Guthrie Off to Strong Start

Because the season has only recently started, Mark Guthrie said it’s too early for him to get excited about his performance.

But it’s not too early for his boss to be pleased.

“He’s been going a real good job,” Manager Bill Russell said. “He’s a key left-hander in our bullpen, and he’s doing everything we could ask of him.

“We knew what he was capable of doing, but he had a tough year last year. He had a good spring, but you still have to get out there and see what happens. He’s showing us a lot right now.”

Guthrie gave up one hit in two-thirds of an inning in the Dodgers’ 5-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at County Stadium.

He has not given up a run in 8 1/3 innings in nine appearances. Seventy percent of his first pitches have been strikes, which leads the staff.

“That’s been very important for him,” pitching coach Glenn Gregson said. “If he can get ahead in the count, he has some different pitches he can put people away with.”

Guthrie has excelled in his situational role, retiring 12 consecutive left-handed batters at one point.

Mark Grace ended that streak with an eighth-inning single Sunday in the Chicago Cubs’ 2-1 victory over the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. Left-handers are batting .125 (two for 16) against Guthrie.

Things are going well for him again, but Guthrie isn’t content.

“I really haven’t thought much about it,” he said. “I’m just basically off to a good start, but we have a long way to go.

“You can get off to a good start and have a lot of things happen, so I’m just focusing on what I have to do each day.”

Guthrie didn’t give up a run in his first 11 1/3 innings in nine appearances in 1997, but his season unraveled soon after.

In 62 appearances, he was 1-4 with a 5.32 earned-run average and one save. He was 2-3 with a 2.22 ERA in 66 appearances in 1996, when he was considered among the National League’s top left-handed set-up men.

At the request of team officials, Sandy Koufax, the Hall of Fame Dodger left-hander, worked with Guthrie during spring training. Gregson also helped him correct some flaws in his delivery.

“Sandy was a big help, and we had talked about some mechanical adjustments,” Gregson said. “But all along, the biggest thing to me, was just his confidence.

“I felt that if he could get off to a good start in spring, he could really feed off of that. He’s just throwing extremely well, and I’m not surprised at all.”

But Guthrie, in his ninth season, knows that things can change quickly, which is why he isn’t taking his comeback for granted.

“You’re better off not being satisfied,” he said. “There are a lot of things I can continue to work on and improve.”

But the Dodgers are happy with his progress.

*

First baseman Eric Karros and center fielder Roger Cedeno are making progress in their rehabilitation assignments, team officials said.

Karros will play for Class-A San Bernardino tonight against the Stockton Ports at San Bernardino.

*

Dodger owner Rupert Murdoch and his wife, Anna, have separated after 32 years of marriage. The separation was amicable and the Murdochs are seeking to work out their differences, spokesman Howard Rubenstein said.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

CHAN HO PARK

(2-0, 3.66 ERA)

vs.

BREWERS’

CAL ELDRED

(0-0, 1.40 ERA)

County Stadium, 4 p.m. PDT

Radio--AM 1150, KWKW (1330).

* Update--The Dodgers have lost three games in a row for the second time, and are trying to avoid matching their season-opening four-game losing streak. Park won their last game, 11-3, against the Chicago Cubs last Friday. He pitched six strong innings, but was forced to leave because of stiffness in his lower back. Back pain has forced Park to leave two games, and was among the reasons he struggled in another. Team officials believe Park is aggravating his injury when he swings. “He has such a big swing, and we’re trying to convince him that he’s most valuable to this team pitching, not hitting,” pitching coach Glenn Gregson said. “But you never want to limit the aggressiveness of an athlete like Chan Ho, so it’s a fine line.” The Brewers have won five in a row and are off to the second-best start in franchise history after 18 games.