CASE ALMOST CLOSED, AND IT'S GAGNE'S RELIEVER STOPS GIANTS, GETS AWAY WITH HIS THIRD SAVE DODGERS 4, SAN FRAN. 3.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Perhaps when Dodgers manager Jim Tracy awakes today, perhaps he'll decide it is time to officially name Eric Gagne his closer.

Until then, the rest of the organization, and baseball, will just assume that is the case.

Gagne's mental toughness and physical prowess were put to the limits Thursday afternoon at a hostile Pac Bell Park and he never flinched, escaping a tough ninth-inning jam to register his third save and give the Dodgers a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

With runners on first and third and one out in the ninth, Gagne struck out former National League MVP Jeff Kent on four pitches, the last being an 80 mph changeup. He then got Reggie Sanders to fly out to center field to end the game. It enabled the Dodgers to leave town with the edge in the three-game series.

So, it seems Gagne has cemented his position as the closer considering Paul Quantrill allowed a run in his third consecutive outing, and Giovanni Carrara and Jesse Orosco were left warming up in the bullpen.

``I'll sleep on it,'' Tracy said.

A starter before Matt Herges was traded 21 days ago, Gagne's development has been quick and wonderfully successful. He has saves in the Dodgers' last three victories, has not allowed a run in 6 2/3 innings, has nine strikeouts and yielded four hits.

His fastball is consistently above 95 mph, his changeup devastated Kent and the consistency on his curve gives him three above-average pitches.

``I think it's very predictable,'' Dodgers staff ace Kevin Brown said of Gagne's success. ``The way the guy works, the position just really fits him. I hope it will be something he really grows into. I'm not surprised by his success so far. I think it's going to be a natural progression. Every time he goes out there and does well, it's going to be a building block for him. The more experience he gets, the more comfortable he's going to be.

``I think, in general, the mentality of that position fits him very well. It's just a matter of him getting time doing it. He's got the chance to be one of the better ones around. He's got the stuff to do it.''

And his mental makeup is what organization's dream about.

Gagne appeared oblivious to his surroundings, particularly the sellout crowd of 40,934 trying to will him into making a bad pitch. Instead, he came out with his first one-run save.

``For me, personally, it feels great,'' Gagne said. ``For me, it's good (Thursday) because that's the first time I've ever been in that situation, a one-run lead and two men on base. That's a big step.''

Though Tracy wasn't prepared to announce Gagne as his closer even after he saved both of the Dodgers victories against the Giants, he apparently has that in mind.

The Dodgers rallied for three runs in the eighth - back-to-back homers by Mark Grudzielanek and Hiram Bocachica and an RBI single from Marquis Grissom - to take a 4-2 lead. Quantrill, whose ERA is 30.75 in his last three outings, gave back one run on an RBI double from Benito Santiago in the bottom of the eighth.

Gagne started the ninth, but there was a moment for Tracy to waver. Gagne allowed a one-out single to David Bell to bring Barry Bonds to the plate with Jesse Orosco in the bullpen. Tracy went to the mound debating whether to bring in Orosco, against whom Bonds is 3 for 23 lifetime.

``Before I got to (Gagne), I knew was staying with him,'' Tracy said. ``I was looking for a little bit of an answer and I felt like I was going to find something out. I think the young man responded very nicely.''

Tracy elected to stay with Gagne. That at-bat proved anti-climatic because crossed signals resulted in consecutive passed balls on catcher Paul Lo Duca, and Bonds was walked intentionally. It was Gagne's first walk of the season.

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(color) Dodgers center fielder Marquis Grissom is congratulated by teammate Brian Jordan after scoring in the sixth inning Thursday.

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press