DODGERS FULL OF SURPRISES IN BEATING BRAVES : DODGERS 9, ATLANTA 2.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer

Part of the charm of baseball is its ability to defy any sense of predictability.

The Dodgers' 9-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves served as Exhibit A Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Greg Gagne, a No. 8-hitting shortstop acquired solely for his steady glove, reinforced his distinction as the Dodgers' chief home run threat.

Mike Piazza, who once held sole title to that role, continued to emerge as the most accomplished singles hitter north of Tony Gwynn.

Atlanta's normally steady gloves and arms combined for an alarming five errors.

The night's run-producing hero was . . . Billy Ashley?

And, before 48,194 fans, the Dodgers stung the defending world champions by taking a second victory in the three-game series.

Go figure, indeed.

The Dodgers held a 4-2 lead entering their half of the sixth inning, but they broke the game open - and chased starter Steve Avery - with a four-run assault.

Gagne got things started by leading off with a home run into the left-field corner. That's No. 3 for the slender shortstop - a runaway lead on the team (and three more than Piazza).

Eric Karros finished the rally with a two-run homer off reliever Brad Clontz, breaking Karros' 0-for-12 slump.

In between, the effort was helped along by the two throwing errors of Atlanta catcher Javier Lopez, who twice overshot second base on Dodgers steals.

Earlier in the game, Ashley got the Dodgers' onslaught started with a solo home run in the second inning and a two-RBI double in the third. Ashley, getting a platoon start against the left-handed Avery (against whom he has a career average of .375), is clearly trying to erase the memories of '95, when he averaged a strikeout in every 2-1/2 at-bats.

Piazza contributed, too - with some more of his one-base hits. Piazza is batting a crisp .405 this season, having collected 17 hits in 42 at-bats. All of the hits, including two more on this night, have been singles.

The effort made a winner of Tom Candiotti (1-1), whose fluttering knuckleball shut out the Braves through five innings.

The Dodgers are accustomed to prolonging opponents' rallies with their sloppy fielding work, but they experienced a bit of turnabout in this game - to their delight.

A 4-0 L.A. lead was made possible by three Atlanta errors over the first three innings - three of the four runs were unearned.

With one out in the first inning, Brett Butler lined a single to left, and when Ryan Klesko drop-kicked the bouncing ball, Butler scooted to second. That left him in scoring position when Piazza followed with an RBI single into left.

Third baseman Chipper Jones was the culprit - and a big one - when the Dodgers struck for two runs in the third inning. With two out, Raul Mondesi sent a hard grounder to third that should have been the third out of the inning, but after Jones bobbled the ball, Mondesi beat his throw to first.

That kept things alive for Ashley, who, after a walk to Mike Blowers, sent a two-RBI double down the left-field line. On the play, the head of Ashley's bat nearly traveled as far as the ball. As the bat sheared off in his hands, the bulk of it spun clear out to short left field, sending shortstop Jeff Blauser scrambling.

Jones also committed an error in the second inning but it did not bear on the scoring.

It was an uncharacteristically ragged game for the Braves, who ranked as the third-best fielding team in the National League during last year's world championship season.

Candiotti made the most of the run support. He had some ragged moments - stranding runners at third in the first, second and fifth innings, and leaving two on in the third - but repeatedly came up with the key pitches to get out of trouble.