A ROYAL FLUSH FOR BROWN MCGRIFF HITS 488TH CAREER HOME RUN IN L.A. WIN DODGERS 5, KANSAS CITY 2.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

Kevin Brown and Eric Gagne did their usual thing and Fred McGriff moved closer to 500 home runs. If only it could always be this easy for the Dodgers.

Brown pitched a solid seven innings, Gagne earned his 20th save in as many opportunities and McGriff hit a two-run homer - the 488th of his career - to power the Dodgers past Kansas City 5-2 on Thursday in front of 29,170 at Dodger Stadium.

Brown was 5-0 in May and is still rolling along. He improved to 8-1 and is 7-0 in his past eight starts.

Paul Lo Duca tripled to right field in the seventh inning to keep his career-high hitting streak alive at 14 games. It was one of five extra-base hits for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers had seven hits, but it was more than enough offense for Brown. He gave up two runs - both in the sixth - but scattered five hits and struck out five.

The Dodgers offense hardly ever gives its starters a healthy dose of offense, but with Brown on the mound, the Dodgers know it won't take much for a win.

``Brown's on a roll,'' Jolbert Cabrera said. ``He's pitching great. You may only need one or two runs.''

The Royals scored two runs in the sixth inning off a pair of hits.

Joe Randa singled to right and Mike Sweeney doubled to right-center to score Randa to tie the game 1-1. Raul Ibanez laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Sweeney to third, and Brown walked Carlos Beltran and struck out Michael Tucker.

Brown then had to use 13 pitches to retire Angel Berroa on a groundout to third for the final out.

But during Berroa's lengthy at-bat, Brown threw a wild pitch and made like a catcher and blocked home plate. He got to the plate before Sweeney, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound All-Star. Sweeney and Brown had a mild collision, but Sweeney scored before catcher Lo Duca could retrieve get the ball, which had gone all the way to the screen. Kansas City went ahead 2-1.

But the lead didn't last long.

The Dodgers answered in the seventh. Dave Roberts - who hit two doubles - led off the inning with a double, and Lo Duca used a sacrifice bunt to move Roberts to third. Shawn Green hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Roberts to tie the game.

Cesar Izturis hit a blooper to left to score Adrian Beltre in the seventh inning for a 3-2 Dodgers lead.

Brown was in the on-deck circle when Izturis, who bats eighth, had the RBI single. But with the lead, Brown went back to the dugout and Ron Coomer pinch hit for him.

When Brown is on the mound, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy wants his best defensive lineup behind him.

``First and foremost on my mind when he pitches is defense takes precedence,'' Tracy said. ``Keeping in mind the fact that, offensively, we haven't exactly set the world on fire, defense takes precedence. He doesn't need (a lot of runs) to win.''

But Tracy didn't use his very best defense Thursday. Cabrera played second instead of regular starter Alex Cora, who with Izturis forms a strong double-play combination.

But Izturis had a highlight on his own Thursday. He tracked down a Randa grounder behind second, spun around, and got Randa at first.

Sweeney left the game in the eighth inning after he was hit by a pitch on his left hand. He fell to the ground, was attended to by trainers and didn't return.

X-rays were negative and his status is day-to-day.

Also, former Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela received a round of applause as the team showed clips of him from the afternoon news conference which announced he'll be joining the Spanish-radio broadcasts.

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Photo:

The Dodgers' Adrian Beltre (29) scores from second base on a hit by Cesar Izturis during the Dodgers' 5-2 victory over the Royals on Thursday.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer