BASEBALL REPORT : DAILY UPDATE : DODGERS

Mike Morgan received an encouraging phone call from an old friend after Sunday’s frustrating defeat to the Padres.

It was Fernando Valenzuela, calling from his car phone as he drove home from a golf game with his sons.

“Fernando told me to keep throwing well, told me that he would always pull for me. . . . It made me forget all about the game,” said Morgan, who allowed no earned runs in 6 2/3 innings but lost the game because of three unearned runs. “I mean, how many people does Fernando Valenzuela call?”

Morgan said Valenzuela, who was released March 28, had no immediate prospects for work. But that is apparently not stopping Valenzuela from staying in shape.

“He said every team was waiting for either injuries or for their young guys to start struggling, he’s hoping to get something by the first three weeks of the season,” Morgan said. “But he’s going to stay ready. He’s been running and throwing to a catcher. I told him, hey, if he needed somebody to play long toss with, I was there.”