BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Pedro Martinez Will Stay in Minors

Pedro Martinez will not be making his major league debut this week, after all.

Pedro Astacio has not only stolen Martinez’s thunder, he has also stolen his tentatively scheduled spot in the doubleheader rotation.

Concern over the recovery of Martinez’s sore shoulder, coupled with confidence that Astacio can make starts in two of the four doubleheaders, will keep the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect in the minor leagues indefinitely.

With Astacio starting in Wednesday’s second game, a spot the Dodgers thought might go to a reliever, they can use the spot in the second game of today’s doubleheader for reliever Tim Crews.

“Pedro is still an outstanding prospect,” said Fred Claire, Dodger vice president. “But we have talked to Claude Osteen (Albuquerque pitching coach) and we think he needs to keep working through coming back from his sore shoulder.”

Although doctors could find nothing seriously wrong with Martinez’s shoulder, he gave up six runs in three innings at Edmonton last week in his first start since suffering the soreness.

Martinez is 6-5 with a 4.29 earned-run average.

“(Martinez))has to understand that this is part of baseball,” Claire said. “He needs to keep working.”

Crews is excited about making his first start since Sept. 17, 1990.

“I’m counting on getting a ‘W,’ ” Crews said. “I’ve done it before.”

He is 1-1 in two starts for the Dodgers, highlighted by a career-long 5 1/3 innings in a 5-2 victory in Atlanta in his last start.

“I’ll try to do what I did then--go as long as I can, as hard as I can,” said Crews, who has not pitched longer than three innings this season.

Crews has no decisions or saves in 28 appearances this season, with a 5.79 ERA. Since giving up seven runs in three innings in Cincinnati June 13, he has given up one run in nine innings covering four appearances.

“I always like challenges, and my endurance will be challenged,” Crews said. “It should be fun.”

Mike Scioscia was a late scratch in the second game after being involved in a home plate collision in the first game--as the runner. He and former backup Gary Carter collided while Scioscia was trying to score from second base on a single in the fifth. Carter held the ball and later said: “I know the way Scioscia blocks the plate, I figured he was going to come in and crash. I did my best to stand my ground.” . . . Tom Lasorda acknowledged that he considered giving Tom Candiotti a start in both games of one of the doubleheaders. “If they had fallen on his day to pitch, and he had an easy time in the first game, I would have thought about it, sure,” Lasorda said. “But his day to pitch didn’t fall on one of the days.” . . . Like his two brothers, Jesus Martinez is struggling. At Great Falls in the rookie league, he is 0-2 with a 15.32 ERA.