DODGERS NOTEBOOK: PLAYOFF TICKET SALES SLOW.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

The Dodgers have a chance to make the playoffs as the National League's wild-card team, but judging by ticket sales, fans aren't convinced.

As of Monday afternoon, the Dodgers had approximately 15,000 playoff tickets available for each of their two home playoff games, which would be Oct. 3 and Oct. 4 at Dodger Stadium.

Saturday was the first day to purchase tickets and approximately 8,000 were sold. In Chicago, it took the Cubs 30 minutes to sell their allotment of 7,500 tickets per game and the White Sox sold all 10,500 tickets per game in 38 minutes.

``Clearly, if we make the playoffs we'll probably sell out,'' said Derrick Hall, the Dodgers' senior vice president of communications. ``Fans are waiting to see if we either gain ground or take over the lead. Naturally, we'd see an increase in sales. We noticed that when we jumped from three games (back) to two, the phones were ringing more rapidly.''

The Dodgers have just more than 20,000 season-ticket holders and they still have the option to exercise their right to purchase playoff tickets.

The Dodgers last made the playoffs in 1996 and failed to sell out any of those home games.

--Playoff scenarios: If the Dodgers finish the season in a tie with one other team for first place in the wild-card race, a one-game playoff will be played Sept. 29 at Dodger Stadium. However, with a three-way tie, the situation becomes more complicated and games would be Sept. 29 and Sept. 30.

--Red-hot Marlins: The Florida Marlins are the surprise this season with a young pitching staff. Even more surprising is that All-Star third baseman Mike Lowell broke his left hand and isn't back in the lineup, yet the Marlins won seven in a row before losing to Atlanta on Sunday.

The Marlins lead the Dodgers in the NL wild-card race by 2 1/2 games. That makes the Dodgers instant fans of any team that plays the Marlins.

``(Sunday) I was watching the Atlanta-Florida game and that was an emotional roller coaster,'' Dodgers general manager Dan Evans said. ``I was cheering for every one of (the Braves).''

Even Gary Sheffield?

``I loved each one of them as they came to the plate,'' Evans said.

The Dodgers usually know the score of the Marlins' and Phillies' games before they begin their games on the West Coast.

Marlins games are usually on in the Dodgers clubhouse as they prepare for games.

``Obviously, they're a talented team,'' Kevin Brown said. ``You look at some of the teams they've played and what happened the last few nights against the Braves and that wasn't expected. It's theirs to lose.

``We've got to do our job and somewhere down the line get some help. At this point and time, all we can do is take care of ourselves.''

--News and notes: The Dodgers throw three left-handers against Arizona starting today, but face three Diamondbacks right-handers. The Dodgers miss left-hander Randy Johnson, who 20-year-old Edwin Jackson beat last week. Johnson threw a complete-game shutout in a 5-0 victory over Colorado on Sunday.

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- Jill Painter