Lasorda Puts Blowers on the Bench

The Dodgers, whose concerns with Mike Blowers are becoming more apparent by the day, benched him Sunday for the second time this season.

The last time he was benched, the Dodgers were facing Greg Maddux. But this time, it was Pittsburgh left-hander Denny Neagle.

“I come in expecting to play every day,” Blowers said. “I would have liked to have been out there today. Tommy [Lasorda] just thought I was getting tired. He wanted me to catch my breath and regroup.”

Does he feel tired?

“No,” Blowers said, “but I don’t think there’s a player in here that will tell you they’re tired and can’t play.”

Blowers is batting .190 with one homer and nine runs batted in. He entered the game in the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter and grounded into a double play.

Lasorda replaced Blowers with Mike Busch, who hit a run-scoring double in the second inning, but fouled out and struck out in his next two at-bats. Lasorda would not say who would start today.

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Closer Todd Worrell’s scoreless streak of 24 innings ended in the eighth inning when Jeff King hit a run-scoring single to make it 4-2, scoring the first run off Worrell since Sept. 3, 1995.

“The important thing is to get us on a winning streak,” Worrell said, “not keeping me on a scoreless streak.”