DODGERS DO IT THE HARD WAY PEREZ EJECTED IN WIN OVER INDIANS DODGERS 4, CLEVELAND 3.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

CLEVELAND - In the final weeks of the season, nobody will be asking how the Dodgers beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3 Friday in 10 innings at Jacobs Field. It'll just look like a win.

But it certainly wasn't eye candy.

Dodgers starter Odalis Perez was ejected for arguing with umpires after the sixth inning, and pitching coach Jim Colborn was tossed after he showed the umpires a ``peace'' sign, signifying two calls the Dodgers believed were missed.

Furthermore, Dodgers first baseman Fred McGriff left the game in the middle of the sixth with tightness in his groin. He is questionable today but could be the designated hitter.

The Dodgers also had two runners thrown out at home plate on ``contact plays'' with the infield in. One would have provided a ninth-inning lead, and the other came in the 10th inning after former Indian Jolbert Cabrera broke a 3-3 tie with a one-out RBI double off reliever Jake Westbrook.

The Dodgers' failure to tack on extra runs forced manager Jim Tracy to use closer Eric Gagne to save his fourth game in as many days. Gagne did the job, but it puts his availability for this afternoon in doubt.

``That was a great game for us to win,'' Tracy said. ``But we did some things where maybe we could have gotten it done sooner.''

Gagne, who has converted 33 consecutive save opportunities dating back to last season, including 25 in a row this year, struck out the side in the 10th but also yielded a hit and walked a batter in the inning.

He's never has pitched five days in a row, but neither Tracy nor Colborn would immediately rule it out.

``You're not as loose (the fourth day), but I think once you're loose I don't feel any difference,'' Gagne said. ``I feel as good. You want to make sure you keep the ball dow. You want to think about basic stuff. You don't want to think about blowing people away.''

Perez rebounded from a poor start to pitch six strong innings, but he was done in by frustration over a pair of calls on Cleveland stolen bases. He disagreed with second-base umpire Ed Rapuano in the fourth and third-base umpire Gerry Davis in the sixth, when two safe calls led to runs. Perez lashed out at both umpires as he was leaving the field after the inning.

Rapuano ejected Perez and moments later threw out Colborn.

``If you see the video for the calls, I'm right,'' said Perez, who was restrained on the field by Tracy. ``I was mad because they took my game away from me. I haven't pitched good in the whole season (except) three or four starts. I was doing bad. I know (the umpires) are good and been around a long time, but a call they miss in front of your face? C'mon.''

The victory came after Tracy held a pregame team meeting to stress the importance of team unity despite the lackluster offense. The Dodgers rank last in the National League with 233 runs scored and have scored fewer than five runs in 12 of their past 13 games.

The Dodgers haven't scored more than five runs since May 24, and during their current four-game winning streak they have totaled 13 runs.

The only consistent member of the offense is catcher Paul Lo Duca, who doubled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 21 games.

McGriff had an RBI single in a two-run sixth inning and slumping Shawn Green had an RBI double in the seventh to tie it 3-3. Cabrera then delivered the big hit in the 10th inning with a ball just inside the third-base bag.

``It feels good to show everybody that I'm back,'' Cabrera said. ``The one pitch I fouled off before was a sinker, but I was looking both times for a slider. I got lucky.''

Brian Dohn, [phone]

brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com