BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Samuel Will Play Hurt

Second baseman Juan Samuel said he hopes to come off the disabled list and be ready to play when the Dodgers go on the road Friday.

“I’m going to try and push it and play hurt,” Samuel said of the broken middle finger on his left hand. “In my situation I can’t afford to lose the rest of the season.”

Samuel referred to the fact that he has only a one-year contract and probably would miss the rest of the season if he had surgery. The finger is still swollen, he said, and causes more discomfort in the field than the batting cage.

“I’ve been putting different things in the glove (to try and ease the shock), but nothing really works,” he said.

Can he play effectively?

“We’re going to find out,” Samuel said.

Catcher Mike Scioscia was still shaking his head over the Friday night play by the Reds that deprived him of a double.

Scioscia lined a potential extra base hit to right center field, where right fielder Paul O’Neill cut it off as his momentum carried him toward the fence. O’Neill, however, flipped the ball to center fielder Dave Martinez cutting in front of him, and the left-handed Martinez threw Scioscia out at second.

“I hit a double and those guys did a circus act to get me out,” Scioscia said. “I got back to the bench and had to ask who threw it. I never saw it. I never expected a throw.”

Reflecting on the remarkable similarity of Pepperdine pitcher Pat Ahearne to Orel Hershiser, Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said, “I tried to imitate Lefty Grove but it didn’t work.”