BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Harris Hasn’t Won a Full-Time Job

Despite having the best trip of any Dodger hitter, expect Lenny Harris to be back on the bench tonight against Cincinnati left-hander Randy Myers.

Harris had 15 hits in 31 at-bats (.484) on the trip, with one home run and six runs batted in. He also made several spectacular fielding plays, both at third and second base.

But after Harris suffered through a cold spell when given the third base job full-time time in June, Manager Tom Lasorda decided he plays too well when platooned with Mike Sharperson to change that platoon again.

Harris, who has never criticized Lasorda’s lineup decisions, said his recent hitting streak coincided with a return to his schoolboy swing. “I just decided to forget about anything fancy, and go up there just hoping to see the ball and hit it,” he said after raising his average to .303. “It has all been working since then.”

The Dodgers are 44-32 when Harris is in the lineup.

Darryl Strawberry said he hopes to return to the lineup again today after sitting out Sunday’s game with a sore lower back.

“It is just a tightening up of the muscles down there, something that maybe happened from playing on that artificial turf,” said Frank Jobe, the Dodgers’ medical director.