LASORDA MISSES DODGERS' 2-0 LOSS

If manager Tom Lasorda didn't already have an ulcer, watching his Los Angeles Dodgers get shut out by Steve Trachsel while stranding two runners at third may have given him one, anyway.

Lasorda was resting comfortably in a hospital bed Tuesday night while Trachsel pitched the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 victory over Hideo Nomo and the Dodgers with a six-hitter for his second career shutout.Mild-mannered bench coach Bill Russell, who managed at Triple-A Albuquerque for two seasons before rejoining the Dodgers coaching staff in 1994, provided a sharp contrast to the volatile 68-year-old Lasorda while running the team for him. The two chatted briefly before the game.

"I told him if that phone started ringing in the dugout, I wasn't going to answer it," joked Russell, whose association with Lasorda began in 1966 when he played for Lasorda at Ogden. "I'll be managing until he comes back, and I'll do what I see fit for the ballclub."

Trachsel (6-4) lowered his ERA to 2.15, second in the majors behind Florida's Kevin Brown, and went the distance for only the fifth time in 68 major-league starts. Because of off days in their schedule, the Cubs didn't need a five-man rotation during the first two weeks of the season. So they gave Trachsel the option of breaking camp with the club and not pitching until April 16 at Cincinnati - or going to the minors, where he could maintain his rhythm and fine-tune his pitches.

Since returning to the Cubs, Trachsel has allowed more than three earned runs only once in 14 starts.

Jose Hernandez doubled in the second and scored Chicago's first run when Brian McRae lined a single off the glove of third baseman Mike Blowers. In the fifth, Scott Servais reached on a two-base throwing error by shortstop Greg Gagne and scored on Trachsel's RBI single.

Astros 9, Padres 4

Sean Berry hit his second grand slam in 10 games and Derek Bell and Orlando Miller also homered for Houston at San Diego. Berry homered off Doug Bochtler with one out in the eighth inning for his third career grand slam. He also hit a grand slam June 13 at San Francisco.

Braves 4, Cardinals 3

Marquis Grissom and Chipper Jones homered and Jason Schmidt earned his first win in 21/2 months for Atlanta against St. Louis. Grissom hit Todd Stottlemyre's second pitch over the left-field fence for his ninth homer of the season, sending the Braves to their 7th win in 8 games.

The Braves added three more runs off Stottlemyre (6-6) in the fourth, aided by his throwing error, for a 4-0 lead.

Marlins 5, Giants 4