DODGERS NOTEBOOK: ASHBY, DAAL CRUCIAL TO RUN.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

Dodgers manager Jim Tracy is yet to make it official, but even after left-hander Omar Daal was whacked around for a third consecutive outing he is likely to get another start - albeit out of default - Sunday in San Diego.

However, the Dodgers are dealing with another issue impacting right-hander Andy Ashby, who is having blister problems with the middle finger of his pitching hand as the starting rotation remains in tatters.

Ashby threw a bullpen session Wednesday, but he was unsure whether it would take place until after he warmed up. When he finally threw, it was shorter than usual.

``He threw. He looked pretty good,'' Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colborn said. ``I want to talk to Tracy about it and talk to the trainers.''

Tracy said he believed Ashby would make his start against the Padres.

``Medically, what I've been told is that he's a go until I'm told otherwise,'' Tracy said.

However, it's not as if Tracy has any viable options to replace Daal or Ashby.

If Ashby, who was scratched from his Sept. 10 start because of a blister-related problem, cannot pitch, the Dodgers could bring Hideo Nomo back on three days' rest but upset the rotation the rest of the weekend. Among their other choices are Robert Ellis, Giovanni Carrara and Guillermo Mota.

In short, though, the Dodgers need Daal and Ashby to pitch much better. The two combined to go 0-6 with 9.67 ERA in their last six starts, allowing 40 hits and walking 16 in 22 1/3 innings.

``I've been very disappointed with the last three starts I had,'' Daal said. ``It's just my command, my location. Everything is good, but I'm just leaving the ball in the middle of the plate. It's my location.''

Ashby has struggled with his mechanics lately, but Daal's bugaboo is falling behind in the count in his last three starts, during which he has a 12.60 ERA. Against the Giants, he went to three balls against six of the first 12 hitters he faced before Barry Bonds doubled on a 2-0 pitch.

--That empty feeling: It is the biggest series in years, and was billed as such for weeks, giving plenty of time for folks to make plans to head to Dodger Stadium for any of the four games against San Francisco.

However, Dodgers officials are bummed about the low attendance the first three games of the series, which will go a long way in deciding the wild-card leader. The team said the 35,767 at Monday's game could be partially explained since it fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. There is less explanation for Tuesday's disappointing turnout of 40,161. Wednesday's game drew 40,164, well short of the 56,000 capacity.

``This is a big series, and we expected attendance to be around 40,000 (per game) considering it's all mid-week games,'' Dodgers senior vice president Derrick Hall said. ``Normally, we would be close to capacity if the games were on the weekend. It's disappointing because we'd love to see sellouts.''

Even so, the Dodgers are on pace to go over three million during the season-ending, six-game homestand. They entered Wednesday having drawn 2,830,401.

--Brown continues to hurt: Even though right-hander Kevin Brown is done for the season, the back pain isn't gone. Brown was examined Tuesday and received another injection in his back for a nerve block. It was to relieve pain in a more concentrated area than the epidural he had last Thursday.

However, Dodgers general manager Dan Evans said he was told Brown would be ready for spring training and wasn't in need of additional back surgery. He had a herniated disc repaired June 11.

``I've heard nothing to the contrary,'' Evans said. ``He should be fine.''

--Santiago's suspension appealed: San Francisco catcher Benito Santiago was suspended two games and fined for what baseball vice president Bob Watson said was the bumping of umpire Mark Hirschbeck during an argument Sunday against San Diego.

However, Santiago did the expected and, through the players association, appealed the suspension. It allowed him to be in the starting lineup against the Dodgers. A date for the appeal was not set, but any suspension would be served this season.

--Odds and ends: Even though closer Eric Gagne threw 69 pitches in throwing three consecutive days, Tracy said Gagne was available to pitch one inning Wednesday. ``We've got 11 games to go, and I've done a very good job of taking care of Eric Gagne all year long,'' Tracy said. ... The Dodgers are close to announcing a new rookie-league affiliate in Ogden, Utah, of the Pioneer League.

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