Randolph Out Sick; Dodgers Look Ill

The Dodgers wisely sent a sick Willie Randolph home before the game Sunday with the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium.

It turned out that Randolph, battling a 72-hour flu that has given the Dodger lineup chills, would not have been strong enough to watch.

In a game that featured Mickey Hatcher at third base because Lenny Harris was forced to play second base in place of Randolph, Hatcher botched two grounders and the Dodger offense managed only six hits in a 4-0 loss in front of 41,893.

While it was the first loss in three games since Randolph came down with an 103-degree temperature, it illustrated how this team of injuries cannot afford illnesses. The Dodgers hope Randolph gets well soon, if not immediately.

“I saw (Randolph) . . . and he didn’t look good,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said after his team fell to 11-9 and blew a shot at sweeping the Cubs in the three-game weekend series. “I just hope I see him in here again (today).”

He couldn’t have looked any worse than his teammates, who missed his stability in the infield. Hatcher’s sixth-inning muff of Ryne Sandberg’s grounder, which skipped off his glove, preceded Mark Grace’s single. That preceded Andre Dawson’s three-run homer off Dodger starter and loser Mike Morgan (3-1).

The Dodgers also could have used Randolph’s smarts at the plate. His five-game hitting streak would have come in handy against Cub starter Greg Maddux, who gave up six Dodger singles. Only three other Dodger outs were hit out of the infield.

It was the first shutout this season against the Dodgers, who led the National League last year by being shut out 17 times.

The Dodgers were so completely fooled by Maddux, they kept hitting little grounders to the right side of the infield, enabling Maddux to set a major league record for pitchers with seven putouts.

“It’s nice,” Maddux said of the record. “But it would be nicer to have a record like (Orel) Hershiser has.”

If he was speaking of the scoreless innings streak, he already has one going against the Dodgers in April. His last shutout came almost exactly a year ago, also against the Dodgers, a 1-0 victory on April 27.

And it doesn’t come much easier for him than Sunday, considering three of the Dodger singles were followed by double-play grounders, two that came on the first pitch. Six Dodger outs came on grounders to first baseman Grace, who simply flipped to Maddux covering first. No Dodger advanced as far as second base.

“He kept spotting the fastball inside to right-handed hitters, and there was nothing you could do but hit it to the right side,” said rookie Brian Traxler, who grounded to first base as a pinch-hitter in the sixth.

It has been a tough week for Traxler, recently recalled from triple-A Albuquerque after Jeff Hamilton’s shoulder injury.

In his first major league at-bat last Tuesday against St. Louis, Traxler replaced an ejected Eddie Murray with one strike already on him. Two pitches later against Bob Tewksbury, he struck out. In his other pinch-hit appearance, he faced St. Louis’ hard-throwing Jose DeLeon, and flied out.

“Tough league,” Traxler said earlier with a little chuckle. “I just hope I’m around enough to see a little more of it.”

Hatcher has seen just about all of it, so he wasn’t shocked when the fans booed him after his eighth-inning error, another grounder that bounced off his glove. Nor could he stifle a smile when he was given a rousing ovation minutes later after successfully catching a slow foul grounder.

“I guess I blew my Gold Glove, eh?” said Hatcher, who in his second start at third base made twice as many errors as the other Dodger third basemen committed in the team’s other 18 games. “I guess they should have gotten me out of there in the fifth inning like always, huh?

“But I tell you, those were not routine balls. And they just hit the end of my glove. If I had used a bigger glove, which I was going to use, it would have been fine.”

Hatcher, who made only one error in 12 starts at third base last season, shook his head and managed another smile.

“I know I was giving it my best, and I know I’ll be fine,” he promised. “Our bench will be fine, too. I can tell this year is like 1988, our bench has character and enthusiasm. Even today, everybody was still in there cheering. I’ve got a good feeling about it. You watch.”

Dodger Notes

Mike Morgan gave up three earned runs on eight hits in six innings. . . . Because Willie Randolph is so sick, the Dodgers hope he will be ready to play by the beginning of their East Coast trip Friday. He will visit the clubhouse again today for another checkup. . . . Jeff Hamilton, who was earlier told that doctors would not consider surgery on his torn rotator cuff until he underwent a couple of more weeks of rehabilitation, is sore enough that doctors may take other action. The Dodgers could be scheduling arthroscopic surgery as soon as Wednesday, which would put Hamilton out for at least a month. The Dodgers will continue to platoon Lenny Harris and Mike Sharperson, who have combined to hit .229 with four RBIs while starting in Hamilton’s place.

Orel Hershiser could be leaving Centinela Hospital Medical Center today following Friday’s shoulder surgery, and some players believe he may visit the clubhouse as soon as tonight. . . . Following tonight’s game, the Dodgers will be forced to remove one of the two extra players retained at the start of the season, finalizing their roster at the new figure of 25. The two candidates for demotion to triple-A Albuquerque are infielder Jose Vizcaino and first baseman Brian Traxler. Because the Dodgers value Traxler’s left-handed bat off the bench, they may send out Vizcaino. Whoever stays here doesn’t figure to get much playing time, however. Since they joined the team a week ago, the two players combined have had four plate appearances.

The Dodgers will make another roster move either Tuesday or Wednesday, activating catcher Rick Dempsey from the disabled list and sending Carlos Hernandez back to Albuquerque.

DODGER ATTENDANCE: Sunday: 41,893 1990 (12 dates): 461,089 1989 (12 dates): 490,328 Decrease: 29,239 Average: 38,424