Outfield Collision Injures Two

Dodger outfielders Trenidad Hubbard and Hiram Bocachica suffered injuries Monday when they collided in the fourth inning of a 10-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Hubbard, expected to be the fifth outfielder, sprained his right thumb and Bocachica, probably headed to triple-A Albuquerque, had bruised ribs after their jarring collision in pursuit of ball hit by Jerry Hairston Jr., who wound up with a three-run, inside-the-park home run.

The players were taken to Coral Gables Medical Center for X-rays. The results were negative and they are listed as day to day.

“You don’t know what to expect any time guys leave their feet and collide like that,” trainer Charlie Strasser said. “Happily, no, delightfully, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.”

Hubbard was playing in center field and Bocachica in left when Hairston hit a ball into the gap. They collided at full speed and lay motionless on the ground.

Baltimore trainers assisted the Dodger staff in attending to the players. Bocachica was down for about 10 minutes, leaving the field with assistance. Hubbard was helped into the dugout shortly afterward.

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Right-hander Chan Ho Park (0-1) started and pitched well Monday, giving up two hits and one unearned run in three innings. He walked one and struck out two.

“I don’t feel like I’m ready,” Park said. “I’m just trying to get good command on my pitches. It’s not there yet.”

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Gary Sheffield, playing his second game in left field, dropped a fly ball in the first inning on a windy day. He also went hitless in two at-bats. . . . How bad were the Dodgers? They committed two errors, had only four hits and let the Orioles score seven runs in the fourth. They dropped to 1-2-1 in Grapefruit League play.