BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Stay Tuned, the Joke Is on Candiotti

Tom Candiotti will be appearing twice on KTTV Channel 11 today. He hopes that his first appearance is not as embarrassing as his second. Candiotti, despite a bruised chest, will start for the Dodgers against the New York Mets in a televised game beginning at 10:30 a.m., PDT. Then at 7 p.m., he is scheduled to appear as a victim on Fox Television’s new show called “Payback,” where practical joke victims get even in front of a hidden camera.

Candiotti, known for such jokes, fell into the prank when he agreed to appear with girlfriend Donna Beck on a phony television show called “Beautiful Homes of Los Angeles.” The host of the phony show told Candiotti he was going to be asked about his new home in Bel-Air, but instead the host is taken with Beck, who is involved in the prank.

Soon the host offers Beck a job as a co-host, and asks her to travel the world with him. Beck agrees. “I couldn’t believe this was happening, and I get pretty mad,” Candiotti said. “I’m trying to be nice by going on this television show, and here they are stealing my girlfriend. I was ready to walk out.”

Candiotti said he calms down long enough to read the closing credits, which explain that the entire show was a joke.

With two runs batted in Saturday, Mitch Webster has seven RBIs in only 16 at-bats. He leads the Dodgers with a .625 slugging percentage. . . . Darryl Strawberry isn’t the only Dodger with a strained back. Mike Scioscia missed his second consecutive start Saturday and said he will play as soon as he can throw a ball to second base. “I’m not going to wait until it is 100%, but I have to be able to do the basic things,” Scioscia said. “If I had pulled a hamstring or something, I could be playing, but this (a strained back) affects everything I do.” Since replacing Scioscia, Carlos Hernandez has gone two for 10 with one RBI. And runners are two for two in stolen base attempts. . . . Jay Howell threw on the side Saturday, and a decision to activate him will be made today after the Dodgers see how he feels.