DODGERS NOTEBOOK : CEDENO KNOWS WHAT'S EXPECTED.

Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer

He hasn't shown the prowess with the bat the Dodgers had hoped for. But Roger Cedeno's maturation over a short time span is beyond the Dodgers' expectations.

In spring training, Cedeno was embarrassed when the public found out about his desire to be traded if he wasn't going to make the big-league club.

A humbled Cedeno started the season at Triple-A Albuquerque and quickly got to the business of improving his defense and learning everything he could. He also realized how fortunate he was to have played 86 games with the Dodgers last season.

``Just in talking to him you see the maturity,'' manager Bill Russell said. ``He went down there, and he didn't let it bother him. That's what we wanted to see.''

As the Dodgers outfield is more crowded than ever and his return to Albuquerque is virtually assured if Brett Butler returns, Cedeno's tune could not be more different than it was in March.

``I have to understand I'm very young,'' said Cedeno, who's 4 for 27 in seven starts after being called up May 21. ``I think I've gotten a lot of opportunities for my age. A lot of players get to the big leagues when they are 25 or 26. I've been here almost two years, and I'm 22.''

Russell said before Thursday's game that the Dodgers had to consider Cedeno's speed before making a decision on who to send down if Butler comes back.

Then he backed it up in the seventh inning that night. After Nelson Liriano got a pinch-hit single, Russell sent in Cedeno to run for him. Friday, after Liriano walked in the eighth, Cedeno replaced him on first.

Hoping for rain A part of Dodgers bullpen coach Mark Cresse had to wish for a rainout Friday.

His son, Brad, is a freshman catcher for Louisiana State, which is the second seed in the College World Series. The elder Cresse watched the clubhouse television every chance he got before Friday's Dodgers-Cardinals game, but when it started on time, he had to do his job. When he left the stadium after the game, he did not know LSU had beaten Rice 5-4. Brad Cresse did not play.

Also: Pitcher Darren Dreifort threw in the bullpen before Friday's game and experienced no pain. Dreifort was originally expected to throw a simulated game but rain forced him to the pen. He will throw a simulated game Monday or Tuesday in Houston before a decision is made on whether he will do a rehabilitation assignment in the minors. . . . With Hollandsworth in a 6-for-37 slump entering the game, Russell switched him and Eric Anthony in the batting order. Anthony batted second while Hollandsworth dropped to No. 7. Anthony drove in the Dodgers' only run with one of his two singles. Hollandsworth was hitless in three at-bats.

DODGERS TODAY

Game time: 1:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: Fox; KABC-AM (790); KWKW-AM (1330, Spanish).

Matchup: In the third of four games at Busch Stadium, Dodgers RHP Ismael Valdes (3-2, 2.25) faces Cardinals RHP Todd Stottlemyre (3-3, 4.02). The Dodgers have scored 11 runs in Valdes' past 10 starts. Valdes' ERA is seventh-lowest in the National League. Stottlemyre, who got no decision after allowing one run in seven innings at L.A. last month, won his 100th career game this past Sunday.

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