BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Loss Results in Pregame Meetings

After a 6-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Thursday night, the Dodgers held a pregame meeting Friday, first with Manager Tom Lasorda, then by themselves.

“We were just talking about how we have to wake up, help each other, the way we been playing it’s like we need a wake-up call,” pitcher Ramon Martinez said. “We have to do it right now, we cannot wait till tomorrow.”

Martinez also said his three-game losing streak--his longest in two years--hasn’t damaged his confidence.

“I feel good, better than I did this time last year,” he said. “(Thursday) we make a couple of errors in the first inning, after that everything goes wrong. You’re going to have games like that.”

At 14-6, Martinez has about eight starts to reach 20 victories for the second year in a row.

Lasorda switched Lenny Harris and Juan Samuel in the lineup, Harris moving up to second and Samuel dropping to sixth in the batting order.

Possibly the unhappiest Dodger after Thursday’s loss was relief pitcher Tim Crews, who felt a twinge in his left knee while fielding a ground ball in the seventh inning and was removed by the coaching staff.

“They didn’t want me to favor the leg, but it (ticked) me off, taking me out like that,” he said after the game. “It made me look bad. I’m tougher than that. I don’t come out of a game for that.”

Trainers declared Crews available to pitch Friday.

Gary Carter’s first stolen base as a Dodger came on an odd play in the second inning Thursday. The 37-year-old catcher took off on a 3-and-1 pitch to Jose Offerman, who took the pitch and began heading to first base. But umpire Ed Rapuano called a delayed strike, and everyone seemed to stop moving--except Carter, who easily stole second.

Tonight’s game will begin at 7:30 instead of the usual 7 o’clock Saturday start because of a celebrity game beforehand.