BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Youngsters Felt at Home on the Road

The Dodgers said there is no question about the biggest change that occurred during their just-completed trip. It had nothing to do with their record.

“The best thing that came out of this trip was that our younger players got a chance to play and got their confidence,” Dave Anderson said. “It was great just to see it in their faces when they would go out to play. They are more relaxed here now.”

Third baseman Dave Hansen batted .500 (9 for 18) with two home runs, two doubles and three runs batted in.

When he started the trip, he was batting .147 without an extra-base hit in his previous 48 at-bats. He raised his average to .221.

“I’m really starting to feel good now,” Hansen said. “I feel more natural than before. Not quite as antsy.”

First baseman Eric Karros batted .289 with two home runs and seven RBIs, raising his average from .265 to .274. Shortstop Jose Offerman batted .320 to raise his average to .243.

The Pittsburgh Pirates showed the Dodgers how good defense can win games Wednesday, when two diving grabs by second baseman Jose Lind saved at least one run, and a diving stop by first baseman Jeff King saved another run.

“We’ve built this club on pitching and defense, because when you catch the ball, you are usually going to win,” Manager Jim Leyland said.

A diving grab by Lind of a grounder by Lenny Harris with two out and the bases loaded in the second inning was especially damaging to the Dodgers. If the ball went through, the Dodgers would have added to their two runs and probably knocked starter Vicente Palacios out of the game.

“Good middle infielders can go 0 for 4 and still win games, and that is another example,” Anderson said. “That play changes everything.”

Said Leyland: “I don’t want to downplay what (Lind) did today, but when you watch him 162 games, nothing he does surprises you.”

Juan Samuel will be examined today and could begin taking ground balls this weekend, which means he could be ready within a week. After batting for three days in Pittsburgh, Samuel said his broken fingers do not feel any worse. “The way it is now, I could play,” he said. . . . Tom Candiotti and Manager Tom Lasorda met and cleared the air over Candiotti’s disapproval of the intentional walk he was told to give Mike LaValliere Tuesday night. . . . Eric Davis said he hopes to see a doctor today and perhaps begin some field work if his shoulder feels better. . . . Because of bad starting times and distractions caused by the Stanley Cup victory of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Pirates drew only 42,726 for the three-game series. . . . Outfielder Michael Moore of UCLA, the Dodgers’ third draft pick, will visit Dodger Stadium today.