DODGERS GIVE LITTLE SUPPORT : WEAKENED MARTINEZ LOSES TO CARDS ST. LOUIS 6, DODGERS 3.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer

In any other line of work - poring over actuarial tables, catching crooks, laying sewer pipe - the boss probably would have said, ``Appreciate you coming in, but why don't you go home early? You've been under it with that flu. Call it a day. Get off your feet.''

Ramon Martinez's stock in trade, however, is pitching for the Dodgers, and in their furious pursuit of the San Diego Padres in the National League West, they wanted to squeeze him for all they could get Tuesday night.

Martinez reacted about the way you might expect for a fellow whose rail-thin frame was wracked with a raging fever for most of last week. Against the St. Louis Cardinals, he breezed for three innings, then slammed into an unseen wall, and he and the Dodgers were powerless to prevent the Cardinals from taking a 6-3 victory before 29,096 fans at Dodger Stadium.

Martinez staggered through an eight-batter fourth inning as the Cardinals pushed two runs across. He gave up three hits. He walked the opposing pitcher to force in a run with two outs. He looked bushed.

The way the Dodgers have been executing their offense lately, the lead was plenty for the Cardinals to work with, and an L.A. win streak was halted at three games.

Thus, the Dodgers wasted an opportunity to climb to within 1-1/2 games of the headlong-plunging Padres in the West. The second-place Dodgers, having concluded this homestand with a 4-4 record, remain 2-1/2 games back.

The outcome broke a Martinez win streak at 10 games, which stretched to last August. He fell to 4-1 on the season.

His teammates didn't help much, though. Tom Candiotti, asked to make a rare relief appearance, couldn't keep it close, giving up four runs over his four innings. And the Dodgers offense hit into two double plays stranding seven runners.

Donovan Osborne (5-3) held them in check through eight innings, during which the Dodgers never bunched more than two hits in an inning.

Not until the ninth did this team stir to life. Much too late, as it turned out.

L.A. got hits from Eric Karros, Raul Mondesi and Todd Hollandsworth against T.J. Mathews to score one run, then stole another when reliever Rick Honeycutt bobbled Chad Fonville's dribbler for an error. But Honeycutt got Delino DeShields to pop up on the infield to end both the rally and the game.

The Dodgers, who are next to last in the major leagues in runs scored with 247, have averaged just 3.2 per game in their last 10 outings.

It probably didn't help any that catcher Mike Piazza, the league's leading hitter, left the game after six innings when his chronically bum right knee flared up.

The Dodgers' futility was probably epitomized in the fifth inning, when DeShields singled to left with speedy Juan Castro at second. Third-base coach Joey Amalfitano waved Castro home, but St. Louis left fielder Mark Sweeney unleashed a throw that reached the plate on the fly, and catcher Tom Pagnozzi tagged Castro for the inning's final out.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals relentlessly widened their lead.

The Dodgers' plan was to use Martinez until the fatigue set in, then offer an icy contrast to Martinez's fire: Candiotti and his knuckleball.

``In those terms, it's better to face the guy who throws hard first,'' said Gary Gaetti, who went 4 for 5 to lead the Cardinals. ``I think it would be tougher to face the knuckleballer first and then get the gas.''

His teammates came to share the sentiment. Candiotti, temporarily pulled out of the starting rotation in order to support Martinez, worked the fifth through the eighth innings, yielding four runs on eight hits.

How thorough was the Dodgers' aggravation? One of the Cardinals' runs in the seventh raced home on a strikeout when Piazza's replacement, Tom Prince, had a knuckler flutter off his mitt for a passed ball.

The decision left the Dodgers at 4-4 on the homestand - and pondering the ground they could have gained on the Padres with a little better showing against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis, three weaklings from the NL's Central Division.

Now they must try to do their damage in much less friendly settings. After a day off today, the Dodgers will begin a road trip during which they will play four games in Atlanta and three in Chicago.

The Dodgers are 14-18 away from home this season, including a combined 2-4 in the two cities they're about to visit.

MOVING UP

A look at how the Dodgers closed the gap on the first-place San Diego Padres during their homestand:

Date Res. Score Opp. GBL 

6-4 Loss 3-0 Pittsburgh 5

6-5 Loss 7-3 Pittsburgh 6

6-6 Win 8-3 Pittsburgh 5-1/2

6-7 Loss 2-1 Cincinnati 5-1/2

6-8 Win 5-4 Cincinnati 4-1/2

6-9 Win 3-2 Cincinnati 3-1/2

6-10 Win 2-1 St. Louis 2-1/2

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Chart

Photo: (1--color) The Dodgers' Eric Karros is for ced out at second base by the St. Louis Cardinals' Luis Alicia in the second inning.

(2) Raul Mondesi falls to the ground after hitting the ball into his ankle. He got up and stayed in the game.

Terri Thuente / Daily News

Chart: MOVING UP (see text)