DODGERS RUN FOR COVER; ROCKIES PLAY BETTER AFTER RAIN DELAYS : COLORADO 6, DODGERS 3.

Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer

The Dodgers were hoping to play five innings Tuesday night and get out of the rain with a victory.

The Colorado Rockies, however, reminded them how miserable it could be playing in April in three of the colder cities in the National League.

The Dodgers opened an eight-game trip at Coors Field with a 6-3 loss in weather that promises to only get worse. By game time tonight, the temperature is expected to be 35 degrees with three inches of snow on the ground.

``It will be a test,'' manager Bill Russell said. ``But we have a good team and good teams overcome obstacles.''

The Dodgers wanted to maintain the momentum of a 5-2 homestand that brought them back to .500 after starting the season 0-4. But they came out flat after a 59-minute rain delay in the fifth inning and never recovered.

And if tonight's game cannot be played, it could be rescheduled on Thursday when both teams have an off day. The Dodgers were expecting to head to Chicago that day before finishing the trip in Milwaukee.

``All we were concerned about is tonight and the bottom line is you have to score more than three runs in this ballpark,'' Russell said.

Vinny Castilla hit a two-run homer off of Dodgers starter Ismael Valdes (1-2) and Todd Helton added a two-run pinch double against Darren Dreifort as the Rockies overcame two rain delays to win their second straight after losing eight in a row.

The Dodgers had runners at first and second with two outs in the seventh, but a second rain delay halted play for 36 minutes. With the threat that the rain would be turning to snow today, the Rockies wanted to get this one in.

When play resumed, new Colorado pitcher Dave Veres struck out Paul Konerko to end the inning.

The Rockies added an unearned run off Dreifort in the bottom of the seventh, but his biggest mistake came in the sixth when Helton doubled over the head of Todd Hollandsworth, scoring two runs.

``I didn't think it was out,'' Dreifort said. ``It was a good pitch, he went down and got it.''

The Dodgers have played well here in the past, taking five of six last season. They chased Rockies starter Mark Thompson and were hoping to keep down the scoring. It didn't happen.

Mike Piazza, a lifetime .471 hitter against the Rockies on the road, had a double and a run scored. But he didn't nearly have the impact of his last visit here. On the final day of the 1997 season, Piazza hit two homers, including a 496-foot shot that is the longest in the history of Coors Field.

Valdes, who came in with a 6-0 lifetime record against the Rockies, allowed nine hits and was responsible for all four runs in the sixth. He was gutty, though, coming out for the fifth inning after a tender right elbow limited his effectiveness during spring training.

He only made 30 pitches before the first delay and looked stronger in the fifth inning.

``I only made one bad pitch all night, on the ball to Castilla,'' Valdes said. ``The delay didn't bother me. All I thought about during the delay was finding a way to win.''

The Dodgers scored first against Thompson after Konerko was hit by a pitch with one out in the second. Wilton Guerrero, back at shortstop after Monday's game-winning, two-run single, followed with a base hit to center.

Trenidad Hubbard, a reserve outfielder with the Rockies from 1994 through '96, then singled to center, scoring Konerko and giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

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PHOTO (Color) The Dodgers' Trenidad Hubbard takes an inside pitch.

Ed Andrieski/Associated Press