Going Gets Tough for Hollandsworth

Todd Hollandsworth has been in batting slumps before, but experience isn’t making his situation easier.

The outfielder is struggling at the plate, and his job in left field is no longer secure. Hollandsworth is among several players competing for roles in the crowded outfield, and the former rookie of the year knows he must produce to play.

“Everyone goes through slumps in this game,” he said. “I’m not the first guy this has happened to, and I won’t be the last. All you can do is remain focused and keep working through it.”

He is hitless in his last 13 at-bats with six strikeouts. He didn’t play Friday night in Pittsburgh’s 5-4 victory, and he was not in the starting lineup Thursday when the Dodgers won, 14-6.

Hollandsworth--the 1996 rookie of the year--is batting .241 with two home runs and 10 runs batted in.

The Dodgers began the season counting on him for left-handed power, but they are looking elsewhere now.

The emergence of rookie Matt Luke has given Manager Bill Russell another left-handed power option. Luke, who plays left and first base, is among the hottest players on the team.

Hollandsworth, who was demoted to triple-A Albuquerque last June during his injury-plagued sophomore season, plays every outfield position, but the return of Roger Cedeno has also affected his opportunities.

Cedeno was sidelined for the first 20 games with a strained right hamstring, but he will be the team’s everyday center fielder unless he disappoints. Right field belongs to Raul Mondesi, so where does that leave Hollandsworth?

“Nothing is in concrete right now, we’re just trying to find the right combinations to get our offense going,” Russell said. “Matt Luke is swinging a hot bat right now, and he’s a big left-handed guy with some power.

“He’s getting his chance, and he’s getting the job done, but this doesn’t mean Holly won’t be out there anymore. He’s still going to get his chances.”

*

Pirate outfielder Mark Smith struck out swinging in the fifth inning while pinch-hitting for starter Esteban Loaiza, which moved him closer to a dubious major league record.

He is hitless in 28 at-bats, and former all-star shortstop Ozzie Smith, then with the San Diego Padres, holds the record for position players by starting the 1979 season 0 for 32.

Mark Smith’s streak is the longest by an outfielder since Jose Gonzalez, who played with the Dodgers and Pirates, went hitless in his first 29 at-bats to begin the 1991 season.

He was 0 for 28 with the Dodgers, and hitless in his first at-bat with the Pirates after being traded.

*

Wilton Guerrero still doesn’t have a position--but he has a role.

Guerrero is performing well as a pinch hitter, leading the team with four hits and batting .364 (four for 11). He drove in two runs with a pinch-hit single Wednesday in the sixth inning of the Dodgers’ 14-6 victory.

“Wilton knows his role, and he’s doing a good job,” Russell said. “We hope to get him some opportunities in the field, and we will at some point, but this is where Wilton can really help this team right now.”

ON DECK

DODGERS’

RAMON MARTINEZ

(2-2, 3.15 ERA)

vs.

PIRATES’

JON LIEBER

(1-3, 5.17 ERA)

Three Rivers Stadium, 4 p.m.

TV--Channel 5. Radio--AM 1150, KWKW (1330).

* Update--The staff ace had another quality start last Sunday, giving up two earned runs in seven innings in the Dodgers’ 4-3, 12-inning victory over the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium. He had eight strikeouts and only two walks in his second no-decision. Martinez, who has pitched into the seventh inning in four of six starts, is fifth in the National League with 37 strikeouts, and opponents are batting only .190 against him. He is 8-5 with a 3.48 ERA in his career against the Pirates.