Dreifort’s Knee Gets an Upgrade

The bionic man, he isn’t, but pitcher Darren Dreifort will be bigger, stronger -- and maybe even faster -- after doctors surgically rebuilt the medial collateral ligament in his right knee Wednesday.

During the two-hour procedure, Dr. Ralph Gambardella and Dr. Frank Jobe attached a six-inch piece of a heel cord from a cadaver to Dreifort’s knee ligament, which Jobe said was “shredded” from over-use.

Dreifort, who was 4-4 with a 4.03 earned run average before re-injuring his knee at Colorado on May 28, is out for the season, but Jobe expects a full recovery by next spring training.

“It was almost like a Tommy John surgery of the knee,” Jobe said. “The [replacement] ligament is a bigger, thicker, stronger piece [than the existing ligament]. We made the knee stronger, so the chances of him injuring it are less.”

Dreifort has now undergone four operations on his right knee, three for cartilage damage and one for ligament damage, to go with the major elbow reconstruction surgeries he had in 1995 and 2001.

The right-hander will spend several days on crutches but is expected to begin rehabilitation exercises this weekend or early next week. “It looked good when we were finished,” Jobe said of the knee.

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Pitcher Kevin Brown, pulled from Tuesday’s game in the seventh inning because of a left groin strain, said his leg felt “better than expected” Wednesday, and the right-hander expects to make his next start Sunday against the Angels.

“Hopefully, we dodged a bullet here,” said Brown, who has a 10-1 record and a major league-low 1.97 ERA. “I think we caught it before it got bad.”

Brown felt a grabbing sensation in the groin as he left the batter’s box during his sixth-inning groundout, and the groin “locked up” a bit as he pitched in the top of the seventh. But he never felt a “pop,” a sure sign of a pulled groin.

Brown will try to throw in the bullpen Friday, but if he feels he might irritate the groin, he’ll skip his usual between-starts workout. That wouldn’t necessarily mean he’d be scratched from Sunday’s game.

“If I don’t throw, I’ll be OK,” Brown said. “I’ve gone without throwing between starts before. I did it before the Colorado game [a seven-inning, one-run, three-hit performance May 20] and was fine.”

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Fred McGriff sat out his fourth consecutive game Wednesday because of a tight right groin, but the Dodger first baseman does not anticipate going onto the disabled list for the first time in his 17-year major league career.

“It’s getting a little better day by day,” said McGriff, who rode a stationary bike and did some light treadmill work Wednesday. “I can’t say how close [to returning] I am now. It’s about 60-70%.”

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Dodger closer Eric Gagne has 67 strikeouts in 37 innings, an average of 16.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

The major league record for relievers with at least 35 innings in a season is 14.95 strikeouts per nine innings by Houston’s Billy Wagner in 1999.

Of Gagne’s last 52 outs through Tuesday, 36 were by strikeout.

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Giant first baseman J.T. Snow, pulled from Tuesday night’s game in the first inning because of a strained left groin, sat out Wednesday night’s game and is doubtful for tonight.... The Giants put outfielder Marvin Benard on the 15-day disabled list because of a contusion to his left knee Wednesday and recalled Francisco Santos from triple-A Fresno.