DODGERS BEAT ADVERSITY, TOO : DODGERS 7 CHICAGO 3.

Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer

With the Dodgers suddenly searching for heroes, Eric Karros looked at his mangled left pinky and knew it wouldn't be him.

As Eric Young rounded third, he feared his right thigh was ready to pop and figured this wasn't his day, either.

But with the thought of getting swept by the Chicago Cubs, someone had to step up Thursday. When six players responded, including the replacements for Karros and Young, the Dodgers had a physically exhausting but emotionally satisfying 7-3 victory in front of 22,616 at Wrigley Field.

``When you get past a little adversity you know things are going to get better,'' said Karros, who could miss a few days after suffering a dislocated finger on a second-inning slide at second. ``I saw my finger and I thought it was over for me. But the team was great today.''

So many players had big games that manager Bill Russell didn't know who to thank first.

Matt Luke, who took over for Karros at first, homered off Cubs starter Jeremi Gonzalez in the sixth to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.

Juan Castro, who replaced Young in the seventh, hit his first major-league home run to put the Dodgers ahead 6-3.

Roger Cedeno, the former starting center fielder who hasn't played since last Friday's big trade, worked a walk with the bases loaded in the seventh against Terry Adams (2-2) after falling behind 0-2 in the count. It scored Gary Sheffield with what became the eventual winning run.

``To me that walk was as big as anything,'' Russell said. ``We've been struggling a little and players get impatient trying to turn things around...

But before he got on the team plane for the flight to Phoenix, Russell had a few more players to praise. Shortstop Jose Vizcaino had three hits, including an eighth-inning double that followed Castro's home run.

And finally, starter Ismael Valdes, who pitched six innings and had an RBI single even though his left hamstring got tweaked beating out a slow roller in the third inning.

Valdes might have been the one everybody was talking about if he hadn't allowed a two-run homer to Mark Grace in the sixth that tied the score 3-3.That was his last inning, leaving the game after allowing five hits and three runs (two earned). He also walked four and struck out four but stuck around long enough to raise his record to 4-5.

Not great, but Valdes has won two straight on the road after going 0-4 with a 6.00 ERA in his first five starts away from Dodger Stadium.

To end the Cubs' winning streak at four games, Valdes needed help, and it came from an unlikely source.

Antonio Osuna, still trying to round into form after a miserable start, was brought in to face Sammy Sosa with two outs in the seventh. The Dodgers had a two-run lead and Sosa was 1 for 10 lifetime against Osuna.

Sosa, despite his .337 average, struck out.Osuna went on to pitch the final two innings, retiring Sosa on a popup to third to end the game and earn his first save.

Karros' injury was a little gruesome, but fortunately for him, the pinky was not fractured. After getting picked off by Gonzalez, Karros ran to second. He avoided a tag by shortstop Jeff Blauser and dove into the bag.

Karros, who missed 21 games recovering from knee surgery, was called out, but that was the least of his problems. He was taken to a local hospital where X-rays were negative, but a doctor popped the finger back into place and applied a splint.

``When I got up, the finger was obviously dislocated,'' Karros said. ``It was sticking out from the joint at a 90-degree angle. In a situation like that there almost always is a break. This time I got lucky, imagine that. Maybe it was a good sign for us.''

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Photo

Photo: (Color) Dodgers' Eric Young completes a first-inning double play despite a hard slide by Cubs' Mickey Morandini.

Jay Crihfield/Associated Press