It’s Early, but Perez Looking for a Good Start

Left-hander Carlos Perez has eagerly awaited an opportunity to prove he still belongs in the major leagues.

He gets his first chance tonight.

Perez is scheduled to start against the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium. The Dodgers are hoping for a solid outing from Perez after Orel Hershiser struggled in Wednesday’s 6-5 loss.

“I’m ready to show everybody I can still do my job,” he said. “I’m ready to show them [the Dodgers] I still know how to pitch.

“You keep waiting and waiting, and you just want to go pitch. This is what I’ve been waiting for.”

Dodger officials want determine whether the struggling pitcher can help the club after going 2-10 with a 7.43 earned-run average last season. Perez would prefer the Dodgers and their fans forget about his past, but he understands things don’t work that way.

“You have to go prove yourself, they want to see if you can do it,” Perez said. “But last year [doesn’t] matter anymore. All that matters is what you do this year, right?”

Scouts said Perez must be perfect to be effective because of his still-unexplained decrease in velocity.

The Dodgers have done all they can, working on his mechanics during the off-season and throughout spring training. Despite Perez’s positive attitude, the club isn’t expecting miracles.

“I know what I can do,” Perez said. “I’m going to pitch like I did in ’97 and ‘98, when I had almost 500 innings [447 2/3]. That’s how I’m going to pitch.”

*

Catcher Todd Hundley sat out his second consecutive game Wednesday because of a knee injury, but the switch-hitter said he’s feeling “a lot better.”

Hundley suffered a slightly strained right medial collateral ligament in Monday’s season-opening victory. His knee has responded well to treatment the last two days, but Manager Davey Johnson is being cautious.

“He could probably have played today, but it doesn’t make any sense to take a chance with him right now,” Johnson said. “We’ll see how he is [today].”

*

Reliever Alan Mills’ sprained right ankle has also improved, prompting Johnson to reconsider putting the right-hander on the disabled list.

Johnson said Tuesday he might want to add another reliever to the team because Mills might be sidelined as many as 10 days.

However, Mills didn’t experience pain while jogging Wednesday. He will be reevaluated today.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

CARLOS PEREZ

(2-10, 7.43 ERA)

vs.

EXPOS’

CARL PAVANO

(6-8, 5.63 ERA)

Olympic Stadium, 4 p.m. PDT

TV--Fox Sports Net 2.

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

* Update--This is the final game of the clubs’ season-opening four-game series. Perez has said most of the right things recently, hoping to convince Johnson that he’s determined to rebound. Johnson wants to see it on the mound, and Perez will have few chances to impress. The left-hander went 1-3 with a 5.68 ERA in spring training after his horrendous ’99 season, indicating he still has problems. Perez is making $5 million this season and is owed $7.5 million next, so the Dodgers are keeping their fingers crossed. Pavano went 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA in Grapefruit League play. In four career games against the Dodgers, the right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.77 ERA.