BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Series Awaited by Strawberry

Darryl Strawberry says he is looking forward to playing against the Dodgers on Monday, when a three-game series begins against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park.

“That’s my hometown team and playing the Dodgers has got to be special because of all the comments and criticism,” Strawberry said. “To be honest, that’s one of the biggest reasons why I came to the Giants, because of that situation. Looking at how far apart we were behind, it’s nothing personal, but I just wanted to be in that same division and will take it from there when the time comes.”

Strawberry said he is not seeking revenge; he simply believes the Giants are better. “I don’t like to lose,” he said. “If you have a better team, I believe you should win. I believe we have a better team and believe we should win.”

Much has been made of Strawberry facing the Dodgers, especially because of comments Manager Tom Lasorda made about Strawberry’s drug addiction being a weakness and not a disease. Strawberry says he has no animosity toward Lasorda or anyone on the team, saying his former teammates are all friends.

“I don’t think playing at (Candlestick) will be emotional, but playing those last three games there (in Los Angeles) will be,” Strawberry said, referring to the season-ending series at Dodger Stadium.

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Pedro Astacio’s command of English is limited, so pitching coach Ron Perranoski makes it a point to bring in an interpreter, usually Carlos Hernandez, during pregame meetings when they go over the hitters or talk about Astacio’s pitching.

“But during the game, it’s difficult to make adjustments out there,” Perranoski said. “Last night I brought in (Rafael) Bournigal to interpret.”

The meeting on the mound that came four Expo batters into Friday’s game, though, needed little interpretation. Astacio’s pitching was the opposite of what Perranoski had told Astacio to do. Others who approached the mound for that meeting said Perranoski was not very happy, but Perranoski wouldn’t confirm that.

“Astacio just had bad location and when he gets the ball up early in the game, he’s in trouble,” Perranoski said. “Any time he has trouble, it’s early in the game. He’ll be fine.”

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Orel Hershiser will throw off the mound today, which will determine if he will be able to pitch Tuesday or be put on the disabled list.

“He’s been throwing daily (since he suffered a strain to his left side) and with real good effort, but a lot of things can change when you throw off an incline,” said Pat Screnar, Dodger physical therapist.