Here Come Those Cardinals Again

Even though they were swept by St. Louis last weekend, the Dodgers said Thursday they had nothing to prove when the National League Central-leading Cardinals invade Dodger Stadium for a three-game series beginning tonight.

“The assumption there would be that we were completely brutal over the weekend, and I don’t think we were brutal,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said. “I thought there were a number of things we did very well.

“What we didn’t do very well was hit, but we pitched their lineup very well. Saturday, we out-hit them, 10-2, and lost, 5-1. How many times do you see that happen in a box score?”

Left fielder Jayson Werth said that even with the Dodgers holding a five-game lead over the San Francisco Giants with 23 games remaining, it was premature to size up the Cardinals as a possible playoff opponent.

“It’s too early to sit back and say, ‘Oh, we’re playing St. Louis this weekend and we better show them something because we’re going to play them again in the postseason,’ ” Werth said. “I don’t know if we’re going to play them. We may not see them in the first round or we don’t get to the playoffs. We’ve got to take care of business every day until we clinch.”

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Hitting instructor Tim Wallach said Hee-Seop Choi’s desire to excel upon joining the Dodgers in a pennant race might have caused the first baseman to press in his approach at the plate, contributing to an extended slide.

“I’m sure he probably put a little extra pressure on himself, and that might have gotten him into trying too hard and trying to do too much,” Wallach said of Choi, whose playing time has been reduced after batting .164 with no home runs and five runs batted in in his first 24 games with the Dodgers.

Wallach acknowledged that it might be difficult for Choi to work through a flaw in his swing in which the first baseman has elevated his upper body if he doesn’t receive a significant number of at-bats before the end of the season.

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Darren Dreifort is scheduled to undergo surgery today in Pittsburgh on his bothersome right hip. The right-hander, owed $13 million in 2005, is expected to undergo more complex surgery later on a severely sprained anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that probably would sideline him well into next season. Both surgeries cannot be performed at the same time because of a heightened risk of blood clots, Tracy said. ... Edwin Jackson was available out of the bullpen Thursday for the first time since rejoining the Dodgers two days earlier. ... Jeff Weaver was uninjured when he was struck in the right shoulder by a batting-practice ball.

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ON DECK

Opponent -- St. Louis Cardinals, three games.

Site -- Dodger Stadium.

TV -- Fox Sports Net 2 tonight, Channel 13 on Saturday and Sunday.

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

Records -- Dodgers 81-58, Cardinals 93-46.

Record vs. Cardinals -- 0-3.

Tonight, 7--Kazuhisa Ishii (13-7, 4.59) vs. Jason Marquis (14-4, 3.44).

Saturday, 7 p.m. -- Jeff Weaver (12-10, 3.72) vs. Woody Williams (10-7, 4.00).

Sunday, 1 p.m. -- Hideo Nomo (4-11, 7.41) vs. Chris Carpenter (14-5, 3.37).