A COOL ONE FOR PEREZ AT COORS DODGERS LEFT-HANDER BAFFLES COLORADO DODGERS 5, COLORADO 2.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

DENVER - Odalis Perez heard the horror stories of pitching at Coors Field but had never experienced one. After his first outing, he's wondering what the hubbub is all about.

Perez tamed the altitude and the Colorado Rockies, getting a five-run lead in the first and then pitching a five-hitter as the Dodgers won 5-2 Monday in the opener of a three-game series.

It was Perez's first complete game in 36 career starts and the first by any Dodgers pitcher this season.

The Rockies are in an offensive slump at home perhaps like no other they've experienced, averaging just five runs in their first seven home games.

However, Perez was spectacular. He used a well-placed change-up, biting curveball and a live fastball to record 14 ground-ball outs, strike out five and retire the final 10 batters he faced.

``Odalis, probably in any other park, would have thrown a shutout,'' said Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros, who hit a three-run homer. ``... You really have to have some fortitude to throw here because this is an offensive park.''

The complete game is the 43rd in Coors Field history, the 20th by an opposing pitcher and first by a Dodger here since Dave Mlicki threw a shutout June 18, 1998.

``Here, if you throw down, if you keep the ball down, you're going to pitch good,'' Perez said. ``This is a big park and the ball flies a lot, but at the same time I saw (Hideo) Nomo. I remember, he threw the no-hitter here. I saw guys with 1-0, or a shutout. I threw the ball good. I threw it where I wanted to throw it.''

Perez's outing also took an enormous burden off a bullpen short in arms. With Kevin Brown's elbow ailing but not badly enough to place him on the disabled list, Omar Daal was placed in the starting rotation. That gives manager Jim Tracy just five relievers.

So Tracy was willing to provide Perez every chance to finish the game. Though he didn't allow a base runner after Benny Agbayani's two-out double in the seventh, Perez threw 128 pitches - the most by a Dodgers pitcher since Chan Ho Park threw 130 in a win against Arizona last April.

However, Tracy said if the Rockies got a baserunner in the ninth inning, he would have gone to closer Eric Gagne.

``I saw no deterioration of stuff whatsoever,'' Tracy said. ``He went through pretty good, tough left-handed hitters as far as this league is concerned as far as (Larry) Walker and (Todd) Helton in the eighth inning. Nomo pitched a no-hitter here. I read about it and I don't know how you can do that, but this is definitely the best one I've ever seen here.''

The Dodgers's five runs are the most since they scored six in a completing a three-game sweep of the Rockies on April 7. However, they weren't exactly machine-like.

All five runs came in the first inning off Rockies starter Shawn Chacon (1-2) - the most runs the Dodgers have scored in an inning since April 6. Three came on Karros' second homer of the season and another on Adrian Beltre's first.

The Dodgers have been shutout in 19 of their last 20 innings, which makes a performance like Perez's particularly welcome.

``That was (Perez's) first game here?'' Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colborn said. ``All his pitches were sharp. He didn't seem to overthrow the breaking ball like sometimes happens. It's a pretty damn good game.''