DODGERS REPORT : Hundley Thinks Dreifort Can Be Special as Starter

Count catcher Todd Hundley among those who believe Darren Dreifort has a bright future as a starting pitcher.

Hundley said Dreifort is making strides during his second full season in the rotation.

“No doubt about it,” Hundley said of his batterymate. “You can see that he’s learning more and more every time he goes out, that he’s gaining a lot from every experience.

“There is stuff you just have to go out and face for yourself; you can’t have somebody try to explain it to you. He’s facing a lot of situations that are helping him get better.”

Dreifort, scheduled to start Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, is 11-13 with a 5.19 earned-run average and 127 strikeouts in 159 2/3 innings. He is second on the staff in victories behind Kevin Brown, despite his high ERA, and he was impressive during August.

“You can’t put too much on [Dreifort’s high ERA] because he struggled a little bit early on, but he’s been great [recently],” Hundley said. “His location has been the main thing.

“He’s just really hitting his spots with his slider, and with as hard as he throws, he really makes it tough on guys when he gets the slider over consistently. He throws the ‘heaviest’ ball on the staff, and it’s even tougher to handle now because his [breaking] stuff is getting better.”

* Opponent--Chicago Cubs, three games.

* Site--Wrigley Field, Chicago.

* Today--12:15 p.m. PDT.

* TV--Channel 5 today and Sunday, WGN all three games.

* Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

* Records--Dodgers 62-71, Cubs 55-77.

* Record vs. Cubs--4-2.

TODAY

DODGERS’ CHAN HO PARK

(8-10, 5.60 ERA)

vs.

CUBS’ ANDREW LORRAINE

(1-3, 4.32 ERA)

* Update--Today’s game starts a six-game trip to Chicago and Miami. Park earned his first win in 13 starts at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, a 4-3 victory over the Cubs. Park gave up seven hits and three runs--two earned--in eight innings and worked out of an eighth-inning jam. Sammy Sosa is chasing history again with 56 home runs.

* Saturday, 1 p.m. PDT--Kevin Brown (15-6, 3.24) vs. Kyle Farnsworth (3-7, 5.60).

* Sunday, 11:15 a.m. PDT--Darren Dreifort (11-13, 5.19) vs. Jon Lieber (8-8, 4.11).