DODGERS NOTEBOOK: MCGWIRE'S HAMSTRING TIGHTENS, FORCES HIM OUT.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

Mark McGwire sneezes and the flashes from cameras are blinding. When he's walked, the stadium boos.

And when McGwire leaves a game in the third inning with an injury, it's time to gasp and wonder when he'll get the opportunity to crush another homer.

The answer to that last part is possibly Tuesday. Or maybe Wednesday.

McGwire, whose availability was in question when the three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Dodgers began, is listed as day-to-day again after feeling tightness in his left hamstring.

The Cardinals slugger left Sunday's 6-4 win after the top of the third inning after scoring from second on Eric Davis' single to right field.

``He just felt kind of a drag, a tightness in his hamstring,'' Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. ``I took him out just in case.''

McGwire leaves Los Angeles the same way he came - having never hit a homer in Dodger Stadium. He was 0 for 1 with a walk Sunday, and finished the series 1 for 9 with five strikeouts. St. Louis is off today.

Sheffield settles in: So much for the worries of Gary Sheffield moving from right to left field this season. After struggling early in spring training, Sheffield is comfortable and has shown he's capable of playing left field for the Dodgers. Look no further than Sunday when he played Fernando Tatis' line drive off the wall perfectly and held Tatis to a single.

``I'm starting to like it,'' Sheffield said of left field. ``I'm feeling better and I work on it every day. I don't just sit around. I study the hitters. One thing I learned is that in left field you have to make a quick decision. It's, `I can play it into a double or go for it or back off and hold them to a single.'

``I don't have every angle down. Sometimes I feel I take the wrong angle. It's just positioning yourself right.''

Maddux signs deal: Journeyman right-hander Mike Maddux, 37, signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers, then promptly went out and gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits in an inning of work with Single-A San Bernardino.

It leaves the Dodgers in an interesting situation on what to do with Maddux. In a bullpen with three rookies, the Dodgers clearly need help. Maddux could wind up with the club during the upcoming nine-game road trip, but the outing wasn't what the Dodgers had in mind.

Maddux hadn't pitched in nearly two weeks, but the Dodgers' plans for Maddux are evident in that they didn't send him to Triple-A Albuquerque.

``There's been no promises, no guarantee,'' Malone said. ``What does he have to do? He has nothing to prove in Albuquerque. We just needed insurance. We need healthy pitchers. He's insurance in case someone gets hurt, someone can't get the job done.''

Extra bases: Barring rain or snow or anything else unforeseen, Dodgers ace Kevin Brown will face Philadelphia's Curt Schilling next Sunday. . . . Right-hander Antonio Osuna allowed one unearned run on two hits in one inning in a rehab stint at San Bernardino. . . . Cardinals center fielder J.D. Drew left the game in the bottom of the third with a sprained left thumb, the result of a collision with Dodgers pitcher Darren Dreifort at first base. . . . The crowd of 53,857 was the second straight sellout. The three-day series drew 154,508, the most for a three-game series at Dodger Stadium since 159,541 saw the Padres and Dodgers battle Sept. 27-29, 1996.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO GARY SHEFFIELD

``I'm starting to like it,'' he said of his move to left field. ``I'm feeling better and I work on it every day.''