A DODGER DOG IN THE RAIN SEASON OPENER LOOKS A LOT LIKE `05 ATLANTA 11, DODGERS 10.

Byline: Tony Jackson Staff Writer

It was supposed to be the day the Dodgers officially put last year behind them, turning the proverbial page on the slew of injuries that not only sabotaged their season but cost their manager and general manager their jobs.

Instead, it became a horrifying journey into deja vu.

After learning over the weekend that center fielder Kenny Lofton would begin the season on the disabled list and learning earlier in the day that first baseman Nomar Garciaparra likely is headed there, too, the depleted Dodgers began the new season with an 11-10 loss to the Atlanta Braves in front of a sellout crowd of 56,000 on Monday at Dodger Stadium.

Jason Repko, playing in place of Lofton, went 2 for 4 with an RBI double to cap a three-run rally in the eighth inning. But Repko also just missed what would have been a spectacular, leaping catch on the warning track, giving Edgar Renteria a two-run double on a ball the speedier Lofton might have run down.

Olmedo Saenz, playing in place of Garciaparra, had a two-run single in that same eighth inning, but went hitless in five other at-bats. They included three strikeouts with runners in scoring position and the game's final out when Saenz grounded to third on the first pitch from struggling Braves closer Chris Reitsma.

``I had a bad day,'' Saenz said. ``I'm not looking for excuses.''

Finally, with the Dodgers in the midst of a furious rally from what had been a seven-run deficit, manager Grady Little didn't have Saenz, one of his best pinch hitters, on the bench.

All that would loom large in a marathon affair in which the Dodgers rallied gallantly and furiously but stranded 11 baserunners - eight of them in scoring position.

``We fought back,'' Dodgers catcher Sandy Alomar said. ``That shows me this team won't give up. As long as we keep fighting back like that, we're going to win a lot of games.''

But as long as they keep having to fight back like that, they're also going to lose a lot of them. The main culprit this time was veteran right- hander Derek Lowe. He was scorched for eight runs in five innings, including three-run homers by Andy LaRoche and Andruw Jones that gave the Braves an 8-1 lead and would have sucked the life out of last year's Dodgers.

This year's Dodgers took a different approach, turning that 8-1 hole into 8-5 and an 11-5 deficit into 11-10. But a pair of late-inning Braves rallies were just as devastating to the Dodgers as the earlier home runs.

In the sixth, rookie left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo began the inning with two quick outs before issuing consecutive walks to Brian Jordan and Marcus Giles. Yhency Brazoban then gave up a two-run double to Renteria, making it 10-5. In the eighth, reliever Franquelis Osoria's first pitch of the season was yanked into the right-field bullpen by Ryan Langerhans, making it 11-5.

``If (Kuo) doesn't walk the next two hitters, we might have had a different outcome,'' Little said. ``If Brazoban gets the next guy, it might have been a different outcome.''

Their chances also would have been better if second baseman Jeff Kent could have turned an inning-ending double play in the first inning. But in his haste, Kent booted the ball, allowing Chipper Jones to reach first base and Giles to reach second with one out. Andruw Jones then singled in a run for a 1-0 Braves lead, and LaRoche homered to make it 4-0.

With that, the tone had been set for Lowe on an afternoon when he was adequate - he used his vaunted sinkerball to record 11 groundball outs - but nowhere near good enough.

Atlanta ace Tim Hudson struggled more than Lowe, but the Dodgers were unable to take advantage. They went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position in the first four innings before chasing Hudson with four consecutive hits to begin the fifth.

Reitsma got the save. He came on to strike out Dioner Navarro with runners on second and third to end the eighth. Reitsma then worked around Rafael Furcal's bunt single and Jose Cruz's double to get three groundball outs in the ninth, the first two scoring Furcal and Cruz.

The Dodgers pounded out 17 hits, 15 of them in the final five innings. The defeat notwithstanding, it was an encouraging sign for Little of what his new team can do offensively.

``If we keep that approach all season, we'll be awfully proud of what we see,'' he said.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Derek Lowe allowed two three-run homers and fell behind 8-1 early Monday afternoon, taking the season-opening loss to Atlanta despite a Dodger comeback.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer

(2) Jason Repko misplays Edgar Renteria's flyball into a double that gave Atlanta a 10-5 lead.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) DODGERS vs. ATLANTA

- Daily News

(2) OPENING DAY: STORY LINES