Team Has Been Unable to Keep Up With Brown

General Manager Kevin Malone figured all-star pitcher Kevin Brown would make the Dodgers World Series contenders.

However, the Dodgers (29-31) have struggled to remain around .500 to this point despite Brown’s typically strong performance.

“It’s real frustrating,” Brown said. “Right now, it’s just discouraging the way things have been going for us. You try to stay upbeat about everything, but it’s hard.

“You try to figure out what’s going wrong. You look at what’s happening and you want to help. You ask yourself what can you do? You want to get things right. You want to win.”

Brown has been as good as advertised, going 7-3 with a 2.69 earned-run average. He is among the major league pitching leaders in most categories, but the team’s mediocre play is his focus.

“We’re out there to accomplish things on a team basis, not an individual basis,” Brown said. “You want to have a good year and you want to do your job. Everybody doing their jobs together is what gives you the chance to win as a team. Doing your job [while the team plays poorly] is not a consolation because it’s all about the team.”

The intensely competitive right-hander is setting a positive example for the younger members of the struggling pitching staff. Brown has tried to help Chan Ho Park, Carlos Perez and Darren Dreifort, speaking with them and offering his assistance to Manager Davey Johnson.

Perez said Brown’s advice has been helpful during his difficult season. Brown recently asserted his leadership in the clubhouse by helping Park, whom he spends time with off the field, through tense interviews after his bench-clearing altercation with Angel starter Tim Belcher last Saturday.

“I’m doing what I think I can,” Brown said. “I think Chan Ho and Dreifort are going to be fine, and Carlos has done it in the past. He just has to get back to what works for him.

“I still have a lot of confidence. In the long run, I think these guys will make improvement.”

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Perez is 2-8 with a 7.18 ERA after being charged with eight runs in 2 1/3 innings during Friday’s 12-6 loss to the Athletics. Dreifort, scheduled to start today, is 5-4 with a 5.86 ERA.

Johnson acknowledges that the Dodgers’ Nos. 4 and 5 starters have been disappointing. However, his options are limited at this point for many reasons.

Team medical personnel have recommended that Dreifort remain on a starter’s schedule because of his reconstructed right elbow. Johnson had considered putting Dreifort in the bullpen during spring training until the recommendation was made.

At 26, Dreifort is only in his second full season in the rotation and team officials realize he must be given time to learn. Besides, fifth starters usually don’t make or break staffs.

As for Perez, Johnson was noncommittal about the left-hander’s immediate future in the rotation, though it appears likely he is headed to the bullpen again. Perez also briefly worked out of the bullpen while struggling earlier in the season.

The in-house candidates for Perez’s spot in the rotation are right-hander Jamie Arnold and left-hander Onan Masaoka, though Johnson is reluctant to put either rookie in that role. But with a day off Monday, Johnson intimated he might make a change.

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In a pregame ceremony, the A’s honored Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter, who is suffering from the degenerative muscle condition commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The A’s announced they raised more than $35,000 for the Catfish Hunter foundation.

TODAY

DODGERS’ DARREN DREIFORT (5-4, 5.86 ERA)

vs.

ATHLETICS’ TIM HUDSON (0-0, 5.40 ERA)

Network Associates Coliseum, 1 p.m.

TV--Channel 5 Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330)

* Update--Dreifort has been hit hard in his last three starts. The struggling right-hander gave up six runs for the second time in as many outings Tuesday during a 7-6, 13-inning loss to the Texas Rangers in which he had a no-decision. Dreifort continues to struggle with his command. He is among the National League leaders in walks and wild pitches. Rookie right-hander Hudson is scheduled to make his second start for the Athletics. He struck out 11 Padres in five innings in his debut Tuesday.