-2 W over the Padres
John Denny (11-14) was on form and got player of the game with 7.1 innings of work, but 11 baserunners allowed though. Niedenfuer was on form as well, getting 5 outs, 2 K's and his 21^st save. Marshall got a couple RBI's as the Dodgers took 6 free passes on Padre pitching. Now the bad news. Willie Randolph, the guy who has carried our team was hit by a pitch in the 8^th inning and had to leave the game.


Good news on Randolph. He's got a bruised knee, and is listed as day to day for a couple. I'm sure that Sax can fill in, but I've grown rather fond of both his fielding and his ability to get on base. Besides, Lasorda has been batting him 3^rd lately and I think that's been helpful to our overall run production.


Odd random note: Mark “The Bird” Fidrych was signed by LA in May, is only 31, and has been toiling in A ball Bakersfield all year, and has been just plain awful this year. He hasn't pitched in the Majors since 1980 with the Tigers. On the year he is 3-9, in 17 games, with a 9.08 ERA, a 2.29 WHIP and a 20.8 BR/9 ratio. Woof.


The Yankees dropped 3 in a row to the Blue Jays and now only lead by .5. It's nearly a coin flip, but the Yankees are still slightly favored.


The team moved IF/C Scotti Madision (.259/.332/.406 in AAA) to the main roster.


9/18 9-2 L to the Astros
Dodger pitching served up 17 hits, and 6 walks. Tanana (10-9) gave up runs in each of the first 4 innings before he was lifted. Randolph had a 2 hit day and Kelly Downs threw 3 scoreless innings in relief. You couldn't say that about the appearance Jim Beattie made. He allowed 8 baserunners and 3 runs in 2 innings of mop up.


Dwayne Murphy has been called back from his rehab. He batted .143 in 10 games with 3 HR. He will start in CF with Stubbs moving over to left. Good to have him back. Let's hope he finds his bat again.


9/19 8-0 W over the Astros
Eck (5-1) was in fine form tonight! 7 2/3 innings and 3 hits allowed, no runs. LA also welcomed back Dwayne Murphy who made his presence known in the 4^th when he broke the game open with a little grand slam. It was his 5^th. Mike Scioscia follwed with his 14^th and later Mike Marshall added number 24. It was close to the perfect game for Dodger fans.


The Expos magic number is down to 8 and every other race is separated by 1 game.


There are 16 games to play. Graig Nettles is scheduled to be back before we're all said and done.


9/20 5-3 W over the Giants
Valenzuela gets his 17^th win of the year in another 10 strike out effort. He did serve up a big 3-run homer to Chili Davis (2), but other that that he was solid. Niedenfeur got the final 4 outs for his 22^nd save. LA got the lead early on a 3-run home run from Stubbs (26). Randolph added another with his 5^th in the 6^th.


9/21 3-2 L to the Giants
LA couldn't get anything done against the Giants starter Jeff Stember, whose numbers on the year improved to 7-18 with a 5.54 ERA. Rhoden (18-11) went the distance and struck out 8 enroute to his loss. LA brought the tying run all the way to 2^nd after Stubbs doubled in 2, but Marshall struck out to end the rally. The Padres fell at home to the Braves so we stay 2 up with a magic number of 13.


9/22 4-3 W over the Giants
These wins over a 100+ loss team aren't very convincing. Mike Marshall was 1-2 with a couple RBI's and the team drew 7 walks off of Giant starter Craig Swan (1-16). John Denny went 8 innings and got the win to move to 12-14. Niedenfeur pitched another shakey 9^th. He allowed 3 hits and error by Ralph Bryant, who had come on as a defensive sub, helped the Giants pull within 1 and put the tying run in scoring position. SS Randy Kutcher knocked a single to left, and pinch runner Ivan DeJesus tried to score the tying run, but a great throw by Stubbs caught him at the plate to end it. Both the Padres and Reds won to keep pace. Magic number drops to 12.


The Blue Jays have pushed past the slumping Yankees and now lead the AL East by 2 games. Royals and M's both still just a game apart. Expos magic number down to 6.


9/23 6-4 L to the Astros
Frank Tanana (10-10) allowed 3 gopher balls, lost the lead or tie 3 times, and just generally was unreliable. Tony Brewer got the start in left and went 2-3 in addition to hitting his first career home run. The ball was traded for an autographed Valenzuela ball, but at least he got it back. Barry Larkin single handedly killed us. The rookie hit a triple in the first, then a homer (10) in the third, he doubled in the 5^th, and when he came up in the 7^th needing a single for the cycle, he hit another triple. He had 12 total bases. The Padres pick up the win and move to within a game.


9/24 5-2 L to the Astros
Eckersley drops to 5-2 surrendering 8 hits in 6.2 innings of work . A big homerun by Larry Parrish in the 7^th broke the game open and put us on the back foot. Ken Howell had another poor game in relief. Mike Scioscia went 3-3 in the losing effort. The Padres win again to pull into a tie for first.


Nettles was activated and sent on a rehab assignment.


9/25 5-2 L to the Astros
Damn. Three in a row to the lowly Astros. Tough start to the end of the season. Valenzuela (17-5) was not on his game today. The Astros beat him up for 9 hits in 6 innings. Sid Bream was the man of the match for the Dodgers. He smacked 2 solo homers to bring his total to 15 on the year. He added a single and 2 walks. Too bad we couldn't build on that. Padres lose too, but the Reds win to climb to .5 game back. Magic number is at 11.


We have 10 games left, all at home. The percentages still favor us, but they favor the Reds over the Padres. We play 2 against the Padres and 3 against the Reds. The rest are against the Braves and Giants. Gotta win those matchups, or we're done for.


Reds win on an off day and now it's a 3-way tie in the West. Ten to play, it's down to all or nothing.


9/27 10-5 W over the Giants
Had to get back to our winning ways by beating on the lowly Giants. We had 10-2 lead at one point and John Franco served up 2 homers that cut the lead down. Niedenfuer came on to finish, but he wasn't perfect either, but at least he got it done. Rhoden wins his 19^th, while Jeff Stember loses his 19^th. Rhoden went 2-3 with 3 RBI's, one a bases clearing double. He had 2 doubles in the game. Marshall, Stubbs and Bream all had 2 hits. The Padres lose in the bottom of the 9^th to the Braves and the Reds win in extras over the Astros. Magic number is 10.


9/28 7-2 W over the Giants
LA went deep 4 times with Marshall starting us off in the 4^th with a 2-run (25). Stubbs followed in the 5^th with a 2-run (27). Scioscia hit number 15 right after to go back to back. And in the 6^th it was Bream with number 16. Denny (13-14) walked 6 in 6 innings and got lucky a fair number of times. Like in the first when back to back errors by Frank White put guys on 2^nd and 3^rd with no out, and we got out of it for free. Marshall went 3-4 with 3 RBI's. Both the Reds and Padres won to keep pace. Magic number falls to 9.


9/29 3-1 L to the Giants
Eck got little help today. We met our old friend Floyd Bannister, on the verge of losing 20 games, and he held us to 1 hit through 7. He allowed 2 through 8. Bob Stanley came on and Dwayne Murphy took him deep (6). Too bad we didn't have a couple on for it. Both the Reds and Padres won. That puts us down a game to the Reds. Magic number falls to 7.


9/30 11-5 W over the Padres
The offense lit up today, just when we needed it. LA hit 2 home runs, both coming off the bat of Mike Marshall. Marshall finished 4-5, homers 26 and 27, and 6 RBI's. Dwayne Murphy went 3-5 with 3 RBI of his own. Valenzuela (18-5) was the beneficiary of the offense and he didn't have his best game, allowing 5 runs in 7 innings. Niedenfeur got the last 8 outs for his 24^th save. Toby Harrah left the game after a collision at third. Ross Jones took his place.