DODGERS NOTEBOOK: SPEED IS COMING, BUT PEREZ STRUGGLES.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

Carlos Perez, the Dodgers' most ineffective starter for the first three months of the season, allowed four home runs in Friday's 6-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Perez had good velocity for the second straight start, but he had no knockout punch. Three of the five runs he allowed came after retiring the first two batters in the inning.

``You're talking about a guy who is hitting 89 now after not going over 83 the whole year,'' bullpen coach Rick Dempsey said. ``He has been working with (pitching coach) Claude (Osteen) on some mechanical things. He is swinging his right leg and staying on top with his left arm. It helps his fastball. Now we'll see what he does with it.''

Friday night, Perez fell into a strange pattern. He retired the first two batters in the first three innings, then allowed a baserunner. Same thing in the fifth when Perez got two ground-ball outs, then allowed a homer to Barry Bonds, a double to Jeff Kent and an RBI single to Burks.

Coach Manny Mota, whose old No. 11 embosses Perez's uniform sleeve, said the club hasn't seen the fire on the mound that has made Perez such a colorful character for fans and so confounding for opponents.

``A big part of his game is confidence,'' Mota said. ``We've talked about it a lot and he just hasn't had it all year. It could be that his velocity has been down and he hasn't been able to do the things he wants on the mound. But I saw a difference in his last start.''

Last Saturday, Perez allowed seven hits and two runs in 6-2/3 innings against the Giants. Perez did not get a decision in the game, a 7-6 victory on Todd Hundley's ninth-inning homer off Robb Nen. The game closed out a winless month for Perez, who had a 9.95 ERA in June, but the Dodgers thought he turned a corner.

``This is a guy who pitched four straight complete games for us last September,'' said GM Kevin Malone, who signed Perez to a three-year, $15 million contract last winter. ``He gave us 240 innings. There is no doubt he struggled early, but we think that is past him.''

Quick hits: Shortstop Mark Grudzielanek, sidelined since June 2 with a broken bone in his right hand, made his first rehabilitation start Friday night for Single-A San Bernardino at Lake Elsinore, the Angels' affiliate. He was 0 for 5. Grudzielanek, batting .284 with two homers and 10 RBI when he broke a bone striking a wall near the Dodgers dugout in Pittsburgh, hopes to be back by Monday. . . . Gary Sheffield, who has played 72 of the Dodgers' first 75 games, was sidelined Friday with an intestinal disorder. Sheffield, batting .300 (80 for 267) with 16 homers and 46 RBI, is expected to return for today's game.

DODGERS vs. SAN FRANCISCO

Time: 1:05 p.m. at Dodger Stadium

TV/Radio: Channel 11; KXTA-AM (1150), KWKW-AM (1330 Spanish)

Matchup: In the second of three games against the Giants, right-hander Chan Ho Park (4-6, 5.54) faces right-hander Mark Gardner (2-6, 7.02). This is a rematch of last Sunday's 8-7 Giants victory in San Francisco, although Park doesn't remember much of it. He did not make it out of the fourth inning, allowing six earned runs and seven hits, including home runs by Ellis Burks and J.T. Snow. Gardner ended the Giants' five-game losing streak and began a run of four consecutive victories.

- Matt McHale

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Box: DODGERS vs. SAN FRANCISCO (See text)