Martin throws criticism at himself

Any criticism of Russell Martin seems like nit-picking because he has developed into one of the best all-around catchers in baseball and could be the Dodgers’ most valuable player.

But these throws to second base that slice to the right of the runner and into center field have got to stop.

That’s the opinion of none other than Martin, whose four errors have all come while trying to throw out runners stealing second. On each occasion, the runner scooted to third on the errant throw and scored on something other than a hit.

“Sometimes I’m not getting a good grip and rushing the throw a little bit,” he said. “There’s no excuse for it.”

Martin’s throwing error in the first inning Tuesday night enabled Dave Roberts to advance to third. He scored moments later on Rich Aurilia’s groundout to shortstop, giving the San Francisco Giants a 1-0 lead.

It was the third game in a row a first-inning error by Martin led to a run.

On Saturday and Sunday, Pittsburgh Pirates leadoff batter Chris Duffy moved from first to third, then scored on a groundout.

The only consolation for the Dodgers is that Martin inflicts far more damage on the opposition. He leads catchers in runs with 15 and stolen bases with four, and is among the leaders in runs batted in with 14 and hits with 21.

He also has thrown out six of 14 runners trying to steal, including Randy Winn in the sixth inning Tuesday.

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Reliever Yhency Brazoban will take the next step in his recovery from elbow ligament replacement surgery at triple-A Las Vegas Thursday. Brazoban pitched 4 1/3 innings in three appearances for Class-A Inland Empire last week, giving up one earned run, striking out five and walking two.

“My arm is getting stronger every time out,” Brazoban said through an interpreter. “I expect to keep improving.”

Although there is no firm timetable on Brazoban’s return, it appears there will be a place on the major league roster when he is ready.

“I’d probably guess yes,” Manager Grady Little said. “I don’t think we’ll go with 13 or 14 pitchers, but most likely by then something else will happen to create a spot.”

Brazoban, who has 21 saves and an earned-run average of 4.49 in 110 Dodgers appearances, probably would be used in middle relief, a role currently filled by Rudy Seanez, Chad Billingsley and Chin-hui Tsao.

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Ballplayers are notoriously superstitious, so the Dodgers cringe when it is mentioned that their lineup has been far more stable than last season. Talking about it only invites injuries, they figure, not altogether reasonably.

Yet here it is: The Dodgers used the same lineup for the sixth time in their first 20 games Tuesday, something that took 128 games to accomplish last year. Little had used 96 different lineups up to that point.

“Everybody has been healthy and for the most part we’ve been able to put the players on the field we want to put on the field,” Little said.

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Left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo is scheduled to pitch his second simulated game today.... Matt Kemp threw without pain and Little said the outfielder would return to the minor league rehabilitation assignment that was curtailed last week because of discomfort in his right shoulder.

steve.henson@latimes.com