BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Now, They Are Playing Against the Entire World

The Dodgers hear about the Atlanta Braves souvenir tomahawks being sent to San Francisco for the season’s final weekend. They talk to opponents who admire the Braves. They see television announcers fawning over the Braves.

“Everybody in the baseball world wants the Braves to win. We know that now,” Darryl Strawberry said. “We have heard all the talk about how it will be better for baseball if the Braves win. Everything we see is about the Braves.

“Well, that is giving us more incentive. We are talking about it. It is making us work harder.”

One Dodger veteran was amazed last week when a member of the Houston Astros admitted to him that: “We can’t beat the Braves. We just can’t beat them.”

Such talk disturbs the Dodgers because the last-place Astros, who have won only four of 12 games against the Braves, play them six more times, including the final three games of the season in Atlanta.

“I just hope everybody on this team realizes that nobody wants us to win but us. I just hope this makes everybody mad,” Strawberry said. “This is the kind of thing that lifts a team higher.”

To make matters worse, the Dodgers finish the season at the home of a team that always tries hard to beat them, the San Francisco Giants.

“When I played there, that’s all we would talk about--if we couldn’t win it, then the Dodgers wouldn’t win it either,” Brett Butler said. “When we go in there for that last weekend, there is nothing they would like better than to see us lose.”

Butler, still struggling with a sore back he injured in Houston last week, plans to see a chiropractor in San Francisco during the final weekend of the season. . . . Despite lying awake until 3:30 a.m. Saturday after Friday’s loss, Manager Tom Lasorda managed to fulfill his promise of swimming 101 laps Saturday to mark his 64th birthday today. Lasorda climbed out of the pool after the 2 1/2-hour workout and pitched 45 minutes of early batting practice. “What’s wrong with that?” he asked.

Tom Glavine, who will start for the Braves today on three days’ rest, is attempting to become the first Atlanta pitcher to win 20 games since 1979, when Phil Niekro went 21-10. The good news for the Dodgers is that Glavine is 2-5 in nine starts in his career on three days’ rest. The bad news is that both of his victories were shutouts of the Dodgers, including a 4-0 victory on April 23.

Those who marveled at Mike Sharperson’s over-the-shoulder catch in shallow left field Friday should know that he was an all-star wide receiver and punt returner for Orangeburg (S.C.) High. Scouts say Sharperson’s hands are among the best in baseball. . . . The celebrity visitor to the Dodger clubhouse Saturday was actor Tony Danza, who shagged fly balls during batting practice. . . . Lenny Harris was suffering from flu for a second consecutive day but took the field during batting practice. . . . Charlie Strasser, Dodger trainer, said Tim Belcher’s pulled right groin was in better shape Saturday than after his last start in Atlanta last week. Belcher should be ready for his next start next weekend against San Francisco.

The Dodgers’ two most consistent pitchers lately, Mike Morgan (13-9) and Bob Ojeda (11-8), will start for the Dodgers Tuesday and Wednesday in San Diego against the Padres. They will be opposed by right-handers Ricky Bones (4-4) and Andy Benes (13-10). The Dodgers scored six runs in 4 2/3 innings against rookie Bones in his only start against them this year, but they have always struggled against Benes. He has a 1.70 earned-run average against them in 52 2/3 innings. Overall he has won his last nine decisions. . . . Because Morgan will be starting with an extra day of rest, he threw hard for 20 minutes in the bullpen before Saturday’s game and said he felt as strong as he has felt all season. Morgan has won three consecutive games, giving up six runs in 20 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts and one walk.