“I got what I deserved out there, but the guys didn’t get what they deserved.”OREL HERSHISER
PHOENIX – Shortly after the dust had settled from one of the worst starts of his career, Orel Hershiser was asked where he’d go from here.
Although he had jokingly made a reference to the broadcast booth, that wasn’t on Hershiser’s mind following the Diamondbacks’ 14-7 demolition of the Mets Fridaynight. For the 17-year veteran, it’s simply back to the routine of being a starter.
“I just have to keep working at it,” he said. “I’ve had six starts and we’re 3-3 in those starts. If you had asked me before the season started would I have six bad starts I’d say ‘Yes, I’ll probably have 10 or 11.’ But of the 33 or so that I have, I’m hoping the there will be a lot more positive one.”
It’s hard to imagine any being worse.
In just 41/3 innings of work, Hershiser gave up nine runs on nine hits, walked three and saw his ERA rise from 4.68 to 6.75. It was ugly. The 40-year veteran has only given up as many as nine runs three other times in all his 474 appearances.
“I don’t quantify them according to worst outings,” he said. “I’m going to have bad outings. It’s a question of how I feel, and there was just no rhythm, no balance. I’ve had starts where you might have thought I pitched terribly and I’ll come out and say I pitched well. I’ve also had some where I might get the win but afterward I’ll be trying to convince you that I didn’t pitch well at all.
“It all pretty much matched up [last night]. I think we all agree on that.”
Hershiser gave up two bases-clearing doubles, one to Matt Williams in the four-run first inning, and another to Travis Lee in the five-run fifth. It was such a fantastically awful performance that it wasted a terrific three-run home run by Edgardo Alfonzo, who seemed to get Hershiser off the proverbial hook with his fourth-inning clout that tied the game at 5-5.
Alfonzo went 4-for-4 with a walk, three runs scored and three RBIs. It was his second four-hit game of the season, again tying a career high. Robin Ventura also had a good game, going 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI. But not as good as Williams, who was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, or Tony Womack, who went 4-for-5 with two triples and three runs scored, or even Lee who was 2-for-5 with three RBIs, because they won.
The only thing Hershiser did right was hold the sizzling Luis Gonzalez hitless. But Gonzalez managed to extend his major league leading hitting streak to 20 games by hitting a solo home run off reliever Josias Manzanillo in the sixth inning.
After trailing 5-1 after two innings, the Mets actually battled back to take a 6-5 lead off starter Todd Stottlemyre in the fifth, thanks to Alfonzo’s home run and an RBI single by Brian McRae, who knocked in Mike Piazza after the slugger had doubled to right center. But Hershiser couldn’t make it last.
“It’s disappointing to watch these guys battle back and then I go out and blow it,” Hershiser said. “I got what I deserved out there, but the guys didn’t get what they deserved.”
With one out in the fourth he loaded the bases and before Lee came to the plate, Bobby Valentine slowly walked to the mound to give Hershiser a breather and to give Manzanillo more time to warm up. But Lee stroked the first pitch for an opposite field double into the left field corner and that was it for Hershiser.
Valentine went out to ask Hershiser if he still had it, and the starter said he did. The manager didn’t take him out, he said, because with one out and the bases loaded, he wanted a ground ball and “Hershiser is our best ground-ball pitcher.”
Hershiser said he appreciated being left in, although in retrospect it turned out to be the wrong move.
“We discussed the situation and then he left me in to ruin it,” Hershiser said.
