Brown May Start Tuesday

Kevin Brown’s broken pinkie forced Manager Davey Johnson to shuffle the rotation, and Johnson made more changes Friday with the No. 1 starter close to returning.

The right-hander is expected to be activated from the disabled list Tuesday--if all goes well during his bullpen session today--and start against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. With Brown tentatively scheduled to face the Braves, left-hander Carlos Perez will start Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds in the finale of the series at Cinergy Field.

Darren Dreifort, initially scheduled to pitch Sunday, will start Monday against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. The game was added to the schedule after a snowstorm forced postponement of the clubs’ April 9 meeting.

Orel Hershiser, pounded in his last outing, temporarily moves to the bullpen. If Brown (1-0, 4.91 earned-run average) falters early in Atlanta, Hershiser will relieve him.

So the rotation appears set for the upcoming week. Of course, everything hinges on Brown’s finger. .

“We want to make sure his [finger] is OK, and we still don’t know,” Johnson said. “A normal person needs three weeks to come back from this, he’s trying to do it in two.”

Johnson considered starting Brown against the Mets Monday, which would have altered the pitcher’s weekly routine.

Between outings, Brown throws twice in the bullpen and then takes a day off. He could have thrown only once if Johnson had used him against the Mets.

Moreover, Johnson wants extra time to determine whether Brown’s finger has healed enough for him to be activated.

Johnson and pitching coach Claude Osteen will monitor Brown’s bullpen work today. If he fares well, Brown will throw again Sunday, and then travel to Atlanta in preparation for his first start since he suffered the injury bunting April 8 against the Mets.

“He says he’ll be ready with only one [bullpen session], but it doesn’t make sense to me to try to get all the work in one day,” Johnson said. “Everybody is excited to get Brownie back, me included, but I wanted to get him those two [bullpen sessions].”

*

Perez had been upset about moving between the rotation and bullpen, and criticized the club after briefly being optioned to triple-A Albuquerque earlier this month.

But he has changed his attitude, saying he accepts whatever role the Dodgers give him.

“Whatever they want to do, that’s fine,” Perez said. “As long as I get a chance to pitch, it’s no problem. If they use me in the right situation, I’ll be OK.”

Perez is 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA. He will have had five full seasons of major league service come the first week of May, meaning the Dodgers can’t option him without his consent.

Perez is owed $5 million this season and $7.5 million next.

*

Hershiser (1-1) was charged with seven runs Wednesday in 1 1/3 innings during a 10-3 loss to the Houston Astros. He also hit four batters with pitches, tying a record now matched 20 times since 1900.

“If I end up in the bullpen [permanently], that’s not a surprise, that’s the role I was signed for,” said Hershiser, who has an 8.76 ERA. “If I end up in the rotation, that’s fine, because that’s what I’ve done my whole career.”

TODAY

DODGERS’

CHAN HO PARK

(2-1, 3.79 ERA)

vs.

REDS’

PETE HARNISCH

(0-1, 7.07 ERA)

Cinergy Field, 10 a.m. PDT

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

* Update--Park took the loss in Cincinnati’s 5-3 victory last Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The right-hander gave up four hits and three runs in seven solid innings. Park is 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA in his career against the Reds. In 12 decisions against the Dodgers, Harnisch is 7-5 with a 3.08 ERA.