Mulholland Put on Disabled List

Struggling reliever Terry Mulholland was put on the 15-day disabled list Friday after an MRI exam revealed he had suffered a back injury.

Mulholland, who recently began experiencing back spasms, underwent the exam because he had been unavailable to pitch the final two games of a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

The left-hander is expected to be sidelined for several days while receiving treatment for the strain on his lower left side, prompting the Dodgers to make the move, retroactive to May 4. The club recalled left-hander Jeff Williams from triple-A Las Vegas to take Mulholland’s spot on the roster.

Mulholland might not need 15 days to recover, but the Dodgers did not want to risk being short-handed in the bullpen.

“I want the guys pitching the innings that I want them to pitch in game situations,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “In order for me to be able to implement that plan, we can’t have a member of our bullpen on a day-to-day type situation. It’s in the best interests of Terry and the best interests of this club that we made the move.”

Mulholland has a 10.80 earned-run average without a decision. The 14-year veteran has given up 21 hits--including seven home runs--and 14 earned runs in 112/3 innings, and opponents are batting .382 against him.

Has Mulholland been ineffective because of his back? “We were not aware of [the injury] as this situation was unfolding and developing,” Tracy said, “because he just began with back spasms the other day.”

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Beginning play Friday, the Dodgers led the majors with a .987 fielding percentage and had the fewest errors (17).

Through 34 games last season, the Dodgers had 30 errors and were 13th in the National League with a .976 fielding percentage. The club last led the NL in fielding percentage in 1960 at .979.

Dodger players said the presence of smooth-fielding shortstop Cesar Izturis and third baseman Adrian Beltre being at full strength are the biggest factors in the team’s improvement.

“Izturis has been about as mature a 22-year-old as I’ve ever seen,” first baseman Eric Karros said. “He doesn’t seem to get rattled and he’s very steady. He makes all the routine plays and some great plays, and Beltre has been solid defensively.

“That has a lot to do with why we’re No. 1 defensively. Those two have played extremely well, they’re both young and they’re probably only going to get better.”

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Shawn Green, hit by a Tom Glavine pitch Tuesday, returned to the lineup after sitting out the final game in Atlanta on Thursday because of swelling in his left hand. He still has some swelling in the area and is receiving treatment. Green was one for three in Friday’s 4-3 loss to the Florida Marlins.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

KEVIN BROWN

(1-3, 4.44 ERA)

vs.

MARLINS’

JULIAN TAVAREZ

(1-1, 9.82 ERA)

Pro Player Stadium, 4 p.m. PDT

TV--Fox Sports Net 2.

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

Update--Tavarez, on the disabled list since April 17 because of rotator-cuff tendinitis, last pitched in a game 25 days ago. In 39 starts at Pro Player Stadium, Brown is 21-9 with a 2.32 earned-run average, his best performance at any ballpark in which he has made more than six starts. He is 4-2 with a 2.93 ERA against the Marlins, one of his former clubs.