Young Sidelined by Sore Left Ankle

Dodger second baseman Eric Young was scratched from the starting lineup shortly before Saturday’s game because of soreness in his left ankle, adding to Manager Davey Johnson’s frustration.

The leadoff batter sat out the first game of the six-game home stand Tuesday after severely bruising his ankle in a 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals last Sunday at Busch Stadium.

The injury occurred when Cardinal outfielder Eric Davis, one of Young’s closest friends, inadvertently spiked Young while sliding into second. Johnson put reserve infielder Tripp Cromer in the lineup at second base Saturday after consulting with Young and trainer Charlie Strasser.

Johnson said Young probably won’t play today. And with the Dodgers beginning a nine-game trip Tuesday at Cincinnati, Johnson said he might prevent Young from playing during that three-game series because of the hard artificial surface at Cinergy Field.

For Johnson, it keeps getting worse.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “We just keep having one thing after another. Just when you think we’ve got everyone back and we can try to put something together, something else comes up.”

Young has sat out six of the Dodgers’ 42 games because of his left ankle problem and an earlier right calf strain. He played in only 117 games last season while battling leg and foot injuries.

Johnson said he needs Young (21 stolen bases, .291 average and .441 on-base percentage) in the lineup, but he must be cautious.

“You can’t take chances with an ankle,” he said. “We’re having some adversity now, and I need my leadoff guy in there, but I’m not going to take any chances with his wheels and risk losing him for a stretch. That wouldn’t help us any right now.”

*

First baseman Eric Karros also wasn’t in the lineup Saturday because Johnson gave him the night off.

Karros was replaced at first base by outfielder Todd Hollandsworth, who worked at the position briefly during spring training. Johnson said he plans to give all of his everyday players more time off.

However, Karros also wasn’t in the lineup last Sunday and the team was off Monday. That marked two days off in the last six for Karros before Saturday.

Does Karros really need that much time off?

“It’s not just that,” Johnson explained. “Holly has been swinging the bat real well and I just can’t let him die on the bench.

“I’ve got 25 guys to keep fresh, so I’m going to do the same thing with Sheff [Gary Sheffield], Mondy [Raul Mondesi] and Devo [Devon White]. EK [Karros] is a workhorse; I know he wants to be in there.”

Johnson is correct.

“I was very surprised not to be in the lineup,” said Karros, who came in the game in the eighth inning. “Throughout my career, I’ve always been the type of player who wants to be in the lineup. This [having so many days off early in a season] is something I haven’t really had to deal with so far.”

TODAY

DODGERS’

CARLOS PEREZ

(1-5, 6.63 ERA)

vs.

CARDINALS’

DARREN OLIVER

(3-2, 3.25 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 1 p.m.

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

* Update--The Dodgers again turn to the struggling Perez, who has been among the worst starters in the major leagues this season. Perez’s problem? Dodger officials believe the drop in velocity on his fastball is the key. Scouts said the left-hander’s fastball was clocked consistently between 86-88 mph in September, when he went 4-1 with a 1.05 earned-run average in five starts. Perez’s strong finish persuaded the Dodgers to give him a three-year, $15.5-million contract. This season, scouts said Perez is throwing in the low 80s. His inability to throw harder prevents him from setting up his slider--his best pitch. Houston Astro players said it appeared that Perez’s fastball and off-speed pitches had the same velocity during the Astros’ 11-3 victory Tuesday. Perez was chased after only 3 1/3 innings in that outing, the third time he failed to pitch at least five innings in seven starts. Pitching coach Charlie Hough and Jim Benedict, minor league pitching coordinator, have been working with Perez on his mechanics. They have made alterations in Perez’s delivery, hoping the changes will increase his velocity. Oliver has been the Cardinals’ second-best starter behind Kent Bottenfield. The left-hander is second on the staff with 52 2/3 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .258 against him--the lowest average against a St. Louis starter.