Hubbard Appreciates What He Sees

Pitcher Carlos Perez hasn’t required much assistance recently.

That was the case again Sunday as outfielder Trenidad Hubbard provided all the support Perez needed in a 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Hubbard’s one-out, solo home run in the first inning against Shawn Estes provided the difference. Hubbard said he was pleased to help Perez, because Perez deserves the Dodgers’ thanks.

“Oh, man, how about Carlos,” Hubbard said about the performance of the left-hander, who has pitched four consecutive complete games.

“He’s been so good, he only needs half a run. He has just been pitching incredible. Every time he goes out there, the bullpen can just take the rest of the day off. I’ve already put in a request to be his agent.”

Hubbard, who was one for three, hit a full-count fastball against Estes to left. He was looking for that pitch.

“That was the same pitch he struck me out on the last time he faced me,” Hubbard said. “I was able to get around on it this time because it had some heat on it.

“Who would have thought we would have won or lost the game in the first inning, but those were masterpieces by both pitchers. One was just a little bit luckier than the other.”

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Raul Mondesi is pleased by Roger Cedeno’s recent performance, and Mondesi believes Cedeno is ready to be an everyday player.

“I told Roger a long time ago that he’s a good player, and he can play every day,” Mondesi said. “Roger is playing good now, because he’s getting more and more confidence.

“Roger is making plays [in the field], he’s getting hits, he’s scoring runs and he’s helping the team. That’s what I knew he could do.”

Mondesi said that the key for Cedeno, who was hitless in four at-bats Sunday, is to stay aggressive.

“Roger has to keep working harder and harder,” he said. “Sometimes, Roger didn’t always keep his mind on working harder.

“I told Roger, ‘Think like you’re hungry and you want a steak.’ You do that, and everything will be OK. Now, Roger is playing good.”

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Perez hoped he showed the Dodgers’ younger pitchers that they must pitch inside to pitch effectively. “We have a lot of rookie pitchers on the team, and they need to learn that,” Perez said. “I’m not going to tell them that because we have a pitching coach, but I can show them.” . . . San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds has one hit in 15 career at-bats against Perez. . . . The 18 runs the Dodgers gave up Saturday--in an 18-4 loss--were the most they had given up since 1967. . . . Tom Lasorda, Dodger senior vice president, celebrated his 71st birthday Sunday.