RELIEF IN NEED OF SOME RELIEF DODGERS SAY BULLPEN WOES WILL COME TO END.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

PHOENIX - The lone lefty in the Dodgers bullpen is 22-year-old Onan Masaoka, fresh from a stint of wildness at Triple-A Albuquerque.

The primary set-up guy, Mike Fetters, is on the disabled list. So is Gregg Olson, whose specialty is getting ground balls in double-play situations. The closer, Jeff Shaw, can't catch a break: In the last week, he's 0-1 and has two blown saves and a 21.00 ERA.

There's also Orel Hershiser, the long man in the bullpen who is having trouble playing an unfamiliar role.

Injuries, lack of depth in the system, poor matchups and bad luck - as well as the absence of a reliable left-hander in the bullpen - have turned a solid bullpen into a huge concern. In the last four games, the bullpen is 0-3 with three blown saves and a 14.32 ERA.

In the span of four games, the bullpen went from 6-4 with a 3.40 ERA to 6-7 with a 5.11 ERA.

The Dodgers are searching for answers.

``We've had a rough few days, but it's a good group out there,'' Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said. ``We're going in the right direction. A few little tweaks here and there, and we'll be a lot better.''

The bullpen allowed 10 runs in 6 1/3 innings in Sunday's loss to Houston, was battered for seven runs Monday in Arizona and eight more in Tuesday's 12-inning loss. If that wasn't enough, a pitchers' duel between Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson turned in Arizona's favor the moment Dave Hansen struck out in the ninth - pinch-hitting for Brown.

Reliever Terry Adams gave up three quick hits and the Dodgers had their fourth straight loss.

The Dodgers believe the bullpen could come back together as quickly as it fell apart.

``It's one of those things,'' Hershiser said. ``In a couple days, we may be pitching well and you'll be (talking) about how our bullpen is first, second or third in the league again. It's a few bad games, that's all.''

Time, and the health time brings, should do wonders for it.

Olson's been out since the first week of the season. An MRI on his right elbow was negative Thursday, but there is no timetable for his return.

The loss of Fetters to inflammation in his right elbow was a brutal blow to the bullpen and changed the jobs of a few.

The Dodgers were without a lefty for three weeks until Masaoka was recalled before Wednesday game. The search - thus far in vain - to find another left-hander remains a priority. That wasn't the case until Fetters went down May 4 with inflammation of his pitching elbow. Left-handers were 1 for 16 against him.

But instead of Fetters pitching the eighth inning and trying to hold a three-run lead for Shaw, Adams relieved and allowed two runs. The margin for error shrank for Shaw, and L.A. paid the price. A ball sneaked between Eric Karros and first base for a double, catcher Todd Hundley took his eye off a pitch for a passed ball and a broken-bat single found its way over a drawn-in infield.

``It's been about bad mojo,'' Hundley said. ``In the situation he's in, he makes one mistake and he winds up blowing the save. But that's his job. Hitters go through it, pitchers go through it.''

With Fetters out, Adams has allowed seven runs (five earned) in his last four games.

Shaw has four blown saves in 11 opportunities, his ERA is 7.71 and a-what's-going-to-go-wrong-next feeling hovers over the team. But Shaw, along with Hundley and pitching coach Claude Osteen, believes he's throwing as well now as when he closed four games in four days earlier this season.

``You sit there and watch the game and the pitches I'm making, and the (stuff) that happens, it can't continue,'' said Shaw, who's allowed three homers in 11 2/3 innings. ``I don't feel like I have made a mistake. I'm still pitching the way I pitched at the beginning of the year. For some unknown baseball gods reason, it's going like that. If I'm out there giving up balls in the gap and the next guy hits a fastball through the middle, then I understand. But that's not happening.''

About the only one having success is right-hander Antonio Osuna, and he joined the team a week ago after spending the first five weeks on the disabled list recovering from elbow surgery last September.

Matt Herges went 19 2/3 innings without allowing a run before getting belted for seven against Arizona. Masaoka was recalled only because he's a left-hander. During his monthlong stint in the minors, Masaoka was wild. He walked 25 in 20 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Johnson doesn't have the confidence to use Alan Mills - whom the Dodgers would love to trade because he's owed $5.25 million through the 2001 season - late in close games. And Hershiser has been surprised at how difficult the transition from starting, which he's done full-time since 1985, to reliever can be. His ERA is 13.50 in four relief appearances, including the five runs he allowed in the 12th inning of Tuesday's loss.

``I'm going to do the absolute best I can do,'' Hershiser said. ``I'm going to turn over every rock, talk to other relievers, watch video. This role, it's what I anticipated, other than the failure.''

DODGERS VS. ST. LOUIS

Time: 5:10 p.m., at Busch Stadium.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; 1150-AM, KWKW-AM (1330 Spanish).

Matchup; The second leg of a four-city road trip begins with Dodgers right-hander Darren Dreifort (2-1, 3.31 ERA) facing ex-Colorado Rockies right-hander Darryl Kile (6-1, 4.54), who is pitching well since leaving the Rocky Mountain air. Dreifort hasn't lost since his first start of the season, but he's had a few chances to record wins and wasn't able to do so. Dreifort was 1-1 with an 8.10 ERA last season against St. Louis. Saturday - Dodgers RH Chan Ho Park (3-3, 5.72) vs. Cardinals LH Rick Ankiel (3-1, 3.25); Sunday - Dodgers LH Carlos Perez (3-1, 4.58) vs. Cardinals RH Pat Hentgen (3-4, 5.44).

Brian Dohn

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: (color) Orel Hershiser and the Dodgers are confident their bullpen problems will disappear as quickly as they arrived.

Michael Caulfield/Associated Press

Box: Dodgers vs. St. Louis (see text)