Arnold Ably Fills Hole Left By Perez

Dodger pitcher Carlos Perez was scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday night against the Montreal Expos because of inflammation around his right knee, stirring concern about how the injury occurred.

Perez said he was uncertain how he suffered the injury that prevented him from pitching in an 8-2 victory over his former team, completing the Dodgers’ most successful trip since August 1997. But Perez and Dodger General Manager Kevin Malone addressed speculation the pitcher banged his knee on a curb while returning to the team hotel around 4 a.m. EDT Wednesday morning after a night on the town with several Expo players.

The Perez situation overshadowed a surprising effort by rookie right-hander Jamie Arnold (1-0), who gave up only a sixth-inning leadoff single to Orlando Cabrera during 6 2/3 scoreless innings. Perez’s replacement had a no-hitter through five innings in his first major league start before an announced crowd of 5,518 at Olympic Stadium.

Left fielder Gary Sheffield provided all the runs Arnold and three relievers would need, hitting a three-run home run--his sixth homer--in the third against Montreal starter Javier Vazquez (1-2) to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. Sheffield also hit his seventh homer in the ninth, marking his second multi-homer game of the season and 13th of his career.

The Dodgers, who had 13 hits, improved to 16-12 after finishing 7-2 on their three-city, nine-game trip. They swept the Milwaukee Brewers in three games and won two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies and Expos.

This was the Dodgers’ best trip since Aug. 19-27, 1997. They went 8-2 on that trip against the New York Mets, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

But their excitement about the successful trip was tempered because of Perez’s mysterious knee injury.

Perez was unable to bend his right knee Wednesday. He is scheduled to be examined today by team physician Ralph Gambardella, who specializes in knee problems, at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Culver City.

While acknowledging he had been informed about Perez’s alleged late-night activity, Malone did not confirm the speculation, saying he supported Perez.

However, Malone said he would be “extremely upset” if he learned any member of the team had injured himself because of reckless off-field behavior, adding he would not hesitate to trade irresponsible players whose actions adversely effected the organization.

“If I ever found out that someone on this team showed blatant disrespect for his teammates and everything we’re trying to accomplish, I would be very frustrated and disappointed,” said Malone, the Expos’ general manager during Perez’s rookie year in Montreal. “I’m not insinuating anything, because I don’t want to believe that [the speculation]. For someone to do something like that, that would mean that don’t care about the Dodgers and they don’t care about winning, and we can’t have anyone on this team who isn’t committing to helping the Dodgers win.

“I’ve been on the record about this ever since I first got here. We all have to be focused on one thing--and that’s winning. That’s the way it has to be, and that’s the way it’s going to be. I can’t stress this enough: If there are people who don’t care about this organization, then we can find someplace else for them to play.”

Perez, who has not had knee problems during his five-year career, denied acting irresponsibly.

“I don’t mess around with my job,” said Perez, who is 1-3 with a 5.65 earned-run average. “I don’t want to hear no rumors. I don’t mess around the day before I pitch. I wouldn’t take a chance with my job like that. I went out to dinner before I went back to the hotel. I was back by 10:30, 11 o’clock. Nobody could see me out [at 4 a.m.] because I was back in my room.

“This is the kind of team that people think can win a World Series, and I want to be [part of that]. Everybody saying that stuff better stop. I don’t want to get in the middle of nothing. They pay me good money to work here, and I just want to do my job.”

Perez said he began experiencing intense pain in his right knee while trying to sleep in the team hotel after a 2-1 loss to the Expos on Tuesday. Perez, who cannot remember bumping his knee, initially told reporters he might have hurt himself while catching balls in the outfield during batting practice Tuesday, theorizing that the hard Olympic Stadium artificial surface likely contributed to his problem.

He later backpedaled, saying he wasn’t certain anything out of the ordinary occurred Tuesday.

Perez signed a three-year, $15.5-million contract in the off-season after finishing last season by going 4-1 with a 1.05 ERA in his final five starts.

The eccentric Perez, renowned in these parts for his colorful behavior, was among the most popular Expos with fans while playing here from 1995 until he was traded to the Dodgers last July.

Perez acknowledges he enjoyed the Montreal night life, frequenting clubs along Crescent Street, located in the upscale English-speaking section of town. Perez suffered a broken nose and cuts and bruises when his car crashed into a pole last season after the Expos returned from a trip.

Well aware of Perez’s reputation in Montreal, at least one Dodger official cautioned Perez about his behavior while in town.

While the team was preparing to return to Los Angeles after Wednesday’s game, Perez sought Malone to deny the speculation.

“Yeah, I’m going to talk to him, I need to talk to him,” Perez said. “I’m going to tell him this is not true. That’s not true.”