Perez, Hundley to Return

It appears that pitcher Carlos Perez and catcher Todd Hundley will return to action Saturday against the San Francisco Giants.

Dodger Manager Davey Johnson said Tuesday the struggling players probably will form the starting battery during that afternoon game at 3Com Park. Johnson recently bumped Perez from the starting rotation and relegated Hundley to pinch-hitting duty because of their poor performances this season.

Perez and Hundley have been working individually with coaches in an attempt to salvage their seasons.

Perez is 2-8 with a 7.38 earned-run average. The left-hander has struggled because his velocity has decreased.

Hundley is recovering from reconstructive surgery on his throwing elbow in September, 1997. Hundley has thrown out seven of 60 runners. The switch-hitter is batting .230 with seven home runs and 20 runs batted in.

“I think everything has been going pretty good [during individual workouts], but the bottom line is that you have to do it in games,” Hundley said. “I’m feeling better about it [his throwing], but you don’t know until you get tested over and over again.”

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Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup because of a sore left calf.

Gwynn, listed as day-to-day, needs 18 hits to become the 22nd member of the 3,000-hit club. Gwynn said the final stage of the journey has been even more fulfilling than he expected.

“For me, I just love to go out and play, that’s how I got to this point, so it hasn’t been a distraction,” Gwynn said. “The last couple of weeks, I’ve just been trying to remind myself to have fun.”