ATLANTA ROCKS DODGERS BRAVES RELIEVER BOOED, BUT HE GETS THE SAVE ATLANTA 2, DODGERS 1.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

It was almost as if the Dodgers and the 28,790 fans at Chavez Ravine were waiting for the same thing: They wanted a piece of Atlanta's John Rocker.

Both came close. Rocker is learning life on the road is much different than being cheered at home.

Rocker survived robust boos, several objects thrown his way, a fan who ran on the field and a late rally by the Dodgers as the Braves won a club record 14th in a row with a 2-1 victory Monday in the opener of a three-game series.

The reaction of the fans who booed Rocker - some even threw objects at the controversial reliever as he ran on the field - was everything baseball fears. Not only did it take away from a brilliant game, but it put everyone on the field in danger.

Braves third baseman Chipper Jones felt the brunt of that. He was nearly hit by debris that was thrown on the field during a wild scene in the bottom of the ninth.

``It's not funny jeopardizing someone's health,'' Jones said. ``It startled me. It was that close. It looked like banana pudding, or paint or something. I wouldn't expect it anywhere. It's one thing to boo and voice your displeasure, it's another thing to throw stuff.''

The mayhem began the instant Rocker charged in from the right field bullpen to take the mound and protect a 2-0 lead to begin the bottom of the ninth.

Dodgers catcher Todd Hundley drew a one-out walk and moved to second with two outs. And with a 1-1 count to Kevin Elster, a fan ran on the field, stopped between first and second base and mooned Rocker before he was tackled by security guards.

Elster followed with a single to center to pull the Dodgers within 2-1. Rocker struck out Geronimo Berroa to end the game and get his sixth save. In keeping with his tradition, Rocker elected not to talk afterward, instead leaving his teammates to answer the questions.

``I think it takes a pretty big coward to throw something from the stands,'' said Atlanta's Kevin Millwood, who allowed five hits in seven shutout innings for his third win. ``Obviously, people don't get many chances to stand in front of someone to tell them what you think, but throwing things is not the right way to handle it.''

It overshadowed a well-pitched game in which Dodgers rookie Eric Gagne allowed only a third-inning homer to Quilvio Veras in seven innings and in which Millwood allowed five hits in seven innings for his second consecutive win against the Dodgers.

A Dodgers offense that scored 25 runs in sweeping three games from Florida over the weekend managed six singles against the Braves.

Dodgers reliever Matt Herges saw his streak of shutout ball stopped at 15 2/3 innings when the Braves made it 2-0 in the top of the eighth. Of course, Herges wasn't aided by the Dodgers defense.

Veras led off the eighth with a single and should have been erased on Andruw Jones' grounder to second. But Veras stopped running so he wouldn't be tagged out by Mark Grudzielanek, who in turn threw to first to get Jones.

Eric Karros' throw to second was late and Veras was safe. Chipper Jones lined to short for the second out, but Herges looked like he could get out of the inning when Andres Galarraga took a close pitch with two strikes.

However, it was called a ball and Galarraga grounded a ball that Adrian Beltre fielded deep behind third base. Karros couldn't handle Beltre's errant throw, which bounded behind the bag and allowed Veras to score. Beltre's team-leading eighth error allowed the run to score. Herges pitched a perfect ninth and is yet to allow an earned run in 17 innings.

``We should still be out there playing,'' Hundley said. ``That pitch was right there. It was right over the middle. It was strike three. God, that was a strike.''

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Photo: Atlanta's Quilvio Veras, right, crosses home after a homer Monday night.

John Hayes/Associated Press