[0] WILD ON THE WALK SIDE; DODGERS OUTLAST BRAVES DESPITE BASE-ON-BALLS FEST : DODGERS 5, ATLANTA 4.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

You could hear your Little League coach screaming like it was some kind of a never-ending dream.

``A walk's as good as a hit. A walk's as good as a hit.'' He would drill it home.

Had he been at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday he may have revised his thoughts. The Atlanta Braves and Dodgers took turns playing attendant of the merry-go-round on the base paths.

The teams combined to walk 19 batters before the Dodgers finally beat the Braves 5-4 in a game that was lapped by a pair of snails racing.

Nobody was huffin' and puffin' from running the base paths. Instead, there was a nice, brisk walk. To that point, Dodger pitchers walked 11. Braves pitchers issued eight bases on balls.

Darren Dreifort (3-0) recorded the win and Jeff Shaw recorded the last four outs for his fourth save. Kevin Millwood (1-2) took the loss. Dodgers shortstop Jose Vizcaino went 4 for 4, Devon White hit a two-run homer and Adrian Beltre had a single and walked three times.

Dodgers manager Davey Johnson used a trio of pitchers to work out of a jam in the eighth. Walt Weiss led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a ground out against right-hander Jamie Arnold, making his big league debut. Onan Masaoka then got Gerald Williams to line out to shortstop with the infield playing in and Shaw retired Bret Boone on a line drive to third.

For the second straight start, Dreifort was nearly unhittable. This time for six innings. In fact, he was one-hittable. The only Atlanta batter to get a hit was Randall Simon. He singled twice, meaning it's the second straight time Dreifort's allowed two hits in his start.

But unlike his seven-inning masterpiece against Randy Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, it wasn't very simple for Dreifort.

He's spent a career with baffling stuff and baffling managers with control problems. Simon's were the only hits, but Dreifort frustratingly walked a career-high nine Braves, three of which followed a Simon single on both occasions. One was even to Millwood, his wild counterpart, and led to the walking of Otis Nixon with the bases loaded as Atlanta took a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

Millwood was worse. He was wild and hittable, not to mention nearly unwatchable. In 3 1/3 innings he allowed six hits, walked four and gave up four runs.

He walked Eric Karros to lead off the second and then grooved a 1-0 pitch that White hit over the right field fence. White's third homer of the season tied things 2-2, but the walk-of-life continued.

White drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, and keeping with the night's theme Adrian Beltre also walked. Vizcaino then singled to right to load the bases, and after Dreifort struck out, Eric Young doubled over the head of center fielder Andruw Jones as the Dodgers took a 4-2 lead.

Lefty Mike Remlinger relieved and got out of the inning, but the walk-a-thon continued. He opened the fifth inning by walking Raul Mondesi, who eventually scored on Jose Vizcaino's single to right. It put the Dodgers up 5-2.

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PHOTO (Color) Dodgers' Eric Young is tagged out by Braves' Walt Weiss trying to steal second.

Michael Caulfield/Associated Press