Martinez Has More Work to Shoulder

When ace right-hander Ramon Martinez first suffered the torn rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder, team physician Frank Jobe said that if surgery was not necessary, Martinez could be back throwing after the All-Star break.

He was.

But throwing is not pitching. And back on the mound does not automatically mean back in the rotation.

Nearly two months after the injury Martinez, with three rehabilitation starts behind him, still apparently has a few ahead.

“He’s building up his shoulder,” Dodger Manager Bill Russell said. “It’s like spring training for him. He could take another start, and another start, and another start after that.”

Martinez may have been hit hard in his last rehab assignment, giving up five hits and four runs to the San Diego Padres in three innings in Monday’s Hall of Fame exhibition game, but Russell said it’s a sign he is going through the dead-arm stage so common in the spring.

“We are progressing at his pace,” Russell said.

Of course, it’s easier for Russell to say that with veteran Tom Candiotti solidly holding down Martinez’s place in the rotation.

*

Second baseman Tripp Cromer, suffering from a strained tendon in his right elbow, is making a slow recovery. It is unknown at this point whether he’ll be ready to come off the disabled list when he is eligible Aug. 15. . . . Dodger coach Mike Scioscia has been selected by the office of the commissioner to manage the Peoria team in the Arizona Fall League.

TONIGHT’S GAME

DODGERS’ HIDEO NOMO (10-8, 4.02 ERA) vs. EXPOS’ JIM BULLINGER (6-11, 5.89 ERA)

Olympic Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

TV--KTLA, Channel 5. Radio--KABC (790), KWKW (1330)

* Update--Dodger catcher Mike Piazza was asked if the team is heading into the dog days of the pennant race. “We are in them,” he replied. Indeed, in the midst of 20 road games in a 27-game stretch, the Dodgers find themselves struggling to stay even. “You want to play .500 on the road,” Manager Bill Russell said. That’s exactly what the Dodgers are doing six games into this 10-game trip, with tonight’s series finale with Montreal and three games in Cincinnati left. But that’s not good enough to keep pace with the San Francisco Giants. “I can’t speak for everybody,” shortstop Greg Gagne said, “but I was a little tired, a little weary out there tonight.”