BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Benzinger Feels Devalued by Status

Although nearly every Dodger seems lost these days, nobody has disappeared faster than first baseman Todd Benzinger.

Benzinger, acquired from the Kansas City Royals for Chris Gwynn last winter, was batting .277 with three doubles and two runs batted in after starting three of the first nine games.

But he has since started only twice in 21 games and hit .172 during that time with one double and no RBIs.

Benzinger has been caught in a twilight zone between a youngster, Eric Karros, and a veteran, Kal Daniels.

“Getting one at-bat a game is not giving me an opportunity to show my full value,” Benzinger said. “When (vice president) Fred Claire asked me the difference last year from my days with the Cincinnati Reds (when he hit .187) and the Royals (.294), I told him it was because I played regularly for the Royals.

“I have proven, when I play regularly, I put up numbers. You can see that again this year.”

The whispers around baseball that the Dodgers rely too much on Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis are gaining strength through statistics. In games where either Strawberry or Davis record an extra-base hit, the Dodgers are 8-5. In all other games, they are 3-14.

Statistics also show that the Dodgers fare better when Brett Butler reaches base in the first inning. Butler has accomplished this 10 times in 30 games, and the Dodgers are 7-3 in those games. . . . They are 6-5 in games in which they make no errors, 5-14 when they make them.

Often the most important batter faced by a relief pitcher is the first. The Dodger bullpen has allowed first batters 21 hits in 64 times at-bat for a .328 average. First batters are hitting .500, seven for 14, against Tim Crews, with a home run, a double and four runs batted in. The best Dodger reliever against first batters is Steve Wilson, who has struck out six and held hitters to a .167 average. . . . The Dodgers are 0-14 in games in which they have trailed after six innings.