Adams Is More Than Ready to Face His Former Chicago Teammates

Reliever Terry Adams was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and pitched for them for four-plus seasons.

He is eager to face his former teammates after having been traded to the Dodgers in a five-player December deal that sent second baseman Eric Young and pitcher Ismael Valdes to the Cubs.

“It’s going to be real good to see some of the guys I played with,” the right-hander said. “I spent five years there, and it’s always good to go back and see some friends.

“It’s also a great town, and I had a lot of fun playing there. But they’re the enemy now. I’ll just go in there, try to get some outs and hope we come out with some victories.”

Adams (2-3) has been an effective setup man for closer Jeff Shaw, though he has struggled in May. His earned-run average has increased from 1.35 to 3.22, but the Dodgers are confident Adams will regain his April form.

“We were looking for some relief help, and we thought Adams was one of the best young relievers, and he is,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “The trade helped both clubs for a lot of different reasons.”

Adams, 27, had been considered the Cubs’ future closer at one point, but didn’t impress management enough. Although Adams enjoyed playing in Chicago, he figured it was time to leave.

“I really don’t think I ever could have done enough for them,” he said. “There were just some people there, where no matter what I did, their opinions weren’t going to change.

“I’m in a really good situation now. We’ve good a lot of good arms [in the bullpen], and that just makes it easier on everyone.”

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Rookie reliever Matt Herges grew up in Champaign, Ill., and many of his relatives and friends plan to attend the three-game series at Wrigley Field.

“All the guys have been great, giving me their tickets, but I don’t want it to get out of control. You want to keep a low profile as a rookie, and my mom and dad have been great, explaining to everyone that I can’t just get as many tickets as I want.”

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Carlos Perez may be bumped from the rotation if he struggles in his next few starts.

The Dodgers said they weren’t especially concerned about Perez’s poor 1 2/3-inning outing in Sunday’s 12-10 loss to the Cardinals.

Perez had pitched well in his previous five starts, but the Dodgers still have more confidence in little-used Orel Hershiser. Johnson bumped Hershiser in favor of Perez, and the roles might be reversed soon if Perez continues to falter.

ON DECK

* Opponent--Chicago Cubs, three games.

* Site--Wrigley Field.

* Tonight--5 PDT.

* TV--Fox Sports Net 2 every game.

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

* Records--Dodgers 19-17, Cubs 15-25.

* 1999 record vs. Cubs--7-2.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’ KEVIN BROWN (2-1, 2.20 ERA) vs. CUBS’ KEVIN TAPANI (1-4, 5.33 ERA)

* Update--Brown is only 1-1 in his last four starts, despite having given up only four earned runs in 30 innings. The right-hander is 5-2 with a 1.79 ERA in eight starts against the Cubs.

* Wednesday, 11:15 a.m.--Darren Dreifort (3-1, 2.59) vs. Scott Downs (1-1, 6.69).

* Thursday, 11:15 a.m.--Chan Ho Park (4-3, 4.94) vs. Jon Lieber (4-2, 3.86).