DODGERS NOTEBOOK: YOUNG SPARKS OFFENSE.

Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer

Eric Young is hot, but he had no answers why the Dodgers' offense turned cold during the late innings of Friday's 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Dodgers led 4-1 in the fifth, due in large part to his three hits, including two doubles. He drove in the club's first run, doubled home their third and scored their fourth.

``Not sure what happened after that,'' said Young, who has 20 hits in his past 54 at-bats (.370). ``We've been that way a lot this season. Just when it looks like we are ready to take off, we stop.''

Young says that, as the leadoff hitter, it is his responsibility to make things happen. He thought a turning point came in the seventh inning when he led off against left-hander Chris Peters.

Young drove a fastball into the gap in left field, but the ball was run down by Al Martin. The Dodgers never got beyond second the rest of the game.

``I thought it had a chance to hit the wall, but they were playing me deep,'' he said. ``I usually don't get played that way. But the key is always to get on base. We didn't do that.''

Guerrero in a pinch: Manny Mota set a major-league record with 151 pinch hits. Now, he helps tutor Wilton Guerrero, who has become the Dodgers' top pinch hitter after losing his starting job at second base last season.

It is a difficult transition for Guerrero, who played 84 games at second and 111 overall. Pinch hitters usually aren't 23 years old. But he had a two-out, two-run single off the bench in Thursday's victory and is 4 for 11 as a pinch hitter this season.

``The key to it, like so many things, is preparation,'' Mota said. ``We work on a lot of things to make him ready. I always tell him, `Don't let the manager surprise you by calling your name. Surprise him and be ready.' ''

Before games, Mota and Guerrero work more on situation hitting than regular batting practice. Mota calls out a play, like first and second no outs and forces Guerrero to hit behind the runner. He throws breaking balls and gets Guerrero to hit to the opposite field. Mota also forces him to watch other slap hitters and see how pitchers work them.

``You want him to swing the bat,'' manager Bill Russell said. ``I was a little upset when he took the first pitch, but he came back and did a great job. He's a hitter. Period.''

Rocket report: If you think Russell gave Thursday's starter Ismael Valdes a quick hook after five innings, think again. Valdes threw 95 pitches in five innings. There were trouble signs beginning in the second inning, when No. 8 hitter Lou Collier homered with two outs. Overall, the Pirates scored three times with two outs. Their 7-8-9 hitters went 4 for 10.

``Those are the hitters you have to blow through,'' Russell said. ``He usually is OK with the big guys, but those little guys can hurt you, too.''

Pitching coach Goose Gregson said he liked the velocity on Valdes' fastball, but he said the right-hander needs to stay focused.

``He needed 24 pitches to get the third out in the second,'' Goosen said. ``He needed 14 pitches to get the third out in the third. That is too many pitches. He threw as hard as he has all season, but his concentration seemed to waver when he had to close out the inning. You have to stay on him about that.''

Bullpen bull: Antonio Osuna, who left the club Thursday to be with his ailing father, Alberto, in Mexico, is expected to rejoin the team Sunday. Alberto Osuna has been diagnosed with throat cancer. . . . Setup man Darren Hall, sidelined since April 8 with a slight tear in his right rotator cuff, is scheduled to throw for the first time when the team gets to Atlanta. ``It is something I am really looking forward to,'' Hall said. ``You do all the rehab, all the work with weights. But until you start throwing, you don't know how you are doing.''

The slump: Pittsburgh's Mark Smith, a product of Arcadia High and USC, struck out in the fifth, extending his hitless streak to 28 at-bats. That is the longest slump to start a season since Jose Gonzalez went 0 for 28 with the Dodgers in 1991. Actually, Gonzalez was hitless in 27 at-bats with the Dodgers then was traded to the Pirates, where he went 0 for 1 before getting a hit.

DODGERS vs. PITTSBURGH

Time: 4:05 p.m., Three Rivers Stadium 

TV/Radio: Channel 5; 1150-AM, KWKW-AM (1330 Spanish).

Matchup: In the third of four games against the Pirates, Ramon Martinez (2-2, 3.15) faces right-hander Jon Leiber (1-3, 5.17). Martinez is making his seventh start and is averaging almost seven innings per outing. He is fifth in the league with 37 strikeouts and fourth in opponents' batting average (.190). Despite the slow start, Leiber defeated San Diego ace Kevin Brown in his last appearance. He was 0-1 against the Dodgers last season.

-- Matt McHale

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BOX: DODGERS vs. PITTSBURGH (see text)