DODGERS NOTEBOOK: IT'S DESPERATION TIME: `WE HAVE TO WIN SIX GAMES'.

Byline: Kevin Acee and Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writers

A pregame meeting, highlighted by speeches by manager Bill Russell and executive vice president Fred Claire and described by players as ``very positive,'' produced instant results.

Hustle. Good defense. An out-of-sight home run. Decent pitching.

For half a game.

Suddenly, a four-run lead was a four-run deficit. And the Colorado Rockies sent the Dodgers to their fifth straight loss on Sunday.

Now, two games behind the San Francisco Giants with just six to play, the Dodgers' status is critical.

``We have to win six games,'' Todd Zeile said after the Dodgers lost 10-5. ``I'm not going to say it's not panic time. You never want to panic, but the bottom line is we have to win six games. If anybody doesn't think so, they're crazy.''

With their team not playing quite the way a pennant contender should in September, the Dodgers brass called a closed-door meeting 45 minutes before Sunday's game. Claire and Russell told the players what they thought of recent results and what they needed to do in the season's final seven games.

Standing in his box watching the first inning Sunday, knowing the San Francisco Giants had won that afternoon, Claire acknowledged time is short.

``We lose today, that's a huge difference,'' Claire said before the Dodgers went out and did just that. ``. . . There's plenty of experience there. They know what needs to be done. We've got to get out of the downward spiral we've been in. . . . It's just been a case of some gut-wrenching losses.''

Not ready: Greg Gagne, who was hit on the left hand by a pitch on Friday, tried to hit before Sunday's game. He then sat out his second straight game.

``I can't swing right now,'' said Gagne, in a 2-for-26 slump before the injury. ``I can't turn it over. No oomph.''