DODGERS SHOW A SPARK BROWN STRUGGLES IN RETURN AFTER BEING GIVEN LEAD DODGERS 14, SAN FRAN. 8.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Kevin Brown, the ace the Dodgers waited a month to get back, was staked to a four-run lead before he stepped onto the field.

That didn't matter. In fact, nothing seemed to matter.

The Giants knocked Brown from the game during a six-run sixth inning that should have torched the Dodgers' souls. Instead, the Dodgers countered with a five-run seventh inning and beat the Giants 14-8 Tuesday at Pac Bell Park.

Paul Lo Duca had another memorable game, hitting his 11th homer of the season and driving in a career-high six runs. Lo Duca had a two-run homer in the ninth, a three-run double in the seventh and an RBI double in the first. He had four hits and extended the Dodgers' streak of hitting ahomer to 14 games, one shy of the Los Angeles mark set in 1977.(epThe Dodger ended a season-high four-game losing streak and are 6 1/2 games behind Arizona in the National League West. The Diamondbacks have lost three straight.(epAl Reyes, who joined the Dodgers on Saturday, pitched two scorless innings for his first win as a Dodger. San Francisco reliever Tim Worrell (1-2) was the losing pitcher.(ep Lo Duca, who has turned into the Dodgers' sparkplug, had the big hit in rallying the Dodgers from an 8-5 deficit in the seventh. After Shawn Green's RBI bouncer to right and a walk to Gary Sheffield loaded the bases, Lo Duca doubled in three runs with a line drive down the left field line off reliever Tim Worrell. It gave the Dodgers a 9-8 lead.

Marquis Grissom capped the inning with a single to right to score Lo Duca, who made a brilliant head-first dive to avoid being tagged by catcher Benito Santiago as the Dodgers went ahead 10-8.

The dodgers scored a season-high in runs and reached dobule figures since May 28. The Dodgers' 18 hits matched a season high.

While everyone seems to worry about Barry Bonds, who is 0 for 6 with three walks in the series, the Dodgers are done in by those around him. No. 2 hitter Rich Aurilia went 4 for 4 with a homer and four RBI to help turn around the Dodgers' 5-0 lead. In the series opener, cleanup hitter Jeff Kent went 4 for 4 with three RBI.

Brown allowed five runs on eight hits and didn't record an out in the dreadful sixth inning in which manager Jim Tracy used four pitchers against 11 San Francisco batters. Making his first start since May 29 because of nerve problems in his neck and arm, Brown threw 95 pitches, struck out seven and walked one.

While Brown was impressive in the first five innings, his struggles in the sixth is typical of the Dodgers' transgressions lately. Brown, who allowed a two-run homer to Aurilia in the third, yielded hits to Kent,Armando Rios and Damon Miner to lead off the sixth.

Giovanni Carrara relieved and Benito Santiago sacrificed before Ramon Martinez's RBI bloop single to right made it 5-4. Pinch-hitter Marvin Benard tied it 5-5 with a double to right and Aurilia scored a pair with a single to center field. Left-hander Jeff Williams relieved and walked Bonds, then was replaced by Al Reyes, who allowed an RBI single to Kent as the Giants went ahead 8-5. The Dodgers got out of the inning when Rios' fly ball was caught at the right field wall by Green.

Not even the roughing up of Giants lefty Shawn Estes, who was 6-0 with a 1.29 ERA at home, was enough for the Dodgers. Estes allowed eight earned runs in his first eight starts, but allowed four runs on six hits in the first inning.

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(color) The San Francisco Giants knocked Dodgers starter Kevin Brown from the game during a six-run sixth inning Tuesday night at Pac Bell Park.

Ben Margot/Associated Press