They’ve Crammed for This Test

ST. LOUIS â€”  The Dodgers say they are rarely tested these days, so they welcome the chance to play a high-caliber opponent.

The St. Louis Cardinals qualify.

Even Manager Jim Tracy was among those in the clubhouse who eagerly anticipated Friday’s opener of a three-game series between the National League West and Central leaders at Busch Stadium. After having gone 6-4 in the first 10 games of a four-city, 13-game, 14-day trip, the Dodgers said they were ready for a final exam.

“This is a good series for us because we need, right now, to be challenged by a very good ballclub,� said Tracy, whose team lost the first game, 3-0.

“No disrespect meant to the Montreal Expos, or the New York Mets or the Arizona Diamondbacks, but we need to be involved in the realization of what the month of October is going to look like. We need that.�

The Dodgers in June split six games in interleague series against the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, stirring confidence in the process. A strong performance against the Cardinals -- whom they will face five more times in the next nine days -- could provide a late kick, Tracy said.

“We met that challenge earlier in the season with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees,� Tracy said. “This is the last leg of a very long trip, which we’ve done a great job on to this point, and we need this challenge now.�

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Kazuhisa Ishii apparently has regained Tracy’s confidence -- for the moment.

Tracy briefly removed the left-hander from the rotation last month because of his erratic performance. However, Ishii has impressed in his last four outings, having gone 3-0 with a 3.70 earned-run average and three quality starts.

Ishii isn’t working on a start-to-start basis, Tracy said.

“Kazuhisa shouldn’t have to read about anything that this manager is saying that has a sense to it that, ‘Oh, this could be the last one,’ � Tracy said. “Three out of the last four have been very good. Excellent.

“Right now, you would like to see Kazuhisa continue to pitch the way he has been. Then there doesn’t have to be any talk or thought about an alternative plan. Right now, we don’t have too many.�

Brad Penny remained sidelined because of a nerve problem in his pitching arm, Wilson Alvarez was pounded in his last two starts and rookie Edwin Jackson has struggled with his command and velocity at triple-A Las Vegas.

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Alvarez has been cleared to resume pitching after having taken a hard one-hopper off his pitching elbow last Friday. Tracy said Alvarez, who has a 43.82 earned-run average in his last two starts, would work out of the bullpen.