BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Ceremony to Honor Fernando Tonight

Fernando Valenzuela will be honored tonight in ceremonies before the Dodger game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The event will mark the return of Valenzuela to Dodger Stadium for the first time since the 1990 season, after which he was released.

Tickets for Sunday’s game, when Valenzuela will pitch against Orel Hershiser, are still available, but are selling rapidly.

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Rafael Bournigal said when he got the news he was called up to Los Angeles, he didn’t know who he was replacing until he showed up at the Dodger clubhouse. Bournigal, who was playing his fourth season in triple-A, has spent eight years in the Dodger farm system, with periodic call-ups to Los Angeles the past three seasons. He says he knows he was called up because of his defense, but says he is working hard on his offense.

“I’m not going to say I can hit 100% but I just want to work hard, come to the park early for hitting and keep improving,” said Bournigal, who relaced Jose Offerman. “If you do the best you can, then when the results come you can’t be ashamed.”

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Shortstop Mike Metcalf, the Dodgers’ third pick in the June draft, is already playing well at the club’s single-A team in Bakersfield, having skipped rookie ball. In nine games at Bakersfield, Metcalf is batting .368 with three doubles, five runs batted in and six stolen bases.