Bonds Helps Pittsburgh’s Stock : Dodgers: His three-run homer lifts Pirates to 6-1 victory as Strawberry sits another one out.

Although Darryl Strawberry and Barry Bonds claim they are no longer feuding, Saturday it became obvious who is winning.

Bonds hit a ball 400 feet, while Strawberry barely moved 400 feet.

The Pittsburgh Pirates used Bonds’ three-run homer to help them to a 6-1 victory over the Dodgers, who were more concerned with who did not play.

Many thought Strawberry, after missing two of three games since being activated, would want to test the herniated disk in his lower back against right-hander Bob Walk.

But Strawberry decided it is too soon to test his back on artificial turf. So he missed Saturday’s game, if you don’t count a brief appearance in the on-deck circle as a potential pinch hitter.

He said he will also skip today’s series finale, and then return to the lineup next week in Atlanta, but not full time.

“I’ll probably play one of the two games there,” Strawberry said.

That means that when the Dodgers return home next week, Strawberry will have played in two of seven possible games since returning.

If he is indeed testing his back to see if it requires surgery, under these conditions he is a cinch to pass.

Not that Strawberry doesn’t already think he has passed.

“For me, the real test is knowing that I can do the things I did before my back problems,” Strawberry said. “And I can do them. I’ve got no problem swinging, running or playing the outfield.”

Although his teammates will not say anything publicly, some wonder if he is not having problems because he is not playing.

They worry that unless he puts his back to a more rigorous test, he will not know the full extent of his recovery until next spring. If he decides he needs surgery then, another year would be lost.

Tom Lasorda, Dodger manager, realizes the devastation to the team if Strawberry is forced to miss the 1993 season.

Although he would not question Strawberry’s request to remain on the bench, he said he hoped for a quick resolution.

“Only Darryl knows how much he plays, I understand that he is just trying to find out about surgery,” Lasorda said. “But if he needs the operation, I would hope he would do it as quickly as possible so it won’t effect next season.”

Strawberry promised that his back would be tested enough when he played more games on the grass at Dodger Stadium. But the Dodgers have only 12 home games remaining.

“Those last home stands will show me how well I am,” he said. “The only thing that could make me change my mind about the surgery is if I have problems during that home stand.”

The Dodgers cannot force Strawberry to have an operation.

Team doctors have said Strawberry needed surgery, and scheduled the surgery, but Strawberry claimed he felt good enough to avoid it.

While Strawberry’s teammates wait and watch, the first-place Pirates continue holding off the Montreal Expos by three games in the East Division standings.

The verbal snipes earlier this summer between Strawberry and Bonds have been long since forgotten for more important things.

“Montreal keeps winning, and that’s a good motivational factor for us,” said Bonds, who hit his 26th home run against loser Orel Hershiser in the third inning. “We feel like our backs are against the wall, like we have to win.”

Bob Walk supported that theory by remaining on the mound for an entire game for the first time since Sept. 29, 1990. He gave up one run and six hits, and improved to 6-0 against the Dodgers since 1986.

The Dodgers are six games behind the fifth-place San Francisco Giants with 27 games remaining, sparking a new clubhouse debate.

“If you don’t come in first, it doesn’t matter where you finish--fifth, last, what’s the difference?” Eric Davis said. “We’re all going to be watching in October anyway.”

Brett Butler differed, saying: “Sure, it doesn’t matter, but last is last. You finish last, you really look bad . . . not that you don’t look bad anyway,” he said.