DODGERS' BATS HOT IN COLD BELTRE HOMERS IN 3RD GAME IN ROW IN WIN OVER ROCKIES DODGERS 9, COLORADO 4.

Byline: Tony Jackson Staff Writer

DENVER - After one evening spent doing an uncanny impersonation of their former selves, struggling mightily against a journeyman left-hander and losing to an inferior team, the Dodgers snapped back to the present Wednesday night.

The result was a little more evidence to support the theory that they finally have buried the ghosts that haunted them all last season. That, and a 9-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies in front of 21,685 at Coors Field.

The Dodgers roughed up Scott Elarton for the second time in less than two weeks, quickly laying to rest any speculation that their old, offensive bugaboos were back. Wednesday's effort came one day after Los Angeles had managed just one run in losing to Joe Kennedy in the series opener.

The Dodgers also overcame an atmosphere that provided little in the way of external motivation. They played a three-game series last weekend in San Francisco, where every game was sold out, where the noise was at times deafening and where the hostility toward the visiting team flowed openly and abundantly.

The first two games of this series have provided a stark contrast. The place was barely half full Tuesday night and strangely quiet. On Wednesday, despite the announced crowd, which was based on tickets sold, it was almost empty. The few who did brave the intermittent drizzle and the 37-degree game-time temperature made almost no noise to speak of.

Just as they tuned out the deafening craziness in San Francisco, the Dodgers tuned out the deafening silence here.

``It's more tough mentally, because not many guys want to go out there when it's really cold and wet,'' said Dodgers left fielder and leadoff man Dave Roberts, who reached base five times and stole three bases. ``But this game in April means as much as one in September. This is a character game, and you have to go out there wanting to win. When it comes down to it, if we want to go to the playoffs, this game was huge.

``Tonight, it was the biggest game of the year, and we went out and played like it.''

There was a minor scare in the bottom of the ninth, when center fielder Milton Bradley lay sprawled on the grass for several minutes after trying to make a diving catch on Rene Reyes' leadoff double. But after a visit from manager Jim Tracy and assistant trainer Matt Wilson, Bradley got up, walked back to his position and finished the game.

He will be re-evaluated today, but the injury, which trainer Stan Johnston said is to the front of Bradley's left shin, appears minor.

The Dodgers banged out eight hits and scored five runs off Elarton (0-3) before chasing him with one out in the sixth. He also helped them out with three walks. His pitching line was eerily similar to the one he put up April 9 at Dodger Stadium, a game in which he walked five and the Dodgers scored five runs off him in 5 1/3 innings before rolling to a 5-1 victory.

The Dodgers got three hits each from Roberts, Paul Lo Duca and Adrian Beltre, who led off the second inning with his sixth home run.

Beltre now has homered in three consecutive games for the first time in his major-league career.

Hideo Nomo, in the same ballpark where he threw a no-hitter on a similarly uncomfortable evening in 1996, turned in what Tracy called his finest performance of the young season. Nomo (3-1) went six innings, allowing four runs on nine hits.

``One thing that struck me very early in the game was his balance just prior to releasing his pitches,'' Tracy said.

``That's very important as to the effectiveness of his pitches. The quality of his pitches was better. I just saw much better life, especially on his fastball, throughout the entire six innings. He did a terrific job.''

The division-leading Dodgers (10-4) maintained a 2 1/2-game lead over second-place San Diego in the National League West after the Padres won at San Francisco.

The Dodgers stole the momentum in the first inning after two plays that could easily have gone against them went for them. With two outs, Lo Duca blooped a single into shallow right field, just out of reach of Rockies second baseman Aaron Miles, scoring Roberts with the game's first run.

In the bottom half, Alex Cora made a nice stop on a bad throw from Nomo and then completed an inning-ending double play, stranding the tying run at third. Beltre's homer made it 2-0.

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Photo:

(color) Dodgers starter Hideo Nomo gave up four runs on nine hits in six innings to lift his record to 3-1 this season.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

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