DODGERS OFFENSE COMES THROUGH SLUGGISH LINEUP SHOWS SOME LIFE DODGERS 6, ST. LOUIS 5.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

ST. LOUIS - Tired, sweaty and mad at the world, the Dodgers finally came alive for the first time in weeks.

After all the bad hitting and bad-mouthing that marked their 16-day free-fall from the top of the National League West, the Dodgers bit back Wednesday night with a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals that felt like a cool breeze in steamy Busch Stadium.

Six runs alone would have been a cause for celebration. Striking out the mighty Albert Pujols with the bases loaded in the sixth inning should have been Paul Shuey's crowning achievement.

A two-out opposite-field single by Cesar Izturis, a spectacular catch by Chad Hermanson and Eric Gagne's 39th consecutive save almost seemed too good to be true.

But it was the way they put together the hitting and pitching, the Hatfields and McCoys of this up and down season, that gave the Dodgers just their third win in the past 16 games.

``We've been leaking oil for a while,'' Shuey said. ``We finally made it to the gas station.''

The Dodgers took command with a five-run fourth inning that was highlighted by a two-out, two-run single by Izturis off Cardinals starter Brett Tomko (5-6).

``That was the play of the game right there,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``We got some big hits in big situations, hits we haven't been getting lately.''

The Cardinals, whose top-rated offense often overshadows a shaky pitching staff, didn't make it easy. They chased starter Kazuhisa Ishii (8-3) after 5 1/3 innings.

It could have been sooner. Ishii was struggling to hold a 6-1 lead in the 94-degree heat and 95 percent humidity. With two on and one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, catcher Mike Matheny drove a pitch into the left-field corner with what could have been at least a two-run double.

Hermanson, called up Saturday and playing only because Mike Kincade was attending a funeral, stretched out and made a spectacular catch.

Ishii proceeded to balk Edgar Renteria to third and let him score on a wild pitch.

Ishii was chased in the sixth after allowing two of the first three runners to reach base. Shuey came on and allowed both of Ishii's runners to score.

He loaded the bases for Pujols, who is leading the NL with a .364 average and 81 RBI.

Shuey got ahead in the count and struck him out on a splitter in the dirt.

``It was the same pitch I threw (Scott) Rolen the next inning and he hit a home run. But I got Pujols to swing and miss,'' Shuey said.

Rolen's homer cut the Dodgers' lead to 6-5. Shuey finished the seventh and turned the game over to Paul Quantrill for the eighth. Quantrill retired the first two batters and gave way to Gagne for one batter in the eighth.

Gagne, who had just one save since June 23, retired all four batters he faced to record his 31st save and 39th in a row over the past two seasons.

``He hadn't been in many save situations lately, so I thought he could pitch the eighth,'' Tracy said.

The victory overshadowed a day that could have been a disaster.

The Dodgers arrived at the team hotel at 6 a.m. after a flight from San Diego and a miserable loss to the Padres.

When general manager Dan Evans fired up the Internet hours later and saw his hitting instructor Jack Clark had ripped the club in a newspaper, he called for a meeting with Clark and Tracy.

Just last week, Evans reprimanded left-hander Odalis Perez for negative comments about the Dodgers offense and the front office's inability to make trades.

``Those are the voices of frustration,'' Evans said. ``We are in this together, Jim, me and everyone in the organization.''

Clark, who starred for the Cardinals in the mid-1980s, said he understood Evans' disappointment and thought their meeting was constructive.

``It's over and done with as far as I'm concerned,'' Clark said.

Tracy later vented some frustration at his slumping slugger Shawn Green, saying ``He's clearly not on his game,'' just hours after Green crushed a 420-foot homer in the loss to the Padres.

Matt McHale, [phone]

matt.mchale(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

David Ross is congratulated by hitting coach Jack Clark after a solo homer in the third inning in the Dodgers' 6-5 victory over St. Louis on Wednesday.

Kyle Ericson/Associated Press