Rainstorm Becomes a Real Washout for Dodgers, Perez

The Dodgers plan to skip Carlos Perez in the rotation after Monday’s game was postponed by rain.

The game against the Houston Astros has been rescheduled for June 8 at 6 p.m. at Dodger Stadium, enabling the club to briefly bump the struggling left-hander.

Darren Dreifort, Monday’s scheduled starter, is expected to pitch today, pitching coach Claude Osteen said.

Orel Hershiser, who worked in the Dodger Stadium opener Friday, will pitch Wednesday in the final game of the series.

Perez wasn’t informed of rotation changes while at the stadium in the afternoon, but apparently saw the writing on the wall.

“I hate to lose my routine, especially when I’m pitching good,” said Perez, 1-1 with a 6.75 earned-run average in two starts. “I’m throwing good again, so I want to be out there every five days no matter what.

“You need to stay on your same routine, that’s how you have your success, so I want to throw when I get [four days’ rest].

“If they make a change, I just have to be ready, but I always expect to pitch. I don’t want to take any time off.”

Perez pitched six innings Thursday in an 11-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Pacific Bell Park.

He gave up six hits--among them two home runs--and three runs in his first victory since last May 29 against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

The Dodgers were encouraged by the performance, but remain cautious.

Manager Davey Johnson would prefer to skip the soft-throwing pitcher when possible because he has more confidence in Dreifort, Hershiser, Chan Ho Park and rookie Eric Gagne.

Gagne is scheduled to start Friday against the Cincinnati Reds at Cinergy Field, and Park on Saturday. Perez might pitch again Sunday against the Reds, going nine days between outings.

“I don’t want to have a lot of rest between my starts, I wish we played 162 games straight,” Perez said.

“But no matter when you pitch, you always have to be ready to do your job.”

The Dodgers must quickly determine whether Perez can help them this season.

Perez is owed $5 million this season and $7.5 million next. He will have five full seasons of major league service time soon, meaning the Dodgers can’t option him without his consent.

Perez believes he will show the Dodgers enough in his next outing to remain on the 25-man roster.

“I know what I can do,” he said. “I got my confidence back, and I’m going to go out and help my team whenever I get the ball.”

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Rain, Man

Monday’s rainout was the 17th at Dodger Stadium, the first since April 11, 1999, and the second since 1988. Rainouts by month with the average rain in L.A.:

*--*

Month No. Rain April 9 1.17 May 2 0.23 June 0 0.03 July 0 --* August 2 0.12 Sept. 4 0.27 Oct. 0 0.21

*--*

*The average rainfall in July is a number too small to calculate. Source: Dodger media guide.