BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : DeShields Feels Ready to Break Loose

For most of this recent Dodger upswing, second baseman Delino DeShields has watched his batting average remain stuck near .200 and seen most of his swings result in ground ball outs.

All of this in addition to the broken cheekbone, hamstring problems and severe concussion he has suffered since he was traded from the Expos for Pedro Martinez last winter.

Sunday, he went three for five--increasing his average to .228--and scored a run.

“The thing is, we’re still winning,” DeShields said. “I figure once I get into it, we’ll take off for real.

“I know who’s throwing the ball out there, and I’ve busted them before in the past. They’re getting me now. But I’ll be hitting them.”

Does he feel snake bit?

“Just a little bit. But I’m not going to get down about it,” DeShields said. “It’d be different if I was someone who had never accomplished anything in this league. But I’ve put up the numbers.

“It’s just a matter of getting through this rough period.”

*

New call-up Garey Ingram arrived in time to play Sunday as a ninth-inning defensive replacement for DeShields at second base. The first Padre batter, Tony Gwynn, immediately rapped a hard grounder to Ingram, who fielded it cleanly and threw to first for the out. . . . Cory Snyder got his second start of the season at shortstop and handled his only fielding chance, a seventh-inning ground ball by Ricky Gutierrez.