DODGERS NOTEBOOK: ANDERSON MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

Byline: TONY JACKSON Staff Writer

The Dodgers thought they knew what they were getting when they picked up veteran utilityman Marlon Anderson from Washington on Aug. 31, barely a half-hour before the deadline for newly acquired players to be eligible for postseason play.

``We got him primarily to come in here and be a left-handed threat for us off the bench,'' Dodgers manager Grady Little said before Tuesday night's game with Pittsburgh.

In fact, the Dodgers had no idea what they were getting.

Anderson was in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game after going 5 for 5 with two homers and a triple in Monday night's stirring victory over San Diego. Since the trade, Anderson is batting .448 (13 for 29), with four homers and seven RBIs, and has an on-base percentage of .485.

``When you go from getting ready to make plans for going home to having the opportunity to help a team make the playoffs, it's easy to get motivated again,'' Anderson said. ``When you're with a team that has veteran guys who take good at-bats and know how to play the game and know what it takes to win, that makes it easy.''

The Dodgers entered Tuesday's game against Pittsburgh with a 5-1 record when Anderson starts in left field.

Asked whether he plans to stick with him for now, especially given that regular left fielder Andre Ethier is 5 for 35 in September, Little was coy.

``I want to see how many hits he can get in a row,'' Little said.

Shut up: Dodgers first-base coach Mariano Duncan said the heated exchange between him and Padres pitcher Jake Peavy -- which briefly resulted in a handful of players coming onto the field from each dugout -- was in response to Peavy jawing at Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal after Furcal led off the inning with a bunt single.

``I said, `Hey you cocky little (expletive), we're going to get your (expletive),''' Duncan said. ``I told him he better stay away from my guy, and I would stay away from him. If he is that good, how has he lost 14 games?''

Furcal said he didn't hear Peavy yelling after the bunt.

Hitting home: Dodgers reliever Joe Beimel, who grew up near Pittsburgh and attended Duquesne University, said he was stunned by news last week that five of the school's basketball players had been shot.

``It's crazy,'' Beimel said. ``It's a safe campus. It's not in a bad part of town at all. My nephew goes to school there, and so does my sister- in-law. It all happened right outside their dorm, and they could hear everything that went on.''