BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Claire Counting on Strong Pitching

Although the Dodgers are two games under .500, Vice President Fred Claire said he’s not disappointed in his club’s performance in the first month of the season.

“I’m disappointed in the won-loss, but I’m not disappointed at all in the club or the people or their approach to the game,” Claire said before Wednesday night’s victory. “You can’t help but be disappointed by the result. We’ve unfortunately let some games get away that we shouldn’t have let get away.

“But we’ve played Atlanta five times and won three games. We’ve just got to get on a roll. If you look at our team on a performance standpoint, the pitching has been very, very good and I think that’s very significant because it shows that the arms are healthy. Defensively, we felt we were better and I think we’ve shown that we were better.

“Offensively, I guarantee you that we’re a better-hitting ballclub than .234 or whatever the heck it is we’re hitting.

“I think we’ll get on a little bit of a roll here. The biggest thing is the pitching, because pitching in the long run will dictate the fate of the team and our pitching has been very good, it’s been outstanding.”

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First baseman Eric Karros, who sat out his second consecutive game because of a strained rib cage, was examined Wednesday morning by Dr. Ralph Gambardella. X-rays were negative and Karros is day to day. . . . There was a published report that the Seattle Mariners have had trade discussions with the Dodgers about reliever Joey Eischen. George Zuraw, Mariners’ assistant to the vice president of baseball operations, scouted Eischen during the Dodgers recent trip, but Claire said the Mariners haven’t contacted him. “The report was so exclusive that I didn’t even know about it,” Claire said.