CARDINALS IN NO-PARK ZONE DODGERS GET LATE RALLY, ANOTHER STRONG PITCHING PERFORMANCE DODGERS 3, ST. LOUIS 1.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

ST. LOUIS - Getting a two-hit shutout from Darren Dreifort in the series opener was huge in many respects for the Dodgers, particularly in resting the bullpen.

But in getting eight overpowering innings Saturday from Chan Ho Park, the Dodgers have the making of the dominant rotation they thought they had a year ago.

Park struck out a career-high 12 batters, and Mark Grudzielanek had a two-run double with two outs in the ninth as the Dodgers rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 before a season-high 48,372 at Busch Stadium.

Using his breaking pitches to set up his fastball, Park (4-3) allowed three hits, retired 11 straight at one time, and struck out Jim Edmonds during a pivotal eighth-inning at-bat in one of the best performances of his five-year career.

``Dreifort threw a great game (Friday) night, and this was just as impressive,'' Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said. ``I was enthralled. . . . Some good players never got some good swings off him. He had a great breaking ball, two different breaking balls, change-up and fastball.''

Closer Jeff Shaw got his eighth save, and his first since May 3, by pitching a perfect ninth inning. Cardinals closer Dave Veres (0-1) took the loss.

``That's the best I've seen (Park) throw,'' Grudzielanek said. ``He was consistent around the plate, first-pitch strikes. He made some pitches when he had to. He didn't (fool) around. There's one guy on the staff we really need, and that's him. If we have him throwing like that, it's great. We know what he's capable of doing, and he showed it.''

In winning the first two games of the series, the Cardinals are batting .093 (5 for 54). Meanwhile, Dodgers' starters have allowed two runs in their last 30 innings.

``That's fun for everybody on the team, and I imagine it's real fun for the pitcher out there,'' Dodgers ace Kevin Brown said. ``When guys throw the ball like that, it's a lift for everybody.''

Park, who was 0-2 with a 9.39 ERA in his last three starts, got off to a rough start on a homer by Cardinals leadoff hitter Fernando Vina. Replays showed the ball hit the yellow line atop the right-field wall, which ground rules state isn't a homer, but Park shook that off.

St. Louis had two baserunners in the second with one out, but Park struck out catcher Mike Matheny and got pitcher Rick Ankiel on a grounder. The next time a Cardinal reached base was a sixth-inning walk to Vina.

Park was so masterful that he didn't allow a ball to leave the infield between Placido Polanco's fly out to right for the second out in the third and Thomas Howard's fly out to center for the second out in the eighth.

But the biggest out of the game, and perhaps Park's season, came on his 122nd and last pitch. With two out in the eighth, he walked Vina, and Polanco singled to right to put runners on the corners. But Park struck out the lefty Edmonds in a seven-pitch at-bat, filled with curveballs, to end the threat. After the strikeout, Park showed some rare emotion by pumping his first on the mound.

``I was really concentrating on the batters, especially Edmonds and McGwire,'' Park said. ``With one run scored, I didn't want to give up the bomb. I pitched inside. I feel like I only missed one itch, and it was a change-up (to Vina).''

The meaning of the moment was not lost on Dodgers catcher Chad Kreuter.

``That at-bat with Jim Edmonds, that was huge,'' Kreuter said. ``That's big time. That's crunch time. That's the kind of thing that propels him to the next level.''

Ankiel was awesome in his seven shutout innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, but the bullpen failed him. Mike Mohler loaded the bases in the eighth with none out, and the Dodgers tied it on Eric Karros' sacrifice fly.

In the ninth, Grudzielanek doubled down the left-field line to score Kreuter and pinch hitter Dave Hansen to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. Grudzielanek went to third when St. Louis left fielder Ray Lankford, trying to throw the ball back to the infield, mistakenly threw it into the stands.

``When a game is on the line like that, you try not to miss your chances,'' Grudzielanek said. ``You want to get a quality pitch and hit it hard. I just battled and was able to hit it hard.''

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Photo: (color) Chan Ho Park struck out a career-high 12 in the Dodgers' 3-1 victory over the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Mary Butkus/Associated Press