BASEBALL DAILY REPORT

The Dodgers were doused with another wave of devastating news when they learned that third baseman Mike Blowers will miss the remainder of the season because of a torn anterior cruciate of the left knee.

Blowers, who also was diagnosed with torn lateral cartilage suffered in the fourth inning Wednesday night, will be sidelined six to nine months and is hoping to return in time for the start of the 1997 season.

“This is devastating to him,” said Larry O’Brien, Blowers’ agent. “He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he knew the pain was pretty brutal. He grabbed his shin bone like it was coming out of pants. He said it felt like his whole knee was coming out.”

Blowers, who will undergo knee surgery in two months when the inflammation subsides, likely will go home to Seattle for his rehabilitation. His family left Thursday afternoon for Seattle, and Blowers is expected to soon join them. He visited with his former Mariner teammates Thursday night at the Angels’ game.

“It’s going to be tough to replace a guy like that,” Dodger interim Manager Bill Russell said. “Just his presence. He was great in the clubhouse. He was a gamer. He was a blood-and-guts guy, a great inspiration.”

The Dodgers will try to fill the void by using a platoon of Dave Hansen and Mike Busch, who was reinstated from his rehabilitative assignment at triple-A Albuquerque. They might also opt to make a trade or pick up Angel third baseman Tim Wallach, who could soon be released.

Blowers, who never had been on the disabled list, was batting .265 with 19 doubles, two triples, six homers and 38 RBIs. He had been on a hitting tear the last seven weeks, batting .311 since May 25 that included a 19-game hitting streak.

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Blowers, who injured his knee breaking for home plate, and then stopping, said the injury occurred when his spikes got caught in the dirt just past third base.

It’s the same area of the field that recently caused Karros and himself to slip and fall. The underground sprinkler system has malfunctioned, and the Dodgers are scheduled to tear up the infield this week and renovate the system.

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Jim Muhe, 70, the Dodger visiting clubhouse manager from 1960 to 1990, died Thursday morning from brain cancer.