BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Butler’s Left Thumb Merely Bruised

It was a long night for Brett Butler, but the news made it worth it. Butler, who suffered an injured left thumb during Sunday’s game when he was squaring to bunt, suffered only a bruise. After returning to Los Angeles with the team, Butler went directly to Centinela Hospital Medical Center, where X-Rays were negative.

“A buddy of mine picked up (Butler’s wife) Eveline and me from the airport and by the time we got home it was about 1 in the morning,” Butler said. “They drained it and gave me a couple of pain pills and I slept with my arm up all night and got to the stadium about 3 p.m.”

Butler has only been on the disabled list once in his career, in 1987, when he suffered a broken middle finger on a bunt attempt and sat out for a month. Monday, he played with a rubber guard on his thumb.

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Darren Dreifort, who pitched in seven of the 10 games on the recent trip, had a closed-door meeting with Manager Tom Lasorda and pitching coach Ron Perranoski before Monday’s game. Dreifort converted three of five save opportunities on the trip, and got the loss in one game. He had a 7.56 earned-run average over 8 1/3 innings. Overall, he has pitched more than any reliever, with a 3.48 ERA in 21 innings and four saves.

“We talked about how when I’m 1-and-2 or 0-and-2 in the count, I need to be able to punch them out instead of getting a ground ball,” Dreifort said. “Being in the bullpen, you don’t have a chance to work out things a lot, and you have to have a crash course in it.”

Dreifort, who is the closer while Todd Worrell is sidelined, has an effective sinker, but that is also the pitch three San Francisco Giants hit for run-scoring singles in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game.

“When I get up in the pen, there are some things I can work on,” Dreifort said. “Maybe instead of just throwing, I need to learn how to throw to the right spot.”