BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Rodriguez Will Get a Long Look

Two summers ago at double-A San Antonio, Eric Karros remembers a teammate who had “the greatest year I had ever seen, a real man among boys.”

Henry Rodriguez was that player, and he will be given a chance to show that form at the major league level during the final two months as a regular outfielder for the Dodgers.

Rodriguez joined the Dodgers on Thursday as the replacement for Darryl Strawberry and was inserted into the starting lineup Friday.

When asked if he thought he was auditioning for a job next season, Rodriguez said: “For me, that is what this is like. I have an opportunity. You don’t get these opportunities every day.”

Rodriguez was batting .310 after 92 games at Albuquerque, with 14 home runs and a team-leading 72 runs batted in.

Two years ago, he led all double-A hitters in home runs with 28 and RBIs with 129. But last season at Albuquerque, he tried to swing for the fences and his stock dropped with only 10 homers and 67 RBIs.

“He was battling under a lot of expectations,” Karros said. “It’s like every day you hear the name Greg Brock. I think he tried to hit every ball out of the park.”

Scouts say that Rodriguez, 24, a left-handed hitter from the Dominican Republic, has since matured. He went 0 for 3 Friday.

Pedro Martinez has not pitched at triple-A Albuquerque since the All-Star break because of tightness in the back of his right shoulder, and he might not return to the mound until the middle of August. “This is the same thing that sidelined him earlier this year. We don’t want him coming back too soon,” said Charlie Blaney, Dodger farm director. “But we don’t think it is anything serious.” . . . Mike Piazza had a 25-game hitting streak before Friday’s game at Las Vegas, but the Dodgers apparently are going to leave him at Albuquerque until rosters are expanded in September. “He still needs fine-tuning behind the plate. We want him to keep catching every day,” Blaney said. Piazza also will be sent to Latin America this winter to catch 60 games. . . . Dan Opperman’s comeback has been stalled by more elbow trouble. The former No. 1 draft pick is back on the disabled list after making only six starts at Albuquerque. . . . Larry Walker, Montreal’s All-Star outfielder, was a late scratch from the lineup Friday because of a strained muscle in his right rib cage.