Raiders Look for Positives : Pro football: They almost caught Dolphins at the finish of sloppy game.

Don’t expect the Raiders to receive another invitation back to Japan.

Except for an exciting finish, Saturday’s 19-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Tokyo was as sloppy as exhibitions come. The Raiders, who made great strides in cutting down mistakes in 1990, committed a whopping 13 penalties for 115 yards.

Was it the jet lag? The Raiders hope so. In the second quarter, Coach Art Shell could be seen chastising his offensive line for the benefit of a national cable audience. You didn’t want the seat next to Shell’s on the 11-hour flight home.

Sifting through the muck for highlights wasn’t easy, but here’s a post-game recap:

--No. 2 quarterback: The best battle of training camp took an interesting turn when Vince Evans answered Steve Beuerlein’s wakeup call of a week ago with an inspired effort. The 36-year-old Evans inherited a 6-0 deficit from the starters when he took over in the third quarter, and quickly gave his team the lead on a 31-yard scoring pass to Sam Graddy.

In little more than a quarter’s work, Evans completed eight of 10 passes for 112 yards. He also had two carries for 26 yards. When he left, the Raiders had a 10-6 lead.

Beuerlein wasn’t bad in relief. He followed last week’s seven-for-12 effort against the San Francisco 49ers by completing six of 15 passes for 65 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

Beuerlein’s fourth-quarter interception was returned 38 yards for a touchdown by Dolphins’ linebacker E.J. Junior, giving Miami a 19-10 lead. Beuerlein’s pass, though, couldn’t have been better thrown. It hit teammate Doug Lloyd in a bad spot, the hands, the ball deflecting into Junior’s grasp.

Beuerlein showed some rust on the game’s final drive, when he failed to get his kicker into decent field-goal range for a chance at the game-winner.

Jaeger failed on a 55-yard attempt with 34 seconds left.

--Running back. Greg Bell, who didn’t get a carry last week, started and was teamed with fullback Vance Mueller. Bell gained 19 yards in five carries, playing behind an offensive line without starting left guard Steve Wisniewski (injured) and center Don Mosebar (holdout).

Roger Craig continued his impressive work this summer. He rushed for 28 yards in six carries, giving him 62 yards in 12 carries in two games, a robust 5.1 yards per carry average.

Rookie Nick Bell’s best moment came on a 20-yard reception in which he bowled over two would-be tacklers. His worst moment came later when he left the game with an injury to his right knee.

Starting tailback Marcus Allen did not play.

--Wide receiver. This position is as competitive as running back, with Jamie Holland, Mike Alexander and Graddy fighting it out for roster spots. Graddy answered with a nice touchdown reception in the third quarter. Alexander was even better, making five catches for 69 yards.