DODGERS GO TO EXTRA INNINGS; BROWN GIVES BULLPEN SOME RELIEF.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

The question was whom the Dodgers could use to bridge the gap between starter Kevin Brown and closer Jeff Shaw if one was needed.

Brown made the pregame banter incidental with a gutsy eight innings Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, but what will be remembered more is what happened in the ninth.

After Atlanta's Javy Lopez's homer off Jeff Shaw gave the Braves a one-run lead in the top of the ninth, the Dodgers tied it in the bottom of the inning. The teams entered the 11th inning tied 4-4.

Gary Sheffield began the rally in the ninth with a one-out double. Raul Mondesi was walked by John Rocker and reliever Kevin McGlinchy walked Eric Karros to load the bases. Devon White then hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Sheffield and tie the score 4-4. Adrian Beltre grounded out to end the inning.

However, there was enormous value in Brown's start. He needed to give the withered bullpen rest and pitch deep into the game. He did so by allowing four hits and striking out seven in eight innings. Brown allowed three runs, but none were earned. He threw 118 pitches.

Brown's will has been well-documented throughout his career and it's been evident in his brief time with the Dodgers.

During a spring training outing, the right-hander reached out with his exposed right hand and tried to snare a line drive. The ball glanced off Brown's finger tips - he was fine.

Last week in his return to San Diego, Dave Magadan hit a grounder back through the middle. Brown stuck out his foot to stop the ball and threw Magadan out at first.

Against the Braves, Walt Weiss hit a sharp ground ball back through the middle. Brown stuck out his right foot, deflecting the ball with his instep toward first baseman Eric Karros, who caught the ball and flipped it to Brown for the out.

It's becoming routine for Brown to use every and any piece of his body to keep an opponent from getting a hit. And no doubt it's going to give the folks at Fox ulcers before it's through.

They've invested oodles of cash in Brown to pitch for the next seven years. They pay him to pitch, not play hacky-sack with a hard-hit baseball.

Brown continued to pitch against the Braves but ran with a limp. After he was hit - or he hit - Weiss' grounder with his foot, he retired the next five hitters. Lopez broke the string with a leadoff single to center in the seventh. A one-out walk pushed Lopez to second, but Brown struck out Weiss and got pinch-hitter Keith Lockhart to fly to right to end the inning.

The Dodgers provided Brown with a lead in the first inning in what felt like a carry-over of the previous day's 19-walk atrocity as Odalis Perez walked three of the first six batters he faced. The Dodgers got their run when Karros singled to right with two outs to score Jose Vizcaino.

But Vizcaino, known as the defensive specialist who earned a second straight start with a 4-for-4 outing in the second game of the series, committed a third inning error that led to three unearned runs. With one out and Weiss on first, Otis Nixon grounded to second baseman Eric Young, who flipped the ball to Vizcaino to try and turn a quick double play. Vizcaino dropped the ball and both runners were safe.

Brown caught one break when Bret Boone flied to the left-field wall for the second out, but Chipper Jones made him pay. Jones hit a 3-0 pitch into the right-field bleachers to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. It was his fifth homer of the season.

True to character, Brown was in the middle of a rally an inning later when the Dodgers tied the score.

It began when third baseman Adrian Beltre extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a double into the left-field corner. Paul LoDuca field to right for the first out, but Brown singled through the left side of the infield to score Beltre and pull the Dodgers within 3-2. It was the second hit by a Dodgers pitcher in 36 at-bats.

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PHOTO (Color) Atlanta's Odalis Perez had lousy control at the start - he walked three of the first six Dodgers he faced.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press