BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Hershiser Could Pitch for Dodgers Next Week

By BILL PLASCHKE

May 24, 1991 12 AM PT

If Orel Hershiser pitches well tonight for double-A San Antonio and still feels good Saturday, the path has been cleared for him to start against the Houston Astros Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, team sources said.

Ramon Martinez, scheduled to pitch Wednesday, would instead face the Cincinnati Reds Thursday. Kevin Gross, scheduled to pitch Thursday, would be sent to the bullpen.

Hershiser has to be able to throw at least 90 pitches against Shreveport, then make a strong recovery this weekend.

“We honestly don’t know what will happen, but we have taken this very slow, and we are confident everything will go well,” therapist Pat Screnar said.

Hershiser will return to Los Angeles after tonight’s start and go through his normal workout this weekend before making a decision. If he does not feel 100%, he will schedule another rehabilitation start for next week and hope to begin his season in St. Louis during a three-game series June 4-6.

Hershiser has not faced major league hitters since April 25, 1990, against the Cardinals in Los Angeles.

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Bill Plaschke

Bill Plaschke, an L.A. Times sports columnist since 1996, is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame and California Sports Hall of Fame. He has been named national Sports Columnist of the Year nine times by the Associated Press, and twice by the Society of Professional Journalists and National Headliner Awards. He is the author of six books, including a collection of his columns entitled “Plaschke: Good Sports, Spoilsports, Foul Balls and Oddballs.” Plaschke is also a panelist on the popular ESPN daily talk show, “Around the Horn.” He is in the national Big Brothers/Big Sisters Alumni Hall of Fame and has been named Man of the Year by the Los Angeles Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as receiving a Pursuit of Justice Award from the California Women’s Law Center. Plaschke has appeared in a movie (“Ali”), a dramatic HBO series (“Luck”) and, in a crowning cultural moment he still does not quite understand, his name can be found in a rap song “Females Welcome” by Asher Roth.

BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Hershiser Could Pitch for Dodgers Next Week

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