BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Worrell Not Worried About Struggles

Todd Worrell has struggled through some difficult outings since returning from an arm injury.

Since he returned from the disabled list May 26, he has a 14.40 earned-run average and has given up three home runs in five innings. But Worrell said that nothing physical is holding him back.

“I am able to throw all my pitches now, although I could throw them better,” he said. “My arm feels fine and my shoulder feels fine. It’s just that I need to get innings in. All the things that I went through in spring training are not holding me up now at all. I am able to pitch regularly, and it’s good for me not to take extra days before going back out there because it’s better if I’m throwing my pitches as much as possible.”

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Rick Trlicek laughed when asked if Gary Sheffield called him Friday to apologize for tackling him during Thursday’s game. Trlicek, who had said after the melee that it had happened so fast that he couldn’t exactly explain how he ended up under the pile, knew more Friday from the soreness he felt. “I guess I landed on my right side,” he said. . . . Mike Piazza was back in the lineup after sitting out for a rest because of a sore wrist. . . . In six starts at catcher, Carlos Hernandez is six for 19 for a .316 batting average. In his last two starts, he is four for seven, with two doubles and a home run. . . . Bill Russell, manager of the Albuquerque Dukes, has been named to manage the National League affiliates squad in the triple-A All-Star game July 14 at Albuquerque.