Park, Kreuter Find Shared Interest

Chan Ho Park started against Philadelphia on Sunday night, so it figured Chad Kreuter would be behind the plate.

The two have become intertwined in what is becoming Park’s best season.

The cause isn’t something Manager Davey Johnson embraces, but he’s enamored of the effect.

“You want to avoid having ‘specialty catchers,’ ” he said Sunday, “but if it happens, it happens.”

A specialty catcher is one a pitcher seems to respond to so well that, when one is in the lineup, the other will be. That’s because the two are on the same mental wavelength, inspiring the pitcher’s confidence.

He, after all, holds the key to success or failure.

“You want the guy in the middle of the field to feel good,” Johnson said.

It’s obvious that Park feels very good staring at Kreuter. Park has pitched to four Dodger catchers this season with these results: Todd Hundley (1-1, 7.31 ERA), Jim Leyritz (0-1, 1.29 ERA), Paul LoDuca (0-1, 5.40 ERA) and Kreuter (14-5, 3.10 ERA)

Once Park would spend game after game shaking off his catcher.

Any catcher.

It still happens, but less frequently now, in part because the success he has enjoyed with Kreuter has Park channeling his energy at getting the ball past the hitter.

And Kreuter has no problem with the “specialty catcher” tag.

“It’s an honor,” he said. “I was Nolan Ryan’s catcher as a rookie. I wouldn’t have played except for that. I was taught by him and Charlie Hough.”

Ryan got people out with a blazing fastball and Hough bamboozled hitters with a knuckleball. They taught Kreuter something even more valuable.

“A thinking catcher sees things that will get hitters out,” he said. “Other catchers see things that would get themselves out.”

One figures ways for a team to win, the other never quite forgets his own hitting.

It’s a story he has told Park, with whom he communicates rather well. Kreuter doesn’t speak Korean and Park’s English is still rudimentary, but they speak baseball pretty well.

*

Reliever Matt Herges’ success comes as no surprise to Johnson.

“I often have a pitcher come out of the bullpen and win a lot of games,” the manager said. “With Baltimore, it was Arthur Rhodes, and with Cincinnati it was Xavier Hernandez.”

The reason Herges is 9-3 as a reliever is the way he’s used.

“Generally [someone who wins a lot as a reliever] is somebody I probably give a lot of innings to out of the bullpen,” Johnson said. “He works more innings than a set-up man. He’s like a sixth starter.

“A guy like that could come in in the fifth, sixth, seventh inning and lots of games are decided then.”

*

At 3 p.m. Sunday, Johnson was talking about LoDuca, a catcher, playing left field.

“Playing him in left was not what I had in mind,” Johnson said. “When you are using him to play in your outfield, you’re not a very good club.”

At 7:45, LoDuca was inserted into left field in the ninth inning.

“It wasn’t a problem,” LoDuca said. “I had played 10 games in left in Albuquerque.”

He showed that he could handle the transition when he flagged down Kevin Jordan’s fly ball for the game’s final out.

ON DECK

* Opponent--Pittsburgh Pirates.

* Site--Dodger Stadium.

* Today--6.

* TV--Channel 5 today, Fox Sports Net 2 Tuesday and Wednesday.

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

* Records--Dodgers 73-64, Pirates 56-79.

* Record vs. Pirates--4-2.

* Tickets--(213 224-1448.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

DARREN DREIFORT

(10-7, 4.36 ERA)

vs.

PIRATES

JIMMY ANDERSON

(4-8, 4.56)

* Update--Dreifort has won six decisions in a row, a personal best, and has given up three or more earned runs in only nine of his 26 starts this season. He is 2-0 with a 5.54 ERA in two starts against Pittsburgh. Anderson gave up two runs and four hits against San Francisco on Thursday, then left after six innings because of a mild groin strain. He has lost his last three starts, but has given up only 18 earned runs in his last 55 2/3 innings.

* Tuesday, 7 p.m.--Carlos Perez (5-7, 5.39) vs. Jose Silva (8-9, 5.58).

* Wednesday, 7 p.m.--Ismael Valdes (2-6, 5.52) vs. Dan Serafini (1-3, 5.08)