Lo Duca Disputes Report of Injury

Paul Lo Duca vociferously challenged a report that he didn’t play Saturday because of a strained chest muscle, but Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said he never gave such a report and called the dispute a misunderstanding.

“I was never, ever hurt, and for somebody to say I was hurt, I’m a little upset about it,” Lo Duca said Sunday. “For three years I’ve come in here and never, ever, ever asked for a day off, even when I’ve been injured.

“I was not injured. And if they said I had a strained pectoral muscle or whatever, it was never [an issue] and I was ready to play, and that’s all I have to say.”

Tracy, who told reporters Saturday that Lo Duca had suffered a strained chest muscle, said Sunday that Lo Duca was given a day off in anticipation of playing the final nine games of the season and because he was in a slump. The catcher is hitting .230 since the All-Star break.

“I mentioned it,” Tracy said of the strained muscle, “but it wasn’t an issue. It was not the reason why we didn’t play him. I wanted him to play, and if he was on fire offensively, I don’t think there would have been any question [that he would have played].”

Lo Duca returned to the lineup Sunday and was one for four and scored a run.

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Odalis Perez said he regained control of his pitches Saturday during a bullpen session and was satisfied that a broken fingernail had healed sufficiently for him to start tonight against the San Diego Padres. The fingernail, which caused Perez to skip his last start, has been treated with a bonding substance.

Perez said he did not feel he had done anything to alienate his teammates by skipping the start, or with his comments earlier this season that the pitching staff wasn’t being adequately supported by the offense.

“When you are young, when you are honest like I am, I have to tell the truth,” Perez said. “If my teammates are mad at me, I don’t know why they are mad at me. I haven’t done [anything] to get them mad at me. If they’re mad at me, I don’t know what to do to make them happy.”

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Darren Dreifort suffered a partial tear of tissue in his right hip while rehabilitating his right knee earlier this month and is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery Tuesday in Boston to repair the damage. The starting pitcher still is expected to be ready for the start of spring training, Tracy said.

The tear is the latest setback for the right-hander, who has had four knee surgeries since 1990, the most recent of which was performed in June to rebuild the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

“It’s unfortunate,” Tracy said. “You feel like you get one area cleaned up, squared away, headed in a positive direction and we incur something else. When he’s healthy, he has the capability of being awfully good.”

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The Dodgers last hit home runs in three consecutive at-bats on May 23, 2002, at Milwaukee, when Adrian Beltre, Shawn Green and Dave Hansen did it.... Reliever Tom Martin set a franchise record Saturday when he made his 76th appearance, surpassing Scott Radinsky (1997) for the most appearances in a season by a left-hander. Martin has allowed only five of 42 inherited runners to score; he leads the major leagues in that category.... The Dodgers drew 3,138,626 this season, their largest attendance since 1997, when they drew 3,319,504.

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ON DECK

Opponent -- San Diego Padres, four games.

Site -- Qualcomm Stadium.

TV -- Fox Sports Net 2.

Radio -- KFWB (980), KWKW (1330).

Records -- Dodgers 82-72, Padres 61-94.

Record vs. Padres -- 6-9.

Tonight, 7 -- Odalis Perez (12-11, 4.35) vs. Mike Bynum (0-3, 8.78).

Tuesday, 7 p.m. -- Wilson Alvarez (6-1, 1.99) vs. Jake Peavy (12-11, 4.21).

Wednesday, 7 p.m. -- Kevin Brown (14-9, 2.43) vs. Ben Howard (1-3, 4.23).

Thursday, 7 p.m. -- Hideo Nomo (16-12, 2.98) vs. Brian Lawrence (9-15, 4.33).