Slump Got Benched Along With Green

Scouts who follow the Dodgers said Shawn Green is not doing anything differently at the plate that would explain his torrid stretch after a horrendous slump.

Beginning play Friday, Green was batting .475 (19 for 40) with 10 home runs, including four against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 23, 18 runs batted in and 15 scored in his previous 10 games.

Manager Jim Tracy gave Green a day off May 18 at the nadir of his season-long slump--then Green got rolling. So were his problems all mental?

“When you come to the stadium and put on the uniform without the thoughts and stress you’re putting on every single day when you’re struggling, it’s a nice change,” he said. “It’s almost like you can put on the uniform with good feelings again.

“You know you’re not going to have to go through any mental turmoil because you’re not out there. It changes your perspective a little bit.”

First baseman Eric Karros said the day off was the key for Green.

“I can’t speak for other sports, but in this game they talk about the mental part being so important,” he said. “For me, you don’t need any more evidence than what went on with Greenie.”

*

The Dodgers have not had more than two players selected to an All-Star game since five represented the club in 1995, but three could be on this season’s National League squad.

Several baseball officials said they expect Green, starter Kazuhisa Ishii and closer Eric Gagne to participate in the July 9 game at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

Ishii, scheduled to start Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, is 8-1 with a 2.90 earned-run average in his first season in the majors. Gagne has emerged as one of baseball’s top closers in his first season in that role, converting 18 of 19 save opportunities with a 1.65 ERA before the weekend.

Tracy also believes Green, Ishii and Gagne are worthy of being selected to the NL club, and their performances indicate that the Dodgers are making progress as an organization.

“Yes, we’ve gotten to the point where things, in my mind, are headed in the right direction,” Tracy said. “When you look at some of the individuals [having success], and all of a sudden some of the youth of this club, and the impact some of those young people have had, I think it bodes very well for the immediacy of our situation and down the road.”

TODAY

DODGERS’

ANDY ASHBY

(4-4, 3.21 ERA)

vs.

DIAMONDBACKS’

BRIAN ANDERSON

(0-4, 5.44 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 1 p.m.

TV--Channel 11.

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

Update--Ashby is 2-1 with a 1.73 earned-run average in day games and 2-3 with a 4.29 ERA at night. The right-hander is 5-5 with a 4.91 ERA in his career against Arizona. Right-handed batters are hitting .327 against the left-handed Anderson.