BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : DODGERS : Strawberry Mends Fences With Cashen

Darryl Strawberry quietly went to the office of New York Met General Manager Frank Cashen, whom Strawberry has named as the man most responsible for his leaving the Mets. Strawberry, who preferred to speak with Cashen privately rather than on the field in front of a media swarm, said they patched things up. “I let him know there’s no hard feelings, and I hope he didn’t have any,” Strawberry said. “He’s happy I got my life together. He told me how big an influence I am on other people, not only in baseball.” Strawberry also said he thinks returning to New York re-energized him. “It’s bringing that old feeling back I hadn’t had the whole season,” he said. “It brought me back to my old way of playing baseball. It’s made me excited now. It just clicked, it just came, like an instant thing.”

Strawberry’s line Wednesday: one for four, a single, his first steal of the season and three strikeouts. . . . Brett Butler extended his hitting streak to 14 games, during which he is 23 for 59 (.390). . . . The Mets stole two bases to increase their league-leading total to 42. Vince Coleman stole his 19th, which leads the majors. . . . Tim Belcher has struggled in his past two starts, falling to 3-3 and nearly doubling his earned run average to 2.23 after Tuesday’s 6-5 loss. “When I have something good to say about last night’s game I’ll tell you,” he said Wednesday. “Don’t hold your breath.”. . . Tuesday’s loss to Frank Viola dropped the Dodgers’ record to 3-8 against left-handed starters. . . . Gary Carter was pleased--and somewhat surprised--by his warm Shea reception when he pinch-hit Tuesday. “It’s very gratifying,” he said. “I think it might have been compounded by Darryl’s comeback. . . . Met pitcher David Cone changed his uniform number from 44 to 17 in tribute to former teammate Keith Hernandez, who was on hand while recuperating from back surgery. Cone said he will wear No. 17 the rest of the season.