Dreifort, Park Are Major Players : Freeway series: Announcement due that both have made Dodgers. Park will become first Korean in the big leagues.

As the Dodgers and Angels prepare for their traditional Freeway Series tonight, a very untraditional event is about to unfold. Pitcher Chan Ho Park is about to become the first Korean to play in the major leagues.

Both Park, 20, and hard-throwing relief pitcher Darren Dreifort, 21, will survive the final roster cuts and become the first Dodgers since Sandy Koufax to skip the minors.

The announcement could be made tonight at Dodger Stadium, where the first game of the three-game series will be played. Saturday and Sunday games will be played at Anaheim Stadium.

Park pitched Wednesday in Vero Beach, Fla., and is tentatively scheduled to pitch in relief on Sunday.

In six starts this spring, Park gave up six earned runs in 23 innings for a 2.35 earned-run average. He struck out 17 but had some trouble with walks and balks, the balks stemming from differences in rule interpretation here and in Korea on a hesitation in Park’s pitching motion. Park has since stopped hesitating in his windup.

He will probably start the season in the bullpen but could be in the rotation very soon. Kevin Gross is coming back from shoulder tendinitis and has not been effective so far. Pedro Astacio has also been slowed this spring, although he looked promising in his last outing.

Dreifort, the Dodgers’ No. 1 draft pick last June, is effective in any bullpen role, but his future with the team is as a closer. Whenever he entered a game at Wichita State, he normally just stayed in until it was over. This spring, he compiled a 2.77 ERA and had Dodger pitching coach Ron Perranoski and catcher Mike Piazza singing his praises.

“His ball has more movement than any right-hander’s I have ever seen,” Perranoski said.

Both Park and Dreifort have some seasoning ahead, and it might be difficult getting it in the majors. But the organization would rather keep them with the big club where they can both work with Perranoski and Manager Tom Lasorda, and where Park can adapt with relatives and the Korean community.

The Dodger front office will meet today to determine the final roster cuts, which have to be made by 9 p.m. Saturday. The waivers requested on Kip Gross and Rick Trlicek are up today, clearing the spots for Dreifort and Park.

Cory Snyder will probably open the season on the disabled list, and Mike Sharperson’s power gives him the edge over Rafael Bournigal, who has an option left. The team also needs to decide what to do about the two left-handed relievers, Al Osuna and Gary Wayne.

The Dodgers, however, returned from Florida more optimistic than in some time. Besides the rookie pitchers, the team is strong offensively, having hit 40 home runs--nine by Piazza--in 27 games. They have played well defensively and have shown speed, led by Delino DeShields and rookie Raul Mondesi, the new right fielder.

The Angels have their roster set, with one exception. J.T. Snow is designated for triple-A Vancouver unless outfielder Dwight Smith is put on the disabled list. The team had a weak spring, but Manager Buck Rodgers is optimistic about the Angels’ chances in the American League West.

The Angels hold the edge in the Freeway Series with a 36-34-1 record. Rodgers, who was on the Angels when the series began in 1962, said it gave his team a big lift when they went 5-0 against the Dodgers in the first three series, after which the Dodgers bowed out until 1969.

“That was a big thing for us then, and there is still a certain elation when we go against them,” Rodgers said. “I think both of us would like to win two of the three as a springboard into the season.”

Scheduled to pitch are Dodgers Orel Hershiser and Ramon Martinez against John Dopson, tonight at 7 p.m.; Tom Candiotti against Chuck Finley and Phil Leftwich, Saturday at 7 p.m. and Gross against Mark Leiter, Sunday at 1 p.m.

Times staff writer Bob Nightengale contributed to this story.