DODGERS REPORT : Brown Wins Fifth Straight With Dominating Effort

Kevin Brown continued his dominant performance Saturday night in leading the Dodgers to an 8-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Brown (14-6) pitched seven scoreless innings to earn his fifth consecutive victory before a sellout crowd of 53,533 at Dodger Stadium.

The right-hander struggled through the first three innings, throwing only 37 strikes in 68 pitches. The Braves (71-47), however, couldn’t break through against Brown, stranding six runners to that point.

Brown took control after the third, retiring 12 of the next 13 batters he faced. Chipper Jones’ two-out double in the fifth was the only hit against Brown during that span.

The Dodgers (53-64) supported Brown with 14 hits. Reserve outfielder Todd Hollandsworth started in center field and continued to provide a spark, hitting his seventh home run in the eighth inning.

Fans continued to express their disappointment in right fielder Raul Mondesi.

For the second night in a row, they booed Mondesi because of his expletive-filled comments Wednesday. Mondesi went one for four with a walk and scored.

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Pitcher Antonio Osuna hopes to begin a throwing program soon in his attempt to avoid season-ending surgery on his throwing elbow.

Team physicians have told Osuna he must undergo surgery to continue pitching, but Osuna hopes to rehabilitate without surgery because the Dodgers are not going to exercise his $1.5 million option for next season. The right-hander figures another team might take a chance on him next season if he does not have surgery, which could sideline him for the 2000 season.

The Dodgers are willing to develop a total conditioning program for Osuna, but he only wants to follow a throwing program.

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Pitcher Carlos Perez suffered another setback in his bid to return to the major leagues.

The left-hander was pounded Saturday during his third start for triple-A Albuquerque. In six innings, Perez gave up 10 hits and seven runs against Edmonton. He struck out five and walked three.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’ ISMAEL VALDES (8-11, 3.47 ERA) vs. BRAVES’ TOM GLAVINE (10-9, 4.14 ERA)

Dodger Stadium,

Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

Update--Valdes suffered his fourth consecutive loss Tuesday in the Montreal Expos’ 6-4 victory at Olympic Stadium. Valdes gave up a season-high five runs and squandered a three-run, fifth-inning lead.