BASEBALL : DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Scioscia Has Souvenir of Record

Mike Scioscia was confused Saturday when Tim Belcher threw the ball into the Dodger dugout after his first pitch.

“I thought, ‘What the heck is he doing?’ ” Scioscia said.

Belcher was merely giving catcher Scioscia a souvenir of his 1,219th game caught, which makes Scioscia the Dodgers’ all-time leader in that department.

Scioscia has also been persuaded to save his catching gear from the game, which was otherwise uneventful for him as he went hitless in four at-bats. The Chicago Cubs also stole two bases against him.

“Right now, I would trade the honor for a win,” Scioscia said. “It’s a real nice milestone but, like I’ve been saying, I don’t think it puts me up there with the great Dodgers catchers. I’ve just been in the lineup a lot.”

John Roseboro, who held the record, attended the game, but Scioscia said they didn’t discuss longevity. Instead, they talked about the mechanics of throwing out runners.

Scioscia, who will be honored before the Dodgers’ June 17 home game against Chicago, has achieved his feat in 11 seasons, just as Roseboro did.

The Dodgers figured Scioscia has successfully blocked home plate 117 times, including a high of 18 blocks in 1985, and 16 blocks last season. He has four blocks this season. His career low for a full season is eight blocks, in 1981 and 1982.

Darryl Strawberry said he could be back in the lineup by the Dodgers’ first game in Pittsburgh Tuesday. “If they let us get the field early, and I can get out there for early batting practice, and if it feels good, I’m in there,” Strawberry said. . . . The Dodgers are growing concerned about Tim Crews, who thought he had his recent intestinal problems cured with medication. He was sent to the hotel from Wrigley Field Saturday because of a recurrence of the problem, which caused him to lose seven pounds last weekend before medication eased his pain.

Chris Gwynn has not been available to start the past two games because of a bruised right heel, although Stan Javier would have played at least one of those games anyway because the Dodgers wanted him to stay sharp. Javier is batting .188 with no homers and two runs-batted-in while Gwynn is batting .239 with one homer and seven RBIs.