DODGERS NOTEBOOK: REPKO ACTIVATED FROM DL.

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

As expected, the Dodgers activated outfielder Jason Repko from the 60- day disabled list before Monday night's game against San Diego.

Repko, who was hitting .304 before severely spraining his left ankle trying to make a leaping catch at the wall on May 9, returned directly to the starting lineup in center.

Manager Grady Little said Repko will be utilized much the same way he was before the injury, when he split time at the position with Kenny Lofton.

``We wanted to get Repko right back in there to get him into the swing of things,'' Little said. ``How well he does will dictate how much he plays. But by no means do we want him thinking he needs to carry all the load. We want him to do the best he can do and no more.''

Repko batted .276 during a nine-game rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Las Vegas, driving in two runs and stealing a base.

He plans to wear a brace on his ankle for the rest of this season and possibly next year, but that is the only concession he plans to make to the injury.

``If I have a good shot at a ball, I will go for it,'' Repko said. ``The ball definitely travels differently here than it does in Vegas, so I'm going to take some flyballs during batting practice and hopefully get comfortable with it sooner. It's the same with groundballs, because the grass is different here.''

Power outage: The Dodgers entered the day last in the National League with 78 home runs, but their recent lack of power has been ridiculous. In their first 11 games after the All-Star break, during which they had scored a laughable total of 17 runs, the Dodgers had hit exactly two home runs, one each by Nomar Garciaparra and Olmedo Saenz.

Worse yet, they hadn't hit any in their past seven games coming into Monday.

``When you have won one game out of (11) coming out of the All-Star break, your list of needs tends to grow every day,'' Little said. ``But the bottom line is that the people here need to start doing what they're capable of doing. Nothing more, but certainly nothing less.''

Tomko close to returning: Right-hander Brett Tomko is scheduled to make his second and final relief appearance on a rehab assignment at Las Vegas tonight. Tomko is expected to then be activated, although that probably won't happen until Wednesday.

Lineup shuffle: Rookie left fielder Andre Ethier, one of the only hot hitters in the Dodgers lineup, returned to the cleanup spot for the third time in the past five games, with rookie catcher Russell Martin hitting fifth for the third consecutive game.