In Losing Season, Shaw Becomes the Forgotten Man

With 41 regular-season games remaining and fewer save opportunities available, Dodger reliever Jeff Shaw is far off the pace he’s accustomed to.

Shaw has pitched 46 times this season and has 24 saves but has not recorded one in more than a week. Last season, Shaw split time with Cincinnati and the Dodgers, making 73 appearances and saving 48 games. In 1996 and 1997, Shaw pitched in 78 games each.

“Closing is weird, it comes in spurts,” said Shaw, who has recorded saves in each of his last four opportunities, his last Aug. 11 at Montreal. “There are times when you go 10 days and have seven save opportunities. Then, you can go two weeks when you don’t get any. It’s more of a mental thing than physical.”

Shaw, who led the league in saves in 1997 with 42, said the workload for a reliever is not determined by the success of a team and that he goes to the ballpark for every game believing that he’ll pitch.

“Closing is tough whether you’re on a first-place club . . . or a last-place club,” he said. “It’s the same no matter what. Every night, the game comes down to the same things. . . . You never know. You get a feeling sometimes, but you don’t know.”

With the Dodgers expected to look at several young pitchers when rosters can be expanded on Sept. 1, Shaw may get less work than he’s been getting lately. That’s not a good thing for a reliever.

“I like being in a game every night,” he said. “It keeps me sharp. I feel that the more I pitch, the better my location is.

“Confidence is 90% of the battle. Say if you get a lot of save opportunities and you keep saving those games, your confidence just gets better and better.”

ON DECK

* Opponent--Philadelphia Phillies, three games.

* Site--Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia.

* Tonight--4:30 PDT.

* TV--Channel 5 all three games.

* Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

* Records--Dodgers 54-67, Phillies 64-56.

* Record vs. Phillies--4-2.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’ KEVIN BROWN (14-6, 3.14 ERA) vs. PHILLIES’ ROBERT PERSON (7-3, 3.95)

* Update--The Dodgers ended a three-game losing streak by beating Florida on Wednesday to close a 2-4 homestand. The Dodgers, however, have won five of their last six road games and have two hot batters in Todd Hundley and Todd Hollandsworth. Hundley hit two home runs Wednesday and Hollandsworth has homers in his last two games.

* Saturday, 4 p.m. PDT--Ismael Valdes (8-11, 3.48) vs. Randy Wolf (5-5, 5.01).

* Sunday, 10:30 a.m. PDT--Chan Ho Park (6-10, 5.77) vs. Anthony Shumaker (0-1, 1.26).