BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : DeShields’ Injury Affecting His Play

Delino DeShields, who is batting .125 with three runs batted in through the first seven games of this trip, remains troubled by a weakened thigh muscle. He has difficulty getting a good jump out of the batter’s box, something that was evident in the fourth inning Sunday, when he was slow to run out a ground ball. DeShields said it is also impairing his ability to field balls hit to his right.

“Delino suffered a significant strain to his quadricep when he was 10,” Dodger trainer Charlie Strasser said. “(It) healed and scar tissue was formed. He says it feels weak (and) we are trying to strengthen (it) with exercise.”

DeShields said he is not in pain, but he is worried because he is not able to get the job done. “I’ll be OK,” he said. “It’s just never bothered me like this before.”

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Chris Gwynn has pinch hit in three games and in two the team has batted around, giving him two outs in one inning. On April 14, he led off the eighth inning at St. Louis and singled to begin a five-run inning before ending the inning with a fly ball. On Sunday, he singled to lead off the Dodgers’ nine-run seventh inning and grounded out to end the inning. Each time, Gwynn, who was considered the Dodgers’ third left-handed pinch hitter off the bench, was inserted just to give him an at-bat. Dave Hansen, the team’s No. 1 left-handed pinch hitter, ahead of Jeff Treadway, was saved for the pressure situations in which he excelled last season. But the result has been Gwynn getting more work than Hansen.

But on Monday night, Hansen pinch-hit a double in the seventh inning that kept a rally going that ended with a three-run homer by Mike Piazza. Gwynn pinch-ran for Hansen. It was Hansen’s first hit in four at-bats this season. Gwynn is two for five as a pinch-hitter and Treadway is one for three.

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Cory Snyder, rewarded for his three home runs and seven runs batted in Sunday, started in left field Monday and Henry Rodriguez started at first, instead of Eric Karros. With the Phillies starting right-hander Ben Rivera, Manager Tom Lasorda wanted to get Rodriguez’s left-handed bat in the lineup. Karros, who is in a slump, pinch-hit in the seventh inning and stayed in the game.