Daniels Is the Salve for Dodgers : Baseball: Despite injury, he hits two two-run homers to help end sting of an Olympic Stadium jinx, beat the Expos, 12-5.

Despite his performance in the Dodgers’ 12-5 victory over the Montreal Expos Sunday, Kal Daniels winced.

He had stopped thinking about the game. He had started thinking about the six-hour plane flight back to Los Angeles.

“I know sometime during the flight my side is going to spasm on me,” he said. “I know I am going to have to get out of my seat and walk up and down the aisles. I know it’s not going to be fun.”

As his two home runs and four runs batted in Sunday proved, those who complain that Kal Daniels is prone to injury are only telling half of the story. He also is prone to playing despite injuries.

Nursing a pulled muscle in his side that has been bothering him for a week, Daniels ended an 0-for-16 slump with two-run homers in the fourth and fifth innings.

In winning for the first time at Olympic Stadium this year in their sixth and final game here, the Dodgers scored more runs than in their five previous games combined. Their 18 hits, which included a homer on the third pitch of the game by Lenny Harris and a two-run homer by Mike Sharperson, exceeded their hit total in their three previous games here.

“It’s a great feeling to know we can get more than six hits in two days,” Sharperson said with a smile.

The Dodgers ended their Eastern trip at 4-2, but remained 6 1/2 games behind the National League West-leading Cincinnati Reds, 6-2 winners over the Chicago Cubs.

If the Reds play at a .500 pace in their remaining 30 games, the Dodgers must win 21 of their final 29 games to tie them.

An informal pregame meeting was held Sunday by that veteran of two Dodger seasons, Lenny Harris.

“I was just going around, talking to everybody, saying that somebody has to step forward and do something, that we can’t give up now,” Harris said.

Harris concluded the meeting with a demonstration--he hit a 1-and-1 pitch from Mark Gardner over the right-field fence for the Dodgers’ second leadoff homer this year.

“Suddenly everybody was relaxed and saying, ‘OK, let’s keep it going,’ ” Sharperson said.

They scored three more runs that inning on RBIs by Mike Scioscia, Chris Gwynn and pitcher Jim Neidlinger. Three innings later, with the Dodgers leading, 4-1, Daniels took over.

And to think he was almost taken out of the game before he had a chance.

“I hurt my side again going for an outside pitch in the second inning, and I told the trainer about it, and he asked me if I wanted to come out, but I said, ‘No way,’ ” Daniels said. “If I can bear it, I can play.”

Daniels, who has been removed from games twice by Dodger officials because of his injury, made sure they let him play this time by hitting a 3-and-0 pitch from Mel Rojas over the right-field fence in the fourth inning for his 20th homer.

One inning later, against Dale Mohorcic, Daniels hit a 2-and-2 pitch over the right-center-field fence. His 21 homers are five shy of a career high and his 67 RBIs broke his personal record of 64.

“And there’s still nearly a month left,” Daniels said.

But will that be a month’s worth of pain?

“I’m not healthy. My side hurts on certain swings . . . even on that second home run swing,” he said. “But doctors have basically said that there is nothing I can do for it but rest, and I can’t do that now. It’s very hard for me to watch, especially when we don’t win and I think I can help.

“As long as I can grin and bear it, I’m playing.”

Lasorda tried to grin and bear his way through Neidlinger’s performance but could not. In the fifth inning, even though Neidlinger had a 12-5 lead and was one out from qualifying for a victory, he was removed from the game.

This was because moments before, Neidlinger had given up a three-run homer to Tim Wallach, then walked Larry Walker with Andres Galarraga coming up.

“I tried to let the kid go, but I just could not take a chance,” Lasorda said. “Galarraga hits a ball out of the park, it’s 12-7.”

Neidlinger, who gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings in the worst of his seven starts, was angry. “I can’t be mad at him for taking me out . . . I’m mad at myself for not being able to make it five darn innings,” Neidlinger said.

Tim Crews replaced him and worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings for his first victory since May 23, his second win overall.

Dodger Notes

The Dodgers already have more runs (586), home runs (105) and RBIs (537) in 133 games than in all of last year’s 160-game season. . . . Tim Belcher, who says his shoulder “doesn’t feel a whole lot better” than it did when he went on the disabled list Aug. 17 because of tendinitis, will be examined again today. . . . Ray Searage hopes to throw again Tuesday and then begin attempting to throw curveballs Thursday. There is still a remote chance that the left-handed reliever, suffering from strained elbow ligaments, could be activated by the end of the week-long home stand.

Since giving up John Kruk’s three-run homer in the Dodgers 12-11 loss to Philadelphia Aug. 21, Tim Crews has not given up a run in nine innings. . . . Chris Gwynn, subbing for a resting Hubie Brooks, had three hits and drove in a run to improve his average as a starter to .357 with 12 RBIs and 13 runs in 14 starts. . . . Jose Offerman struck out in his only two at-bats, giving him more than twice as many strikeouts (nine) as hits (four) in 26 at-bats since beginning his major league career with a home run last week.

The reason Orel Hershiser will not pitch batting practice this season apparently is mental, not medical. “He’ll be throwing off a mound, but he won’t be facing live hitters, because Orel is worried that if one of those guys gets a home run off of him, his adrenaline will get going and he’ll try to throw the ball past the guy and hurt himself,” Dr. Frank Jobe said. “Orel is worried that his competitive instincts will get the better of him, so we’ll keep him out of that type of situation until next year.”

* BILL WHITE: The National League president threatens resignation unless he is supported by the commissioner. C6