BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Team Will Watch Its Words in Atlanta

After a team meeting called by Manager Tom Lasorda, many Dodgers decided Monday to stop talking to Atlanta-based reporters after they were told that their quotes were being used in inflammatory headlines and captions in an Atlanta newspaper.

In the meeting, Lasorda urged his players to watch their words during the division race. He reminded them the 1988 Dodgers, considered underdogs, thrived on reading derisive statements about them.

Relief pitcher Jay Howell might sit out the series in Atlanta this weekend because of tendinitis in his right elbow. Relief pitcher John Candelaria has also been unavailable for a couple of days because of injuries but is expected to return today.

Howell, who received a cortisone injection in the elbow Saturday night, sat out 26 days earlier this summer because of a tender elbow. He will not be available until the beginning of the Houston series Wednesday at the earliest. The stopper role will be filled by Roger McDowell and Jim Gott.

If the regular season is an indication, a playoff between the Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates would be a low-scoring matchup. In winning seven of the 12 games against the Pirates this season, Dodger pitchers had a 2.12 ERA and Dodger hitters batted .242 against the Pirates’ pitching. Kal Daniels batted .212 and Eddie Murray .162 against the Pirates; Barry Bonds batted .236 against the Dodgers this season, .218 in his career. Andy Van Slyke batted .200 against the Dodgers, Bobby Bonilla .222.