DODGERS NOTEBOOK: BIG LEAGUE RETURN IS SWEET TO COREY.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

Not long ago, Bryan Corey was living off a staple of 80-90 cans of Ensure and some fruit shakes every week.

Corey, a 170-pound pitcher, wasn't trying to lose weight. He was forced to endure a liquid diet after a line drive hit him in the side of his face while he stood near first base during batting practice at Triple-A Las Vegas, two days before the season was to start.

His jaw, fractured in two places, was wired shut for four weeks and he had brackets in for another two weeks.

``It hit me below the ear and my ear rang pretty bad,'' said Corey, a 1991 graduate of Thousand Oaks High. ``Someone said `heads up' but it had already hit me.''

All Corey could think about was that his offseason workouts would be negated by the setback. He continued to lift weights and played catch the day after he was injured.

``I worked so hard in spring training to get to a place where I was ready for the season,'' Corey said. ``If I'd gone home for two to three days or two to three weeks (after the injury), I'd basically lose what I'd done in spring training.

He was called up on Monday when Kevin Brown was placed on the disabled list. Corey was 1-0 with a 7.36 ERA in 11 innings at Triple-A Las Vegas.

Corey also pitched at Pierce College and was a 12th-round draft pick - as a shortstop - by the Detroit Tigers in 1993. He pitched in three games with Arizona in 1998 before being sent back to the minor leagues. It took him four years - nearly to the day - to get back.

Corey, 28, was signed to a minor-league contract with the Dodgers in January.

``When all that stuff was out of my mouth, I wanted to pitch the next day,'' Corey said. ``The sooner I could get back, the sooner I could get up here. It's good to be back. There's no place I'd rather be.''

--Brown OK: Brown, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday, has inflammation of the right elbow and but no damage to the ligament or muscle, Tuesday's MRI revealed.

If rehabilitation goes according to plan, Brown should be ready to pitch again soon after his stint on the disabled list. He's expected to start playing catch next week.

--Green honored: Dodgers outfielder Shawn Green was named the National League player of the week for his home run barrage last week. Green batted .593 with nine home runs, two doubles, one triple and 17 RBI.

--Odds and ends: Dodgers manager Jim Tracy shuffled the starting rotation. Omar Daal - who took Brown's spot - will start on Friday with Andy Ashby and Kazuhisa Ishii pitching Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Tracy wanted to put a pitcher in between Hideo Nomo and Ishii's starts because the two are walking batters with regularity. ...

Mark Grudzielanek, who has a sore left big toe, was available to play but didn't. Tracy decided to let him rest one more day. ...

Left-hander Jesse Orosco (strained oblique) is eligible to come off the disabled list today. Orosco said he will no longer take batting practice after 20-plus years of doing so. ``It doesn't make sense,'' he said.

Reliever Terry Mulholland threw 47 pitches in a simulated game on Tuesday.

DODGERS vs. BREWERS

Time: 12:10 p.m., Dodger Stadium

TV/Radio: FSN2; 1150-AM, 1330-AM (Spanish)

Matchup: LHP Odalis Perez (4-3, 2.51 ERA) faces Milwaukee RHP Jamey Wright (1-1, 3.48 ERA). Wright won his first decision of the season in the Brewers' 6-2 victory over the Padres on Friday. He was on the disabled list earlier this season with tendinitis in his right shoulder. Perez walked no batters in five of his 10 starts. He has 45 strike outs and 11 walks in 71 2/3 innings.

- Jill Painter

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DODGERS vs. BREWERS (see text)