BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Snyder May Get Nod Over Strawberry

With Cory Snyder a major part of the team’s recent success, Manager Tom Lasorda made it clear that Darryl Strawberry is not guaranteed his starting right-field job if he is ready to return to the lineup Friday against the Atlanta Braves.

“Cory’s doing a hell of a job,” Lasorda said Wednesday. “I’d certainly hate to take him out of the lineup. I mean, what does a guy have to do? He’s hitting (over) .300 and driving in big runs.”

So what will happen?

“We’ll wait until that moment comes,” Lasorda said. “Then we’ll decide. It’s a very, very tough situation.”

Strawberry, who had a .141 average before stepping out of the lineup, has been on a minor league rehabilitation assignment while the Dodgers were winning 13 of their last 14 games before Wednesday’s action.

Lasorda said he will talk to Albuquerque Manager Bill Russell today to get a report on Strawberry’s play and rehabilitation.

Snyder, who was four for four with a home run Wednesday night against St. Louis, is batting .314 and the Dodger pitchers like his strong arm and aggressive play in right field.

One intriguing scenario quietly proposed in the clubhouse Wednesday: A very expensive platoon of Eric Davis, who wasn’t in the starting lineup Wednesday for the second day in a row because of flu, and Strawberry in left field.

*

The Dodgers claimed right-hander Jonathan Hurst on waivers from the Montreal Expos and optioned him to triple-A Albuquerque. Hurst, 26, was 1-1 with a 5.51 earned-run average in the majors last year.