BIG CROWD SEES A BIG TURNAROUND; DODGERS SHOW SOME FIGHTING SPIRIT : DODGERS 7, SAN FRAN. 1.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

For a night, saying you were a Dodgers fan was not a punch line or a reason to get punched.

After six consecutive losses that had taken the life out of their players, Sunday's monster Fireworks Night crowd of 54,731 was treated to the Dodgers' best game of the season, a 7-1 victory over the first-place San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.

It had everything that has been missing this season - good pitching, a lot of hustle, a timely home run and a little combative spirit when Eric Karros nearly got into it with Giants pitcher Julian Tavarez in the seventh inning.

``We won one game,'' said Karros, who hit a three-run homer in the second. ``We'll see in a month if it was significant.''

The players, who were chewed out by manager Davey Johnson in a one-hour meeting before the game, rushed onto the field to meet the Giants. Tavarez was ejected, Karros was cheered. No punches were thrown, but for once the Dodgers did not look timid.

By then, Ismael Valdes was on his way to ending a personal losing streak at five games by limiting the Giants to five hits and one run in eight innings. Valdes (6-7) had gone that far just once since April 24.

The crowd not only responded to Valdes, but it roared wildly over his selection of Latin music when he came to the plate in the second, fourth and sixth innings. The fans also showed their appreciation when Valdes legged out an infield hit in the sixth.

But most of all, they cheered the long-awaited victory.

The Dodgers had dropped six games in seven days to the Giants. After the game, they flew to Denver to begin a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies also have been reeling, losing nine straight before sweeping white-hot San Diego on Saturday night. They lost to the Padres 11-0 on Sunday.

The Dodgers didn't want to go into Coors Field with the chance of waking up the Rockies. They hadn't been swept by the Giants in Dodger Stadium since 1992, but there was more than history at stake. They wanted to win to stop the free fall.

The Dodgers received a spark from reserve outfielder Trenidad Hubbard, who had three hits, including a first-inning double off Giants starter Kirk Reuter (7-4) that tied the game 1-1. After Gary Sheffield singled Hubbard to third, Karros lifted a pop fly along the railing in shallow right field. Giants first baseman J.T. Snow made the catch over his shoulder and Hubbard took off from third. He slid home well ahead of the throw and suddenly they didn't look like last year's Dodgers.

Never more so than in the second.

Karros, back in the cleanup spot he had for years before giving way to Raul Mondesi, was just 1 for 8 in the series. But he was batting .364 (16 for 44) in his last 12.

After Hubbard and Sheffield reached on one-out singles, Karros drove Reuter's 1-0 fastball into the left-field stands.

``It was great just to get a win with the way we've been struggling,'' Karros said. ``Hubbard in the No. 2 spot set the table. I came up three times with men in scoring position. I can't remember the last time I came up with so many guys on base.''

There were seven innings to play, but Valdes had a lead even a Dodgers pitcher could not surrender.

In the first two games of this series, starters Carlos Perez and Chan Ho Park allowed 14 runs in nine innings combined. Even tonight's starter, club ace Kevin Brown, was shelled for nine runs in his last start. Darren Dreifort, the team's fifth starter, has a 5.69 ERA.

Valdes' last victory was May 27 at Cincinnati. Then he was only battling blisters on his pitching hand. Things have gotten a lot worse since then.

``We have to get this team turned around,'' Valdes said. ``Nobody wants to lose six in row, let alone one.''

And echoing the message Johnson delivered in the pregame meeting, Valdes said, ``We have to do the little things together.''

That's what happened in the seventh when Karros and Tavarez started jawing. Karros had taken off on a hit-and-run play. Todd Hollandsworth, who replaced Mondesi two innings earlier, missed and Karros was thrown out.

``(Tavarez) was staring me down when I was running off the field,'' Karros said. ``I assume he was upset I was running with a 6-1 lead. I said something, he gestured. He was staring at me like I was the one who is (expletive) around here.''

Tavarez, who was ejected by home-plate umpire Joe West after conferring with his crew, said: ``He was mumbling to me. Only he knew what he said. We both looked at each other. He knew what he did.''

He helped win a game and for a night sent the fans home happy.

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PHOTO A three-run homer by Eric Karros, right, gives the Dodgers a spark in the second inning.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press